The Currency of Branding

Tajdar O. Chaudry

I was going through my Facebook messages today when I came across something that majorly “irked” me. Im an avid reader of this local publication called The Fourth Article, so as social media commands, I’m a part of their group on Facebook too. I got a Facebook alert on my Blackberry and I unassumingly opened what was a message from the community only to find an adolescently misguided girl talking about her “new line of designer handbags”. What came next resembled (in my head) a corporate takeover of biblical proportions. This “girl” somehow got hold of admin status on the Facebook group and proceeded to remove all other admins, changed the name of the group to her that of her own brand and started advertising her product line to the unassuming 300+ members of the group.

This is just a fine example of the lengths brands will go to, to promote themselves. While these tactics might be lauded in smaller more shrewd circles for their business acumen back in the day, the global chain has grown extensively since then and an example of this sort might get you shunned out almost instantaneously. Gone are the times when brands dictated to their consumers and those of one-way communication channels. The consumer today, is key, and the worst part for brands is that they “know” how important they are, entering into the brand psyche a certain set of rules & regulations that would now make the consumer more perceptive and less annoyed.

Branding methodology and its transition into social mediums has been marred by conflicts & celebrated with conquests. The key components to their successful campaigns might’ve been great viral value, innovate marketing tactics and great packaging, but when it came time to exchange cash with their consumers, the brands dealt in “credibility”. The more currency a brand had to pass around, the more consumers it attracted. This currency is one that holds true for personal branding as well and the example mentioned earlier along the same guidelines would make for a great Naukri.com advertisement!

Credibility, in the Google age, is the only term that collaborators, employers and consumers understand. When dealing with consumers in specific, be they interested in your personal or corporate brand, there are a set of guidelines which you should abide by or risk losing your clientele. Consumers aren’t a flock of sheep to be passed around from brand to brand. Identify & understand your market first and open up a communication channel with them, teach & learn all at the same time. Only on interaction with you will your consumers ever trust and rely on you and your services and/or products. Back words up with action and produce results; that’s always another good way to earn their appreciation, respect and trust. Portray a certain amount of aptitude and you will automatically see your corporate and consumer network growing effortlessly.

The bottom line here is that with the evolution of technology and its impact on the way that the human race now communicates, brands are adapting and following suit. There’s not much to say about the ones that stay stuck in their ways, because honestly each new day ushers the birth and death of brands. The ones that fizzle out are hardly heard of in this great talkative global conference room. The ones that survive have served a certain amount paying their dues before their services are heralded and credibility pays a vital role in their success.

As always, thank you for your patronage and if you’ve found this post to be educational or feel like a friend would enjoy reading this as well, please take a moment and share.

Content Marketing in the Digital Age

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Tajdar O. Chaudry

I’ll bet there’re a lot of times that you’ve been sitting, staring at those bills and wondered if you could ever earn money by just read more