Until a few years ago, brands had just a few caretakers who really only had to worry about the press and media when it came to addressing positive and negative public opinion. But today, social media has given individual customers a phenomenal public platform to make themselves heard in a very powerful way. That means brands are struggling to make sense of all kinds of voices across social media and to manage the messages put out by the host of de facto brand managers who are now in a position to make a major impact on a company’s marketing. In this eBook, Todd Wilms, Head of Social Business Strategy for SAP and Bryan Kramer, President/CEO at PureMatter present:

1. Defending and Enhancing
your Brand on Social Media
FEATURING
TODD WILMS
HEAD OF SOCIAL
BUSINESS STRATEGY
AT SAP
BRYAN KRAMER
PRESIDENT/CEO AND
SOCIAL STRATEGIST
AT PUREMATTER
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CONTENTS
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Introduction
TODD WILMS,
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF
SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING AT SAP
Page 3: The New Rules of Engagement
Chapter One: Brand Management and Social Media:
Pitfalls and Potential
@toddmwilms
Page 4: A Tale of Two Tweets
Page 5: Pre-Social vs Post-Social: The Customer Speaks…Loudly
Page 7: Who Really Owns Your Brand?
Chapter Two: Reactive PR Crisis Management
Page 8: FedEx Case Study: Making it Right When You Get it Wrong
Is Your Team Ready to Respond?
Page 9: The Right Way to React
Page 10: Taking a Page from the Military Playbook
Page 11: Putting Your Best Foot Forward to Move On
Chapter Three: Proactive Brand Management
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
12: Four Ways to Make Social Media Work for You
13: Listen More than You Talk
14: nderstand Social Influence
U
15: Build Communities
16: umanize Your Brand
H
17: Social Media: A Brand’s Best Friend
Key Takeaways
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CONTENTS
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
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www.purematter.com

3. CHAPTER 1
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Introduction
The New Rules of Engagement
Todd Wilms, Head of Social Business Strategy for SAP, recently sat down with Bryan Kramer, President/
CEO at PureMatter, to talk about the new rules for brand management through social media. Todd is
featured on Forbes.com, speaks on the topic at universities and corporate forums, and has gained social
attraction around the world. Bryan was recently named one of the Top 50 Social CEOs on Twitter by the
Huffington Post and regularly speaks on the topic around the country.
TODD WILMS,
HEAD OF SOCIAL
BUSINESS STRATEGY
AT SAP
Until a few years ago, brands had just a few caretakers who really only had to worry about the press
and media when it came to addressing positive and negative public opinion. But today, social media has
given individual customers a phenomenal public platform to make themselves heard in a very powerful
way. That means brands are struggling to make sense of all kinds of voices across social media and to
manage the messages put out by the host of de facto brand managers who are now in a position to
make a major impact on a company’s marketing.
@toddmwilms
In this eBook, Todd and Bryan present defensive strategies to deploy through social media when things
go wrong, and then show how brands can go on the offensive and actually enhance their brand and
their credibility through social media. Filled with real world examples as well as tried and true tactics,
you will see that you don’t need a big team or a big budget to manage your brand and make social
media work for you — but you do need to know the new rules of engagement.
BRYAN KRAMER,
PRESIDENT/CEO AND
SOCIAL STRATEGIST
AT PUREMATTER
@bryankramer
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CONTENTS
|
INTRO
|
CHAPTER 1
|
CHAPTER 2
|
CHAPTER 3
www.purematter.com | 3
www.purematter.com

4. CHAPTER 1
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Brand Management and Social Media: Pitfalls and Potential
@celebboutique
Tale of Two Tweets
“#Aurora
is trending,
clearly about
our Kim K
inspired
#Aurora
dress :)
Social media has provided companies of all sizes with an incredible platform to make their brand
known to an engaged and broad but qualified audience. Of course, that becomes a two-edged sword
very quickly when the “microphone” gets in the wrong hands. Twitter gives us great examples on a
regular basis of how brands can make missteps in a very public forum and things go sideways in a very
big way. What’s important is how those brands choose to address the issue after the fact. Let’s take
last summer’s shooting tragedy in Aurora, CO as an example. Two very different brands inadvertently
tweeted shortly after the incident and wound up with very different outcomes.
