The Importance of Building Brand Reputation in Today’s Social World
A Guest Post By Jason Mollica
We’ve seen in recent months, and even in the last few years, just how bad things can get for brands on social media. Remember CelebBoutique’s tweet about Aurora trending on Twitter? How about DiGiorno not paying attention to a trending topic and getting in a ton of hot water? This is all part of the importance of having a concrete plan for a brand’s social networks. If you don’t have a plan, you’re going to fail on Facebook and Twitter.
On Wednesday, Nov. 5th at 8 p.m. EST, I’ll be a guest as Prof. Breakenridge moderates an NYU Public Relations and Social Media Twitter chat on the Reputation Task Force. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a number of great teams as we’ve built and maintained the reputation of brands on social networks. It’s not something that happens overnight, though.
For example, whenever you are looking to sustain your brand on social media, you need to find people that will stand behind you during the good and the bad. These are folks we call “champions.” They’ll be the people that will appropriately defend you when you are criticized. These followers will also be the ones that support you and talk about your brand when it’s going well.
While it’s great to have people not officially connected to your brand on your side, it’s also very important to have internal champions. They know the culture of the company and can speak to topics that an outsider would not know. For example, Marvel, the folks behind Captain America and Iron Man, have a digital media director. Ryan Penagos oversees the entire social presence for the “Marvel Universe.” However, there are people that also work at Marvel that are champions for the brand internally. These individuals tweet positive news and information. But, Marvel depends on their loyal fans to tweet, share, and post on Facebook about the latest Avengers movie or even a new comic book series.
During the chat we’ll discuss why champions are important, what are some of the ways companies can build their reputation online, and why it takes so long to build a brand, only to have it damaged by a 140-character tweet.
If you have questions before the chat, you can find me on Twitter, @JasMollica. Use your class hashtag (#NYUPRSM) when you ask. I can’t wait to “see” all of you on Nov. 5!
Jason Mollica is the president of JRMComm, a public relations and social media marketing consultancy, located in a suburb of Buffalo, N.Y. He combines knowledge of the broadcast news industry, traditional public relations expertise, and today’s new and innovative social media tools to assist client in maximizing their full potential. Follow him on Twitter and check out his blog.
