Building Brands in a Connected World

"The Connected World has Rerouted the Customer Journey"

Mad Men - the AMC series of top-down advertising and marketing from the 60s - hilariously describes the traditional purchasing funnel: Awareness > Consideration > Purchase > Preference > Loyalty.

In a TV-dominated age, you'd see a commercial and become aware of a brand. Then, after you got familiar with the name, you might consider if you wanted to buy it. Next, you bought it. Then, you might decide you liked it. Finally, you identified yourself with the brand ("I'm a Budweiser guy").

Facebook recently released a study by Forrester Consulting to evaluate how marketing leaders are building brands in a connected world. According to the study, social media has turned the purchase tunnel on its head.

Facebook's new process looks like a circular motion of learning, investigating, purchasing, and interacting.

The process is completely influenced by social media. Consumers hear about new brands and investigate via social media. When it comes time to buy something, consumers increasingly consult their friends via social media. Then, they expect to be able to interact with the brands through social media after the purchase.

The study proposes a six-point plan for building brands in the social media age:

1. Articulate the brand's social identity so the brand communicates with a unique, compelling, and authentic voice.
2. Connect with your best and most likely customers by giving them a reason to like or follow the brand in social channels.
3. Engage people by making brand communications more participative and personally relevant.
4. Influence people by inspiring and enabling people to share messages about your brand with their network.
5. Integrate social into the brand and product experience to make it more cohesive and useful.
6. Rejuvenate the brand by using insights from social channels to monitor the brand's health and improve the brand experience.

A good example of this process can be seen in the clip below that has Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo reinforcing the power of social media while in the hunt for the NCAA championship.

Sources:

1. "Building Brands For The Connected World," Facebook, Forrester Consulting, February 2011

2. "Facebook's 6-Point Plan for Building Brands in the Social Media Age," Todd Wasserman, March 12, 2012

3. "Journey to Comfort with Tom Izzo," Dove Men+Care