What is more effective for social media, subtle or bold? Is it determined by a brand’s overall personality? Or, is the opposite use of social media to brand personality just as effective?

Here are several examples of social media use comparing approach to brand personality.

Social Media Guru 1:

ellenlogoEllen DeGeneres has gotten a lot of press on her use of social media marketing and relationship tactics to connect with her audience. Her personality is far from quiet and this is what really makes her show. Her audience is just as vibrant and responds extremely well. Looking at her Facebook page it is active, dynamic, and this morning she had 728,859 fans. Her Twitter profile has 480,722 followers. There is nothing subtle in her use of social media or the promotion of it to drive engagement.

Social Media Guru 2:

appleIn contrast, another social media powerhouse is Apple. Not only are they at the center of enabling social media through their products and services, but they are experts in its use. However, instead of directly connecting on a massive scale, they heavily rely on the mouths and loyalty of their fans. They’ve created a cult that waits on every word they release and it goes viral in nanoseconds. Yet, no one can dispute that Steve Jobs is charismatic or quiet in his position as both the business leader and evangelist.

Social Media Guru 3:

emcEMC took a bold step in social media with the hiring of personal branding expert Dan Schawble. Their community consists of blogs, forums, and social media links within their websites. Their strategy plays into all interested parties: customers, partners, industry analysts, press, and investors. Their social media vehicles are pervasive across various delivery venues from blogging, micro blogging, video, and photos. While different from the Ellen show and Apple in the fact that it is a business-to-business marketing effort, the fact is they are more subtle in their brand as a company, and their integration of social media into the marketing mix is mature and seamless reflecting this more understated marketing strategy, though no less effective.

As you begin to shift your marketing mix from traditional to social media, how are you thinking about the connection of your brand personality to your use of social media?




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