Managing Your Brand Online:

Panacea or Pandora’s Box

Robert Downing

June 20, 2012

HOW YOU CONDUCT YOURSELF ONLINE

AFFECTS YOUR BRAND

#1 Thing to Understand:

Why Is This Important?

• Affects your likelihood of success– Individual• Employability• Marketability• Success

– Business• Marketability• Profitability• Success

How Is This Different Today?

• The reach is much wider– Worldwide

• The pace is much faster– Instantaneous

• The potential payoff is much bigger– Fame & Fortune

• The potential penalties are much bigger– The damage sticks around longer

BRAND BUILDING STRATEGIESAvoid 3 Common Pitfalls

Be Present Online

Be Identifiable Online

Be Consistent Online

Just Remember…

BRAND STRENGTHENING STRATEGIESWhat to Do When Things Go Bad…

Have a Social Media Action Plan

• There are things you should do– Before there’s a problem• Because there will be one!

– Once you see that there’s a problem• You'd better see it!

– In response to the problem• Respond, or suffer the consequences!

– After the problem has been resolved• All problems are manageable!

Before there’s a problem

• Plan your social media participation– Have a professional purpose• Create awareness?• Augment another program?

– Have a professional focus• Pick your platform

• Be present on social media– Participate regularly– Stick to the plan!

Once you discover a problem

• Stay calm• Consider your response

carefully• LISTEN to what is being said

online, by whom, and where it’s being said

• Treat comments and complaints seriously

• Treat the person commenting or complaining with respect

When Responding to a Problem

• Respond thoughtfully– Think about how you would respond to a customer

complaint in “real” life– Don’t pick a fight– Don’t curse or use inflammatory language

• Structure your response around the three As– Acknowledge there’s a problem/issue– Apologize for the inconvenience and any mistake you

made– Tell the Action you are taking, so that the problem/issue

isn’t repeated

Be sure to…• LISTEN carefully• Respond quickly– Don’t let the situation fester

• Be a human– Don’t “lawyer up” figuratively or

literally– Don’t offer canned responses

• Leverage successes– Reiterate

– Broadcast on other forums

And…

• If nothing else works, move the conversation elsewhere– Email– Phone conversation– Encourage further

interaction

Just Remember…

After the Problem Has Been Resolved

• Take time to reflect on what happened– What caused the problem in the first place?– What, if anything, could you have done to make it better

sooner?

• Revisit and revise your social media plan– Be clear about your purpose & your focus so that you can

keep your brand strong

Winding Up• It's a numbers game!

• Do it yourself– Pick one or more social media platforms to use

– Realize it takes resources• (#_platforms) X (mins/task) X (days/week) = investment_$$

• Use a brand management tool– Does it monitor, measure, and manage your social media

platform?

– Does it allow you to monitor, measure, and manage multiple social media platforms?

– Does it make the best use of your resources?

Questions?

Monitor, Measure, and Manage Your Brand Online

Robert DowningRobert.Downing@Anaceta.com

www.anaceta.com