A winning social media strategy for Brands

UHere’s the theory: Brands feel so insecure about spreading awareness through social media that they resort to “loud” methods such as plastering their message and logo in ads, social applications, and other promotional vehicles.   This post is about what I’ve observed to be a very successful social media strategy where a brand builds a social application but employs subtle tactics in getting their brand “out there”.

Take a look at the Facebook application Parking Wars.  482,000 monthly active users – not bad.  The owner?  A&E television.  I wasn’t even sure what the connection between the two was until I read the description but I *think* that was the point.  The logo is planted fairly lightly on the About Page of the application and when you add the app, you’ll notice that apart from the logo in the heading and a small promotion of another TV show in the corner, that’s about the only branding they do.

The non-intrusive stance taken in the design and deployment of this app is the reason the application is as successful as it is.  It’s possible the number of daily active users has trickled over the months since it was initially launched but still admirable for how it has held on considering the category of it’s proprietor A&E.

In contrast, Target and Coke joined forces to create an application called Target and Coke Virtual Dorm.  6500 monthly active users (the application is fairly new) but not in a position to succeed (other than by brute force promotion on the ad networks such as Rock You or SocialMedia.  A couple of problems:

• The About Page looks like a page out of a retailer circular – that is a turn OFF
• The application itself makes you feel like you feel like there is a catch when you’re using it.

The fact is: social networking “users” (read: people) have brand radars in their heads and just do not like brands meddling with their experience.  While brands aim to get eyeballs in front of their logo, users actually repel from these initiatives.  Better that a brand simply sponsor an application by almost being out of the way with a logo in the corner or on specific pages.