Social networking is here to stay and if you want to stay in business you had better learn to proactively manage it. It involves more than setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account, it involves searching, responding, and making sure there are positive things said about you on the web. It also involves employee training so rules are defined before a problem occurs.
Social Media
Social Brand Visibility: Gowalla, Mobile Web
Founded in 2007, and launched in 2009, this Austin Texas Company is the brain child of Josh Williams and Scott Raymond. It is a competitor to Foursquare and had a similar launch. Foursquare took off immediately and now Gowalla is catching up with them.
Brand Marketing, not Brand Advertising! Difference?
Marketing is the strategy with how the brand is utilized, this can be anything from placement to targeting. This is different from advertising, as advertising is part of marketing execution.
Picking the Right Social Network for your Brand
As for internet visibility, or digital brand as it is being called now, 2010 proved, without a doubt, the power of the social network. Facebook just passed Google in the number of hits per day. People are using the internet to connect and be connected more than they use it to perform searches.
What is Advertising in comparison to Branding?
The Brand is an experience in “an emotional economy, success is judged by a profound and indelible connection with people through sensory experiences” (Gobé, 2007), if you build a brand around the product alone then you will have missed the opportunity to build a genuine brand. The intangibles are as important, and in some services more important than the tangibles in branding.
Apps and Sites to help Businesses Manage Social Media Branding
Apps are very popular. As of 2009, iPhone users downloaded more than 2 billion apps through iTunes which has more than 85,000 apps for sale. From apps that let you find your car in a crowded parking lot, or alert you when you are getting low on gas, to apps that help you maintain your digital brand from your smartphone.