“We are
incredibly
sorry for our
tweet about
#Aurora. Our PR is
NOT US based and had
not checked the reason for
the trend.”
– Celeb Boutique, in response
to backlash about their
post-shooting tweet
On one end of the spectrum you have the NRA, which owned up to the unfortunate coincidence of their
automated tweet, apologized and was able to move forward with little backlash. Celeb Boutique, on
the other end, offered a pretty backhanded apology for their tweet and essentially blamed it on their
out of touch, out of country PR firm. People took umbrage with that and the Celeb Boutique brand,
which creates celebrity-inspired couture, still has not recovered as a result. When thousands of people
have the ability to tweet or promote themselves as part of a brand in some way, shape or form, even
well-intentioned companies can fall flat. These two tweets point to the fact that acknowledging the
circumstance quickly and in the right way is incredibly important to a brand’s vitality, and here’s why.
@NRA
“Who’s ready
for some
hunting?”
“We apologize
for our tweet and
acknowledge that it
was insensitive given
the nature of the issue
with Aurora.”
– The NRA, in response to the
automated tweet that was
broadcast the day after
the shooting
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CONTENTS
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
|
CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
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5. CHAPTER 1
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Pre-Social vs Post-Social: The Customer Speaks…Loudly
Pre-social brand influence
There’s no question that social media has completely revolutionized how much attention consumers
can garner when they express their views about a brand, be they positive or negative,. Before
blogs, Facebook, Twitter and the like, if customers had an issue with a brand, they were typically
below the awareness threshold. That’s the areas indicated in brown on the diagram and it refers
to where customers need to be on the continuum in order to get the attention of an executive
or a decision-maker. Using breakfast cereal as an example, these are the options consumers
typically used to voice their displeasure before social media.
Angst and Irritation: “I can’t stand this brand anymore, this cereal is just awful.” The
customer is really the only one feeling this way and at this level it’s just a personal
issue for him.
Vote with your wallet: “Well, I’m not going to buy that breakfast cereal
anymore.” This is effective on a personal level because the customer is making
a difference for himself. The problem is that he is really not impacting the
brand in any way at all.
Communal annoyance: This is all about how the customer interacts with
his church, community, country club and other places where he gathers
and connects with peers. He might get a small movement of a few
like-minded people but executives for the brand are still not seeing
or feeling any of this displeasure. The best hope for getting an
executive’s attention is to rally enough people on a national or
global level to boycott the product or march against it. That’s the
red part at the top of the chart and, before social media, this is really
where a customer had to be in order to be heard and to make a difference.
Movement
Protest
Rally
Letter/
Op-Ed
Angst
Irritation
Communal
Annoyance
Vote
with
Wallet
Awareness Threshold
It used to be that a person had
to create a movement in order to
raise a protest, but social media
now allows any angry person with
a blog to protest publicly and be
heard at all levels of a company.
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
www.purematter.com | 5

6. CHAPTER 1
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Pre-Social vs Post-Social
Post-social brand influence
With the rise of social media, the awareness threshold has now dropped almost to the
bottom of the pyramid. There are so many things customers can do to really effectively
engage with decision makers, raise the level of debate and awareness around an issue
and really make a difference. They can start a blog. They can join an online community,
and one probably already exists for that hated brand of breakfast cereal. There’s a host
of social media channels customers can leverage which means that today, executives are
not just seeing the major protests, they are actually seeing when individuals vote with
their wallets and when those individuals are upset.
They’re seeing small movements of people expand to global forums and websites
dedicated to how much people dislike a particular brand. Smart companies know
that, by and large, this is invaluable information because it shows them at a
granular level how people are reacting to their brand and their products. Thanks
to social media, now it’s very easy and very effective to go in and raise the
level of debate with executives in a meaningful way that simply could not be
accomplished before.
Movement
Protest
Rally
Letter/
Op-Ed
Angst
Irritation
Communal
Annoyance
Vote
with
Wallet
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
www.purematter.com | 6

7. CHAPTER 1
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Who owns the brand
today, the company
or the customer?
Who Really Owns Your Brand?
Social media has absolutely put an incredibly interesting spin on the entire customer/company
dynamic. Today, what a customer tweets about a product, whether true or not, can hold more sway
than what the company says about it through a multimillion dollar advertising campaign. This new
reality is here to stay and keeping a few thoughts in mind can bring perspective to this paradigm shift
and make the transition a bit smoother.
