I mentioned in the first part of this series that social media isn’t just social media platforms. Social media is the interactive, ongoing conversation you (or your brand) is having with your customers. Remember you’re always branding – your customers are always forming an identity of your brand in their minds – the question is what identity are they forming. The same is true of social media.

Social media isn’t just social media platforms.

I also noted that every social media platform is not for everyone. Though I am a believer that every business should embrace social media initiatives, I don’t believe that every business should embrace the same ones. It really comes down to what you define as being part of the social media world – but the bottom line is that every business and every brand should desire and make an effort to interact and engage their customers on a regular basis.

That’s what this article is about – let’s break down the theory and see if we can’t sink our teeth into something more tangible and applicable to your specific business or brand.

Types of Brands:

For the sake of argument and for this article, we’re going to break things down into two categories. Let’s consider that your brand will either be classified as a service, or as a product. I recognize that this is a very general classification, but I think it’s safe to say that all brands could be classified as either a service or a product from a high-level perspective – let’s define those two categories a bit further.

Service: Any offering which isn’t or doesn’t produce a tangible product – relying heavily on knowledge, expertise, methods and/or systems & processes.

Product: Any offering which is or produces a tangible product – something that consumers can physically touch either in a retail, wholesale, or manufacturing environment.

The reason we’ve broken it down this way is because there are and should be different approaches when considering social media initiatives depending on which category your brand falls into. By classifying your brand as such, it will help to define which direction you should pursue when considering which social media initiatives to utilize. In this article we’re going to look at service brands, and we’ll cover product brands in our next article.

Service Brands

For service providers there are three things you need to consider and implement in order to have a successful social media strategy to help build your brand:

1. Present Yourself as the Expert

Though there are many factors consumers consider when choosing a service provider (cost, location, relevance, etc), one of the most important factors – and probably the one that makes consumers most comfortable with their decision – is the knowledge level of the service provider. No one wants to hire someone if they don’t know what they’re doing. So if you’re a service provider or service brand the most important thing you can do is present yourself as the expert in your field.

Social Media Applications: Make sure your website is geared towards your customer – include relevant info that he/she will be looking for and present it in a way that supports you or your brand as an expert on the subject. Start a blog where you can provide consistent, meaningful content in your area of expertise – this is a great way to offer free information to potential customers and can be a huge value add for you. Additionally, consider incorporating “push” content into your strategy – this could include regular e-newsletters and RSS feeds – this is a way to provide regular content to your customers without any effort on their part.

2. Invite Interaction

One of the biggest changes in the web over the past couple of years (and really the backbone of the social/new media movement) is that the web is now a two-way, interactive conversation. It’s not enough to simply “put” information online and then expect potential customers to view it and respond. You have to initiate, and continue to invite interaction on the part of your customers. Once you’ve positioned yourself as an expert in your field you must make an effort to enter your customer’s worlds and make your expertise relevant to them.

Once you’ve positioned yourself as an expert in your field you must make an effort to enter your customer’s worlds and make your expertise relevant to them.

Social Media Applications: (2 & 3 share the same applications, with different uses) This is where some of the more “flagship” social media platforms come into play. You first must define where you customers spend the bulk of their time online. If your customers are on Facebook or Twitter, you need to be on there as well interacting with them. If they are on niche communities such as Cork’d (wine community), you need to have a presence there. You don’t have to have profiles on every platform – rather you need to have effective profiles where your users spend their time, and you need to make an effort to invite interaction within these channels.

3. Interact Yourself

Finally it’s not enough to simply invite interaction on the part of your customers. You must interact yourself. This means making an effort to draw out your user base, network with potential clients, and build relationships. If a new customer chooses your service brand over another it will likely not be because you are more of an expert (though that will play a factor). It will likely be because you have done a better job building a relationship and a platform for further relationships with your users. Plus it builds a more loyal customer base – those who want to use your services because they have a relationship with you, not just because you know what you’re talking about.

If a new customer chooses your service brand over another it will likely not be because you are more of an expert (though that will play a factor). It will likely be because you have done a better job building a relationship and a platform for further relationships with your users.

Social Media Applications: (2 & 3 share the same applications, with different uses) Once again this is where more of the well-known social media platforms come into play. The application is basically the same as #2, and both should be done hand-in-hand. Invite interaction and give interaction – and ideally, give more than you get. Remember people aren’t online waiting for you to find them. They’re online for themselves – so it’s up to you to enter their world and bring them into yours in a way that is both unpretentious as well as strategic.

