{"id":15511,"date":"2017-08-23T10:00:06","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T14:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdcontent.com\/blog\/?p=15511"},"modified":"2019-02-06T08:43:19","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T13:43:19","slug":"how-to-build-a-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/social-media\/how-to-build-a-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Build a Brand Without Creating a Riot"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the &#8220;easy&#8221; ways to get visibility for your brand online is to piggyback a trending topic. Online marketers often leverage trending hashtags on Twitter, repurpose news stories to cash in on audience attention or chime in on a current cultural question in a way that ties back to their products.<\/p>\n<p>All of that is fine.<\/p>\n<p>When done right, it helps you build brand culture and engage with consumers. But before you jump into those waters, make sure you know how to build a brand without alienating the market or turning consumers against you.<\/p>\n<p>[ctt template=&#8221;4&#8243; link=&#8221;ZAOm4&#8243; via=&#8221;yes&#8221; nofollow=&#8221;yes&#8221;]Learn to leverage trending topics and hashtags to engage consumers. #brandbuilding[\/ctt]<\/p>\n<h2>Avoiding the Point Where Politics Meets Trending<\/h2>\n<p>There&#8217;s a difference between what&#8217;s trending online and what&#8217;s trending politically, though sometimes the two meet in what invariably becomes a Web brawl played out across media blogs and Twitter posts. For many brands, that central clashing point in the diagram is to be avoided. Here&#8217;s why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Politically hot topics may garner attention, but there are a lot of people crowding the stage. What little awareness you can get for your brand may not be worth the risk.<\/li>\n<li>Trending politics tend to evoke raw emotions from those who follow or respond to it online, which doesn&#8217;t always translate into conversion or even good will for your brand.<\/li>\n<li>When emotions are running high, it&#8217;s too easy to step slightly outside someone&#8217;s perception of where the lines are, and tagging along for the hashtag trend could quickly turn into a nightmare PR situation for your company.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/18\/newsjacking-101-crafting-killer-content-with-news\/\">Newsjacking 101: Crafting Killer Content with News<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Staying Safe to Build a Brand Online<\/h2>\n<p>While most brands may want to steer clear of content cocktails that feature a mix of trending and political, choosing one or the other as a consistent foundation isn&#8217;t always a bad thing. Brands that play up fun, trending elements online take the safest of the two routes, though you should never underestimate the power of fandoms. If you&#8217;re going to join in as a way to build a brand online, make sure you&#8217;re <em>part<\/em> of the fandom and not preaching to the fandom from an outside soapbox.<\/p>\n<p>How do you do that?<\/p>\n<p>Consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/social\/infographic-13-essential-tools-for-surviving-a-zombie-outbreak\">REI&#8217;s Zombie Survival Gear infographic<\/a>. The brand, which sells adventure and camping gear, jumps on The Walking Dead wagon with this clever content piece. It works especially well because REI incorporates both realistic gear and a clear understanding of zombie fandom, even creating a recommended research list containing links to the show and other books and comics on zombies.<\/p>\n<p>On the other side of the diagram are brands that are consistently political, and not necessary only in a trending way. These brands choose a cause or political vision, and they stand behind it at all times; sometimes the product or mission itself is political in nature. Other times, the founder just has a very specific outlook and is happy with maintaining a customer base of like thinkers.<\/p>\n<p>Often, this type of branding becomes outreach or philanthropic in nature, such as TOMS giving away shoes for every purchase made. Historically, this is where &#8220;politics&#8221; stopped with most brands, and it&#8217;s still the safe area for those that don&#8217;t want to risk alienating potential customers.<\/p>\n<p>[ctt template=&#8221;4&#8243; link=&#8221;CPE82&#8243; via=&#8221;yes&#8221; nofollow=&#8221;yes&#8221;]Take risks when building your brand, but know when not to cross the line. [\/ctt]<\/p>\n<h2>How to Build a Brand By Taking Risks<\/h2>\n<p>Of course, safe and slow isn&#8217;t always the way to win the race, and some brands <em>do<\/em> want to take risks and shake things up. Brand strategist Gareth Fox even says many <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@G23Fox\/this-rise-of-brand-activism-and-backlash-marketing-3486bde7fc20\">consumers want brands to get more political<\/a>. If you plan to build your brand online with a political bent, here are some tips to keep out out of the middle of a virtual riot:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Work with or hire someone with political branding expertise. It&#8217;s not enough to know what&#8217;s trending: you need someone who can help you predict the response to certain messages so you know when your brand can get involved without risking everything.<\/li>\n<li>Incorporate political polling into your market research. If you&#8217;re going to champion a cause for your audience, ensure it <em>really is <\/em>a cause for your audience.<\/li>\n<li>Be sincere. Brands that engage in backlash marketing just to get a cut of the pie are typically found out by the market. One thing the internet does seem to agree on: it doesn&#8217;t like brand fakery.<\/li>\n<li>Always be prepared for the response. Taking up a political cause <em>will<\/em> alienate someone, so do the marketing research to ensure your brand won&#8217;t lose more than it gains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Unless your brand <em>is politics<\/em>, remember that political stances should take a back seat to the ultimate goal of your business, which is likely serving or providing for customers in some way. If you&#8217;re so embroiled in a riot related to current events, fandoms or any other emotion-heavy topic, you can&#8217;t serve your customers or even engage them in the best possible manner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the &#8220;easy&#8221; ways to get visibility for your brand online is to piggyback a trending topic. Online marketers often leverage trending hashtags on Twitter, repurpose news stories to cash in on audience attention or chime in on a current cultural question in a way that ties back to their products. All of that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":15533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Build a Brand Without Creating a Riot - Crowd Content - Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to build a brand using a combination of politics and trending topics. 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