TW Answers: It’s both the
consumer and company
that own it, and they share
equal responsibility. It’s
the responsibility of the
company to understand
what the consumer wants
and it’s up to the consumer
to voice what they want,
and the two of them need
to meet in the middle. There
will be a certain amount of
one way communication
that is not likely to ever
entirely go away just
because social media came
along. But more and more
smart brands are actually
going in and spending
more time doing social
listening and engaging with
audiences and asking them
what they want to hear.
n ith so many brand managers, official or otherwise, missteps are going to happen and with
W
greater frequency. How a company reacts will be remembered long after the mistake has been
forgotten.
n ocial has magnified the voice of the customer, which should be viewed as a positive. Rather
S
than making educated guesses about brand perception, the awareness threshold has dropped
considerably so companies have tangible evidence of what individuals and customer groups
really think, which informs future branding efforts.
n t is impossible to acknowledge every customer interaction, but each one must be valued.
I
Posts through social channels are the new “letter to the CEO” and present valuable
opportunities for a brand to listen and, if needed, to course correct.
Smart companies know that social media has put more cooks in the kitchen, if you will. They also
understand that, while it may be a new way of doing business, embracing the change will create
exciting opportunities to put forth their best, most authentic self and to utilize their expanded
team of brand advocates to grow exponentially.
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
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8. CHAPTER 2
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Do companies need
to train or put in
place brand crisis
management teams
for social?
Reactive PR Crisis Management
FedEx Case Study: Making it Right When You
Get it Wrong.
At some point in their life cycle, virtually every company will be
faced with a PR crisis of some kind. Social media has really
amplified corporate mistakes and it’s not uncommon for missteps
to be broadcast within hours or even minutes of their occurrence.
In these situations, the only option is to be reactive and to go on
the defensive in order to mitigate brand damage. Being in a
reactive position is certainly not ideal but within that space there
are a lot of choices to be made about what damage control looks
like. Thanks to the actions of one less than stellar employee, FedEx
has provided a great case study in reactive crisis management.
TW Answers: It’s not a
matter of putting teams in
place necessarily, but there
is a definite need for having
protocols and procedures
at the ready. Then when
a crisis happens there are
some smart people at
the helm and leadership
can say, “You’re going to
be the spokesperson and
we’re going to be the team
that helps you provide
the appropriate response.
Here’s what we’re going
to do from a service and
support perspective, here’s
what we’re going to do on
the web site, etc.” Creating
that war room mentality and
enabling people to make
smart decisions is all that is
needed to successfully react
in a crisis.
Last Christmas, people around the world were privy to video taken from a home security camera. It’s
gotten over 9 million views now and shows a FedEx deliveryman take a computer monitor and, instead
of ringing the bell, just throwing it over the wall. The important thing to note is that people watching
this video were likely not really looking at this individual but at what is prominently displayed in the
background; the FedEx truck. From a brand management standpoint, what was upsetting was that he
didn’t even ring the bell; had he done so he would have found that the package recipient was home. He
didn’t do anything but pick up the TV and throw it over the wall with complete disregard for the
experience he was creating for the customer, all with FedEx prominently displayed in the background.
FedEx could have responded to this issue in a number of ways to try to shift the blame. For example, they
could have accused UPS of playing a prank by dressing up one of their employees in a FedEx uniform as a
ploy to damage the company’s reputation during its peak season. Instead, they took the high road and
owned up to the problem.
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
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9. CHAPTER 2
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
The Right Way to React
Companies typically show what they are really made of in times of crisis and FedEx was no different in
this situation. Rather than trot out a slick PR professional or a smooth, fast-talking marketing person,
they had a spokesman from their operations department address the issue. He didn’t shift blame and he
didn’t tap dance. Instead, he followed the “Four B’s” of Crisis Communications:
Be humble. Some companies have a hard time owning up to their mistakes, even the very
obvious ones. But sincere humility goes a long way toward repairing a tarnished image and
regaining the trust of customers and the public in general.
Be real. This is not the time for corporate jargon and double-speak. Everyone makes mistakes
and companies who can admit they are part of that majority will weather the storm much
better than those who insist on maintaining a façade of perfection.