So for service providers and service brands, social media can and should be utilized because it can be very effective for your business. In our next article we’ll look specifically at our second category – product brands. In the meantime we’ll conclude with a few questions that you should ask as you think through how to effectively leverage social media for your business:

1. Do you have a solid brand presence online? If so, is it optimized effectively and can it be leveraged as the central foundation for your social media efforts? If not, why not, and what do you need to do to create a solid brand presence online?

2. Have you created, integrated, or leveraged platforms for interaction and conversation between your brand and your customers?

3. Are you inviting interaction on these platforms and are you interacting yourself?

I tend to agree with Gary Vaynerchuk – someone I greatly respect, and who is a rockstar in the social media / internet world – who doesn’t like the term social media. He claims social media really is just the next version of media in general. To GV, social media isn’t a form of media, it’s the new form of media. While social media hasn’t replaced other foundational forms of media, no one can argue that the paradigm is changing.

The internet in particular has experienced the bulk of this paradigm shift. What once was a one way conversation between brands and users has now become a two-way, interactive dialogue. It’s not enough to simply “put” information out there – now you must continue to offer relevant content that your users care about in such a way that keeps those users coming back for more. The whole “social” side of media simply means that brands are no longer completely in control of what’s being said about them – therefore it’s more important than ever to monitor and maintain your brand presence and identity amongst your current and potential users.

But how should small businesses and freelancers approach social media? Often I hear small business owners and decision makers brush off social media initiatives because they don’t see how a Facebook profile or Twitter account makes sense for them. I addressed this in a previous article where I said one of the keys to aligning your business strategy with your brand strategy was:

Don’t generalize – don’t just assume, for instance, that your business doesn’t need to utilize social media because you can’t see how your business will fit on Facebook. Don’t generalize one form of media or marketing based on one entity. Just like social media is much more than Facebook, your brand strategy should seek to find ways to reach your customers through the mediums they use the most.

You see, social media isn’t just social media platforms. Social media is the interactive, ongoing conversation you (or your brand) is having with your customers. Remember you’re always branding – your customers are always forming an identity of your brand in their minds – the question is what identity are they forming. The same is true of social media.

Social media isn’t just social media platforms.

Let me also say that every social media platform is not for everyone. Though I am a believer that every business should embrace social media initiatives, I don’t believe that every business should embrace the same ones. It really comes down to what you define as being part of the social media world – but the bottom line is that every business and every brand should desire and make an effort to interact and engage their customers on a regular basis.

So if your a small business owner, decision maker, freelancer, or someone in between, how do you embrace social media? I’ll leave the specifics for another post – defining what specific initiatives you should embrace – but I believe there are some general points everyone can and should employ. In order to create and maintain a solid social media strategy to help build your brand presence, you must do each of the following:

1. Create Relevant Content – Whether it’s through your website, a blog, a Twitter profile, or an email newsletter, make sure you’re creating content that’s both different and relevant to your users.

2. Maintain Relevant Content – Once you’ve created content you’ve got to maintain it. It’s not enough to build a Twitter profile and post once a month. Make an effort to keep consistency a priority.

3. Connect With Your Users – Creating and maintaining content is just half the battle – you also have to connect with your users over the content you produce.

4. Interact With Your Users – Just like you have to maintain consistency with you content, you also have to maintain consistency with your users. It’s not enough to build a community and connect with it once. Your users want to interact with your brand – make an effort to do so with them.

Social Media isn’t the end-all, be-all for businesses. Just because you employ social media strategies doesn’t mean you’ll be successful – you have to determine the best initiatives for your unique business and brand. We’ll talk about this more in our next article – but the bottom line is every business no matter how large or small needs to connect with their customers. There is no excuse to have a one-sided marketing strategy anymore. The day is here where your customers and potential customers are ready to interact with you and your brand – the question is will you connect with them, or leave them forming a negative identity of your brand in their minds?

I read an article today that said more and more clients will be leaving traditional agencies this year and in the coming years. There are a variety of reasons for this but it was interesting to learn that according to this study

“the main reasons clients left agencies were lack of fresh ideas (73%) and the need to cut costs (44%)…”

.The cutting costs is a no brainer, especially in this economy, but amazingly almost double the clients have left or will leave traditional agencies because of a lack of fresh ideas.

