Here are a few of the marketing philosophies I uphold, which will explain the rest of this post on social media and emotional branding:
- We build relationships with brands like we build relationships with our friends. It takes many positive interactions over a period of time.
- Loyalty trumps everything. If the world turns upside-down, your loyal customers will be there. So our ultimate goal is to create loyalty.
- It is impossible to achieve true brand loyalty in the long-term without emotional connection.
- Emotional connection comes when we feel a brand becomes part of our self-identity.
So let’s start a little examination of how social media can fit into this formula.
1. Content “provocations”
We build relationships with friends by having small interactions with them over time. As these positive experiences accumulate, we grow fonder of the person. Maybe we eventually love the person.
Connecting with a brand works much the same way and content delivered by the social web is a great enabler for this process.
We might not be able to visit with our customers every day but we can provide a “drip, drip, drip” of content to let them know we are there, we are thinking of them, we have something that can help them.
In my view, this is exactly where social media fits in the marketing mix — Providing “provocations” that lead to loyalty.
