When Crisis Looms, Make a Video!

In recent years, companies worldwide have implemented many branding techniques and strategies to create awareness and gain recognition. From television advertisements to newspaper ads and free samples, companies have continuously tried to communicate their superiority over other brands to consumers.

But what happens when a branding strategy goes wrong? Past mishaps in branding have led to information leaks and plummeting stocks. If a branding strategy goes from a process to a fiasco, what is a good way for companies to redeem the message they’re communicating to consumers?

Video Marketing and Brand Management Online, by Andreas Roell of Clickz.com, the largest resource of interactive marketing news, information, commentary, advice, opinion, research, and reference, shares an idea that will help spread the message to the masses—online video. According to the article, online videos are the best way for marketers to reach consumers, especially when word needs to be spread quickly!

According to the article, these are the top reasons why online videos can ease branding mishaps:

Video content drives news. Journalists and news outlets continue to cover and incorporate popular viral videos into their broadcasts. If marketers post a video in response to a crisis or release a brand-flattering video, they can potentially generate news online that could translate into primetime broadcast coverage.

Search engines can pick up the video. If there's video content posted on the aggregators about your brand, it will be included in search results. Marketers have a better chance of reaching target audiences if they can get their video messages included in search results as it will be evermore important for advertisers to diversify their marketing efforts to attract user's attentions.

It's what people are watching. When it comes down to it, people watch videos online. A December 2007 study by Burst Media found that 76 percent of men and 67 percent of women watch online videos. By spreading pertinent brand messages through online video, marketers have a chance of benefiting from the content being syndicated on other formats. If a marketer can get a message out through video, there's potential it will be distributed on iPods, homepages, mobile devices, and social networking sites. That's good coverage. Video posted on a brand's Web sites will arguably garner more attention than text.

Video goes viral. Every marketer wants their message to be what people are talking about, and utilizing video is a great way to reach this goal. Video is easily dispersed amongst peers and can be accessed and posted on a plethora of platforms. Online video also makes a nice side dish to any news story or blog posting. So if someone is commenting on your event (good or bad), it's easy to include your video along with that commentary. The idea here is to make it easy for others to get pass along your message for you.

After reading the advice from the article above, it is clear to see why companies should utilize this marketing avenue even if there isn’t a branding crisis looming overhead. The old adage “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” has lost it’s luster in today’s business world. Consumers now have higher expectations than ever before, and with so much competition most companies don’t have the luxury of not paying attention to social trends such as viral marketing. Out with the old and in with the new—fix it before it’s broken!

Keeping Corporate Bloggers Motivated is Worth the Effort!

Corporations worldwide are taking online corporate communications much more seriously than ever before. Companies are starting to rise up to the reality that people are now more connected than ever because of the Internet. Moreover, through the use of online social media such as Facebook, forums, and the blogosphere, people are connected to one another at an unprecedented rate. People are using online social media as a means to not only gather information, but to stay connected, seek out new products, keep up with the times, get advice, and much more.

The Internet has shifted a great deal of how people live on a daily basis and do business altogether. With more people sharing knowledge through forums and blogs, it is clear to see why ignoring online communications or what is being said about a company’s products, services and other goods online would lead companies to miss out on a multifaceted opportunity that could reach the masses, lead to a better brand image or name, garner more business, and lead to additional income.

According to a Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey, 58% of the US population, as of 2007, consults the Internet as their first source of information; the highest statistic of more traditional sources, such as professional advisers or newspapers and magazines. Although many corporations and small businesses have blogs as a form of external communication (about 89% according to GuideWireGroup.com), most companies face a problem with maintaining enthusiasm for blogging, and find encouraging adoption a hindrance; resulting in minimum blog use.

How do companies maintain enthusiasm for blogging and what can they do to motivate blogging? One suggestion from clickZ.com states that guidelines should be formulated and followed as any other policy to maintain blogging. Another suggestion from lifehack.org states that if you're running out of steam for blogging, the best way to get inspired, stay motivated and feel confident in your blogging is to engage in others' blogs read other posts and converse with others who post blogs.

Lorelle.wordpress.com gives us several ways to overcome the blogging slump including setting realistic goals that won't sabotage your efforts; as well as blogging about something that you really enjoy or found interesting.

If companies now are following a relationship-based approach to gaining business, then they should also utilize the blogosphere and other social media as a way to create and maintain relationships as any other traditional form.

Cohesive Global Branding Is a Must

In order for a company to flourish globally, it must communicate its brand messages taking into consideration the major markets in the world, according to a case study in Global Marketing and Advertising. The people who live in these markets are very different, with diverse values, which must be considered.

Not only are values often different; taste and trends usually vary by location. A local touch is sometimes added to appeal to each place. Brands are rarely standardized completely, but some things stay the same, such as the logo and brand name. Brands typically position themselves in a similar way around the world.

This rule applies in the online realm as well. Companies must strive for a cohesive branding approach, one that that promotes the brand uniformly, and yet is sensitive to local trends and culture. This caveat is to help companies avoid myopia when coming up with a marketing strategy. Ethnocentric approaches will surely not be accepted well, leading to decreased brand loyalty.