What does this mean for you? Well, the solution to securing more business might be more than just being the cheapest option on the block. In recent days the current economic situation has positioned many freelancers and smaller businesses to be able to win business from the more traditional / large agencies primarily because freelancers and small businesses are usually cheaper. But this study shows that as a freelancer or small business you may want to extend your focus on more than the bottom line.

Many clients are certainly looking for ways to save money, but the current economy also brings another element into play – it’s more important than ever to focus on your brand positioning. What makes you different, what makes you relevant? This matters more than ever because the markets have been shaken to their cores and customers are rethinking their habits. So clients are looking for ways not only to save money, but also to reposition themselves to capitalize on this shift in consumer behavior.

So as a freelancer or small business that wants to woo these hungry clients, that begs the question:

What insights, ideas, creative solutions do you bring to your clients that others don’t or can’t?

As the results show, if an agency can’t come up with creative, innovative solutions for their clients and instead provide that standard run-of-the-mill recommendations, clients will leave. Don’t let the same thing happen to you. Find your niche, focus on your brand positioning, and align yourself to be able to offer new and innovative solutions to your clients’ problems.

Freelancers and small businesses have an unbelievable opportunity in today’s market – the traditional core of the industry is literally being shaken, and clients are no longer walking down the same road as everyone else. But in order to capitalize on this shift you’ve got to bring something to the table. Clients aren’t just going to flock to you because your smaller, cost less, and are more available than the traditional agency. You’ve got to be better than the traditional agency – this means better service, better ideas, and better solutions.

The work is out there – businesses need your expertise. So position yourself to grow, become an expert in your field, and be ready to offer unique and innovative solutions to those who come looking. How do you do this? I’ll offer three simple tips to discover how you can bring unique insights and ideas to your clients that others can’t.

1. Find a niche – don’t try to be the end-all be-all expert. That’s the traditional agency way. That’s what clients are shying away from. If you’re an expert in user experience design be a user experience designer. Don’t try to be that plus a copywriter plus a social media guru. Clients want results and if you can offer real results in the areas you’re best at, you’ll succeed.

2. Showcase your expertise – whether it’s through a portfolio, blog, twitter feed or e-book, find a way to market your expertise. If you’re good at something, talk about it. Market it. Showcase it. Determine the types of clients you want to go after and position yourself to offer what they want.

3. Don’t second guess or sell yourself short – It may not happen overnight. It may rain, it may pour, or you may find yourself in a drought. But continue to pump out quality content, and showcase your work in the areas you’re best in. The old adage “if you build it they will come” doesn’t always ring true for freelancers and small businesses. It’s more like “if you can build it, and you market the fact that you can build it, and you’re consistently networking and connecting with people who you’d like to build it for, they will come”. So stay the course.

Freelancers and small businesses have a great opportunity to build something new in this market – with these strategies and good ol’ fashioned hard work, you’ll see success.

One of the key points we tell our clients at FiveSeven when working to develop their brands is to make sure they align their business strategy with their brand strategy. Most of the time the response we get is something like, “okay…so what exactly does that mean”? It’s a very important concept to not only understand, but also employ, so I want to talk briefly about what it means to align these two strategies, why it’s important to do so, and how to make it happen.

Business & Brand

There’s a lot that can be said, and already has been said, about business strategy. We’re not going to get into a lot of details in discussing business strategy. Instead we’re going to assign two simple definitions to your business strategy and your brand strategy. Quite simply your business strategy should focus on where you want to go. And your brand strategy should focus on how you’re going to get there.

Think of it like taking a trip somewhere. There’s a place you want to go. And there’s a roadmap for how to get there. Let’s say we’re taking a trip to San Francisco from Orlando, FL. We know what our destination is (San Fran). We know where we’re leaving from (Orlando). And we know what we want to do when we get to San Fran. But how are we going to get there? Are we going to drive? Fly? Swim?

Our choice of travel is dependent on a lot of things – yes we must take our final destination into account, but there are a lot of other factors to consider – cost, time, external variables. I’ll stop the analogy there, but you can start to see the point I’m trying to make. Too many times business owners, freelancers, and those in between focus only on where they want to go, and don’t focus enough on the optimal means of getting there. Sometimes they take the quickest option (flying). Other times they take maybe the more scenic option (drive). Still other times they might choose the cheapest option (Swim). But which one is the right option?

