14. Brand Narrative.

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S T O R I E S

F R I E N D S

A U T H E N T I C I T Y

C O M M U N I T Y

O P I N I O N S

E X P L O R A T I O N

M A S S M E D I A

A D V E R T I S I N G

D I R E C T

M A R K E T I N G

33 34

The

cano

py re

pres

ents

the

coun

tless

ways the core story is retold and re-interpreted, spreading outwards in unpredictable directions.E

ach

indi

vidu

al b

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h an

d leaf is

a new way of telling the story, but all are connected to the core story, the trunk.

59 60

Allow your ‘social managers’ to say whatever

the hell they feel like, treating your brand’s social

channel like an extension of themselves.

Post irrelevant drivel and cryptic nonsense.

Let your social channel be dominated by a small

clique of noisy, unhelpful followers.

Treat your social media channel like just another

customer service phone line.

Assume that consumers find your advertising copy

and press releases as fascinating as you do.

Cram your channel with product announcements

and money-off schemes.

Beg for more followers, or votes or whatever. Boast

about follow numbers and focus heavily on this as a

metric of value.

Link to every single positive review of your product,

day after day, without context.

Post an RT every time your brand gets mentioned.

Ignore media storms and memes as if they aren’t

happening, no matter what the ensuing outcry.

Hire cheap, inexperienced ‘social’ staff, on the basis

that only young people can understand social media.

Use a bunch of different blogger voices, most of

which sound like bad youth advertising voice-

overs from the 1990s.

S O C I A L M A R K E T I N GCreate a single authoritative voice that’s consistent

with your brand.

Deliver a pathway to great content, at least once

a day. Provide entertainment.

Monitor all the stats. Not just who’s following

but who is Retweeting, how many are landing

on commercial real estate and how much you’re

selling as a direct result of your actions.

Offer pathways to the accounts of personable

employees, whose Tweets correspond with the

goals of the brand’s.

Highlight advertising content in the context of an

editorial angle or consumer POV. ‘The Story of Our

Campaign’ or ‘Responses to Our New Ad’.

Make brand leaders have their say, as often as

possible. Get managers out there.

Link to genuinely good third party content, not

just anything that seems to be positive.

Respond to memes about your brand, as quickly

and thoughtfully as possible.

Understand that you are a leader, not a follower. You

are special, not just another social account holder.

Deal with customer complaints and enquiries in

an appropriate fashion. Don’t confuse customer

service with content marketing.

Staff your media channel with experienced leaders

who understand your core brand story, the media,

and completely get your commercial goals.

Use an authoritative brand voice that consumers

will respond to and respect.

S O C I A L M A R K E T I N G

14. Brand Narrative.

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Transcript of 14. Brand Narrative.