Your Brand: A Love Story

There are people who use a phone, and there are people who carry their phone like a badge of honor. There are people who drink coffee, and there are people whose coffee cup is an extension of their self. There are people who drive a car to get from point A to point B, and there are people for whom their hood ornament is crest they’re proud to bear.

What’s the difference? It all comes down to love.

The love story between the world’s most popular brands and their customers starts just like any other: it’s a story of people coming together over shared passions.

You see, today’s social media era has stripped away the barriers that once separated companies from their customers. Whereas yesterday’s traditional media outlets maintained tyrannical control over the flow of information and ideas, social media has paved the way for a genuine exchange of two-way communication.

In this new paradigm, the public has no affection for the face of corporate America. Instead, today’s customers expect the companies they do business with to be human and to exhibit all of the qualities inherent in human relationships – transparency, respect, conscientiousness, kindness, trust, generosity and the like.

As a result, to succeed in this brave new world of business, you must stop relating to your customers as a company and start relating to them on a human level.

Here are four key principals to humanize your company and build a brand your customers will fall in love with:

Open the dialog.

Social media is your means to bridge the gap between the market and the masses. But of course, it’s not enough just to be present on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like. You must be an active participant in the communities where your tribe lives, and you must mold your participation in ways that humanize your brand and break through the barriers to gaining trust.

You must put as much effort into listening and responding as you do into putting your own content out into the world. You must prove that you serve at the pleasure of your customers, not the other way around.

For example, on Twitter, it’s a good idea to allow trusted employees to have individual accounts that they can use to respond to customers on the company’s behalf, as opposed to maintaining a singular universal company brand account without a name or face attached to it.

Also, consider hosting chats, forums or webinar sessions where customers and colleagues in the industry can log in and connect with your company in real time, creating an environment of open communication and fostering feelings of trust and likability.

Commit and admit.

Nothing earns trust in human relationships more than sincerity and the willingness to admit when you’re wrong.

The relationship between your company and its customers is no different. To survive in today’s 24/7 world of accessibility and accountability, you must commit to 100 percent transparency.

That pledge is easy to uphold when times are good. When you’re proud of the things you and your employees are doing, it’s a pleasure to speak openly about them.

But you also must be willing to publicly accept responsibility when you fall short, make a mistake or fail to satisfy a customer. More importantly, you must take the initiative to make concrete changes that will set you apart from competitors that are content to languish in the status quo of corporatism.

Starbucks is a shining example of this customer-centered commitment to transparency. Whenever a customer is displeased, no matter the reason, they are either given a gift certificate for their next visit or their order is remade on the spot with no questions asked. By adopting this policy of open communication, Starbucks has created a strong sense of community and respect where customers feel their voices are heard and their business is appreciated – and, in turn, they reward the company with their undying loyalty and evangelism.

Pull back the curtain.

When it comes to relating to customers, company owners can no long play the role of the great and powerful Oz, tucked away safely behind the curtain of PR flacks who run interference to preserve some carefully polished (if somewhat phony) image.

By allowing greater accessibility, the company CEO can easily become the friendly face of the brand.

Perhaps the epitome of infusing personality into the promotion of products are the dynamic duo of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield – the masterminds behind Ben & Jerry’s. The company’s about page relates the “long, strange dip” of two very real people from humble beginnings who became a worldwide ice cream success story. They’re hardly your typical buttoned-up, suit-and-tie-clad CEOs, but they are 100 percent authentic, and their customers recognize and reward their lack of pretense or posturing.

Surround yourself with a trustworthy (and trust-building) team.

The responsibility for putting a good face on the company isn’t relegated to the C-suite; it’s up to every employee to gain and maintain the trust of the customer.

When you can show that it’s not just the owner or the board of directors or the marketing department that toe the company line but that every single employee at every level of the company stands for the same set of core values, your customers will respond favorably and be inspired to become an advocate for your brand.