Why It’s Important

The answer to that question is the reason why it’s important to align your business strategy with your brand strategy. It’s not just enough to know where you want to go – you also have to think about the best way to get there. But how do we determine what the best way is? Well, that’s where brand strategy comes into play.

Remember your brand is essentially your company’s personality. It’s not what you think or feel about your business – it’s what your customers/clients/users think or feel about your business. Your brand is what makes your customers/clients/users choose your products or services over your competitors. So the way to determine the best means to get to your destination for your business is to determine the best way to reach your customers. And that is demonstrated in how you brand.

We’ve talked to numerous clients who have a good idea of where they want to go (however, as a side note, we’ve talked to many who don’t even know where they want to go, so it’s just as important to spend time crafting your goals and your vision for your business…), and from this they jump in headfirst without any consideration of how to get there. They develop a website, design a logo, craft a marketing plan without even a thought towards who their target market is, how best to reach that market, and how to effectively spend time, money, and resources.

This is why so many small businesses get frustrated at their lack of growth – because many times it not because they aren’t trying! It’s because they’re spinning their wheels in a direction they shouldn’t be going because they haven’t taken enough time to define their brand strategy.

If you don’t focus on aligning your brand strategy with your business strategy you are setting yourself up for a lot of frustration, a lot of “wasted” time and resources, and potentially a lot of failure.

How to Make it Happen

So if it’s so important, how do we make it happen. Well, if you only did one thing I would encourage you to do this: set aside time, and spend it thinking about these two strategies. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say you’re probably pretty smart. If you own your own business, or have struck out on your own as a freelancer, you probably have a few working brain cells in that head of yours. So put them to work! You’re the one with the passion for your business; you’re the one with the goals and the vision; so you’ve got to be the one to think about where you want to go and how you’re going to get there.

Here are some further tips for how you can align your business strategy with your brand strategy:

1. Define your goals and your vision for your business – they can be large goals or small goals, but you need to spend time defining where you want to go.
2. Define your target market, and your target customers – remember, branding is about them not you, so it’s important to know who they are
3. Study your target market, and your target customers – it’s not enough to know who they are. You also have to know how they operate. If your target customers make most of their decisions based on online experience and research, why take out that print ad in the yellow pages? If your target customers are in a certain age group, don’t develop a MySpace page, work on a Facebook or Twitter profile. You see where we’re going here…what you develop and how you get to your destination needs to be defined by your customers’ behavior.
4. Don’t generalize – don’t just assume, for instance, that your business doesn’t need to utilize social media because you can’t see how your business will fit on Facebook. Don’t generalize one form of media or marketing based on one entity. Just like social media is much more than Facebook, your brand strategy should seek to find ways to reach your customers through the mediums they use the most.
5. Set a plan – the great basketball coach John Wooden once said, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. That is so true in business. Don’t assume that your business will adapt as you go along. You need to have a plan, you need to have a roadmap. Recognize that growing a business is a journey and you won’t be able to do everything all at once…but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan everything out. Of course, recognize that your plan needs to be fluid and flexible, but you’ll be in a much better position having to revise and adapt your plan then trying to make things work with no plan at all.
6. Finally, take the time to do it right the first time – I’ve talked to many business owners who, for one reason or another, choose to take the lesser option, cheaper option, easier option when it comes to implementing their brand strategy. I’m not advocating choosing the most expensive, most complex option all of the time – because I firmly believe that a lot of times the simpler option is the better option. But simple doesn’t mean cutting corners. Simple means concentrating the most important elements in the optimal method of delivery. If you start cutting corners, and think “oh, I’ll just do that later”, or “well I’ll go with the less optimal solution until I’m more comfortable”, you’ll never get to where you want to go. Success will mean sacrifice. My point is if you’re truly serious about your goals and vision, then make the decisions that will get you there – if you’re not going to make the optimal decision, don’t make it at all…but don’t settle for the second or third or fourth option. If you’re going to do something…if you want to do something…do it right the first time.

So we’ve seen that it’s essential to your success in business to define both where you want to go and how you’re going to get there. We’ve seen that defining how we’re going to get there means focusing on our customers. And we’ve seen that we need to take the time to plan, and take our goals and vision seriously. If we truly want to succeed, we can’t cut corners. We have to believe in where we’re going, and do the best we can with what we’re given to get there.

If we align our business strategy with our brand strategy, we’ll be one step closer to reaching our final destination.