Social Media as a Branding Tool

One of the key principles of branding is reinforcing the brand in the minds of target consumers. No matter how big brands become, they need to have a continuous media presence to reinforce the key attributes of the brand,its differentiators etc. This is an ongoing exercise and only those with deep pockets can afford this. Everybody is familiar with Coke,IBM,McDonald's etc.and what they stand for. However,to maintain "top of the mind awareness" they must be "seen" everywhere. Social media has emerged as a cost effective and potent medium to help build brands.Once it is identified which platforms your target consumers are on, a conversation can be done to first, establish a relationship with them in accordance with the marketing objectives and this can be pursued to reinforce by having a wide presence across various platforms.One of the advantages of using social media as compared to traditional media is that you reach out to your target customers better,once you post a link its always there ( anything that is posted on the wen stays on the web FOREVER)for your consumers to see and there is flexibility to see and respond to the conversation/comments. Although in a nascent stage, social media will emerge as a potent tool for branding.