There’s nothing more annoying to me than going online and searching for my favorite brands on Facebook or typing in what might be a logical URL for the brand on Twitter and NOT finding my brand there!

OUCH!!!!

Further, it’s doubly annoying when you go to a preferred brand website and don’t see any way to connect socially with the brand:

Am I missing something here???

Brand managers need to empower their brand loyalists with the right destinations, experience, tools and content in social media. When brands neglect to participate in social media, they miss a major opportunity for awareness and ultimately sales.   The more touch points and positive experiences that you provide your loyalists, the greater the opportunity for positive word of mouth and content to spread about your brand.

So how do you empower loyalists?  Here are a couple of conceptual tips to getting started on motivating your brand in social media and making sure that your loyalists do some talking for you:

1. Create Destinations: Give your brand loyalists a place to congregate. If you have not yet set up a Facebook page for your brand, consider doing so. If you are not tweeting your brand, think about whether you should start. Create exclusivity and reward the loyalists and let them mingle amongst each other to share experiences around your brand.
2. Provide Ammunition: Empower loyalists with tools to help spread your brand message. Optimize your website experience for social media. This can be tools, buttons, or other social integrations that allows users to share, comment, review, save and interact on and off your site. Deliver a seamless user experience for those active social users who come to your brand site and want to bring their social experience with them.
3. Display Creativity: Show brand loyalists that you are creative. Come up with remarkable creative content and awareness campaigns that wow your existing loyalists and inspire them to continue to spread the word.  Don’t try to sell. Cater to their “joy points.” Provide solid content to your users and give them the social food they need to continue the dialogue for you.
4. Affect Service: Your loyalists will have questions.  Be there to answer them promptly. They’ll talk about that. It will pay you back.
5. Display Confidence: Don’t fear the haters. Haters and trolls will minimize themselves and look silly. If you believe in your brand/product and it’s second to none, you have nothing to fear.

In today’s world it’s important for brand managers to think differently. Think organic and think of talking WITH your loyalists rather than TO your loyalists. It takes a lot of effort and pain to step out of the usual marketing mindset where brands consistently push messages out to loyalists through traditional platforms like the brand/corporate website, email and catalogs, and spread brand messaging through TV/cable, print, radio and other forms of advertising. You’ll have to harness departments including PR, Marketing and Agency. It’s not simple, and it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

The customer and your loyalists are in control now and you should use this to your advantage. They are ready to be your mouthpiece so long as you provide them the destinations, the tools, materials and outlets to execute on it.  Harness the power of your existing brand loyalists and you’ll be impressed with the positive results.

Note: In fairness to Porsche, they have a pretty strong following on Facebook.

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