Many savvy companies that have embraced this new reality have adopted an open-door policy to using social media. Whole Foods Market is a great example of this community-minded, team-based approach. The entire company, along with its employees, take an active role in promoting environmental and humanitarian causes via social media networks. As a result, Whole Foods’ customers value not only the products they sell but the people behind the brand, and in turn, they do what they can to help promote a company with a conscience that puts people ahead of profits.

It's a Snap! 5 Easy Ways to Click With Customers on Instagram

Everyone knows the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But these days, when it comes to promoting your company, a picture can be worth a thousand likes (and purchases), too.

Instagram, the free photo-sharing app, is proving to be a huge moneymaker for brands ranging from the notoriously social-savvy Starbucks to local mom-and-pop eateries. This fast-growing phenomenon has amassed a staggering 80 million-plus users, making it an opportune vehicle for businesses of all sizes and in all markets to bring new eyes their products.

While social media as a source of self-promotion is certainly nothing new, Instagram does put a new spin on it with its streamlined interface that’s comprised solely of photos, captions and comments. By jumping into the Instagram fray, you can introduce your products to new audiences via an ongoing dialog of digital images.

With that in mind, here are five winning ways to make Instagram work for your brand:

1. Promote with pizzazz.

When it comes to getting your brand out there, creativity is what clicks.

Instagram – with its toolbox of retro-hipster filters – is a fun, funky platform by its very nature, so go for quirky, out-of-the-box snapshots that will set your products apart and reflect the unique personality of your brand. In the absence of copy and marketing frills to convince customers to buy, strategically snap artsy and interesting images, and use this app to attract customers that will respond to your rare whimsy.

Starbucks (@starbucks) is a perfect example of this strategy, posting fun photos with flair, from close ups of their coffees shot from artistic angles to downright hilarious moments captured of actual baristas mugging (pun intended) for the cameras as they make espresso magic.

2. Add incentive.

One of the best ways to grow your brand’s following on Instagram is hold contests where you reward participants who share photos of your products with prizes in the form of free merchandise.

Chobani (@chobani), a Greek yogurt brand, is just one example of how this contest strategy can be highly successful. They gained a loyal fanbase of over 9,000 “Chobaniacs” in a matter of mere weeks by offering a free customized case of yogurt to the winners of their weekly Instagram photo submission contests, catapulting the brand from a little-known to a must-have in the process.

3. Elevate your followers.

Whether it’s through a photo-of-the-day feature or simply by offering an open forum for all to freely share their product-related images, by shining a spotlight on your followers, you’ll make your customers feel like an integral part of your brand family.

One brand that has excelled at this strategy is Free People (@freepeople). By encouraging their customers to post and tag photos of themselves in their favorite Free People outfits, the company has seen a huge boost in both website traffic and sales.

4. Get hashtag happy.

Hashtags, when deployed judiciously, can be an powerful tool for effective Instagram marketing.

By posting photos captioned with specific discounts or special offers, Instagram hashtags can be used in a manner similar to Twitter as a way to capture search traffic and to track which of your promotions (and their coinciding images) are generating the hottest buzz.

Asics America (@asics) is just one company that's harnessing the hashtag hype on Instagram, from encouraging fans to tag photos from their runs with #ASICS to promoting the brand-sponsored LA Marathon event to plugging contests like their Asics-inspired Ford Mustang giveaway.

5. Foster familiarity.

Cheers – the long-running sitcom about a bar where everyone knows your name –captures an essential truth: people want to have a sense of camaraderie with those they do business with, and Instagram is the ideal platform to cultivate that community vibe between your brand and its fans.

For a great example of this approach, look to Whole Foods Market (@wholefoodsmarket). Whole Foods gives their Instagram followers a backstage pass, pulling back the curtain and posting more intimate images with a personable feel. Whether it’s snippets from a staff birthday party, an annual Christmas card-style photo complete with ugly sweaters, or a silly snap of a customer service clerk cracking up with her customers, Whole Foods certainly knows how to build relationships with its followers through the magical medium that is Instagram.