Be honest. Thanks to technology there’s a good chance the mistake was caught on
camera or audio so there is no point denying it happened. The best way to diffuse the
situation is to simply own up to it, which demonstrates integrity.
December 21st
Formal YouTube
Apology
Coverage slows
to a crawl
December 19th
Video hits YouTube
Be direct. Keep flogging out of the apology; the public will likely take care of that. Admit
to the issue, apologize for it and move on to how the problem will be remedied.
FedEx did a brilliant job of deploying the “Four B’s”, but they then followed up with critical,
meaningful action steps that are just as important. They didn’t just admit there was a problem, they
outlined how the problem was being fixed internally. Next, they did more than own the mistake, they
demonstrated they had learned from and were taking steps so that it would never be an issue again.
Finally, they remembered what is probably the most critical element in crisis communication; providing
people with a place to go for assistance. Whether it’s a web site, email address or phone number,
offering that touch point reserved specifically for those impacted by the problem demonstrates that the
company is available and that it cares about making things right with its constituents.
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
When the computer monitor toss
video went viral, FedEx stock
took a sharp dive. When their
sincere apology was made, it rose
slightly but took over 30 days
of no media coverage about the
incident to recover.
www.purematter.com | 9
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10. CHAPTER 2
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Taking a Page from the Military Playbook
The military does a fantastic job of
putting processes into place, but
they are not typically known for
their transparency. In the case of
managing social media postings,
however, the U.S. Air Force does
both quite well. This chart delivers
a very clear, thoughtful process for
assessing and responding (or not)
to online posts. It’s a great example
of military precision and offers
a decision tree that can easily
be adopted and adapted by any
company or organization.
Air Force Web Posting Response Assessment
Blog or Twitter Post
Has someone discovered a blog post
about SAP? Is it a positive post?
Discover
N
Y
Evaluate
“TROLLS”
Is this site dedicated to bashing
degrading others?
N
CONCUR
A factual well cited
response, which
may agree or
disagree w/post, yet
is not negative
“RAGER”
Is this post a rant, rage,
joke, ridicule or satirical?
MONITOR ONLY
Avoid responding /
monitor for relevant info
Y
N
“MISGUIDED”
Are there erroneous
facts in the post?
N
LET POST
STAND
No response
Y
Y
FIX THE FACTS
Respond w/factual info directly
(see blog response considerations below)
Y
RESTORATION
Rectify the situation, respond and act
upon a reasonable solution.
See blog response considerations below.
N
LET POST
STAND
No response
N
Y
“UNHAPPY CUSTOMER”
Is the post a result of a negative
experience from stakeholder(s)
Respond
N
SHARE SUCCESS
Proactively share your
story mission w/blog
FINAL EVALUATION
Base response on present
circumstances, influence and
prominence. Will you respond?
Y
Y
Considerations
TRANSPARENCY
Disclose your SAP
A liation
SOURCING
Cite your sources
by including links,
video, images,
other references
TIMELINESS
Take time to create
a good response –
24 hours maximum
Y
TONE
Respond in a tone
that reflects highly
on SAP
INFLUENCE
Focus on the most
influential blogs
related to SAP
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CHAPTER 1
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11. CHAPTER 2
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Putting Your Best Foot Forward to Move On
It is probably fair to say that PR crises keep a good many executives up at night… and just as many
PR professionals in business. Social media has created more opportunities for PR nightmares and it
has absolutely changed the way these issues are publicly exploited. It is that very shift that makes it
essential for companies of all sizes to assess their communication plan so they are as prepared as they
can possibly be.
n hinking your company is immune to a PR crisis is naïve. Have a solid plan in place so that
T
you’re prepared to effectively manage the situation from start to finish.
n ocial media demands getting in front of an issue immediately. The longer you wait the more
S
likely people are going to think you were spending that time “spinning” instead of being
authentic.
n hen it comes to effective crisis management, remember to be humble, be real, be honest and
W
be direct.
n his is not the time to bury your head in the sand or stay in the trenches while you work through
T
the issue. Be accessible to customers even in the worst of times.
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
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12. CHAPTER 3
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Proactive Brand Management
Four Ways to Make Social Media Work for You
Earlier, social media was referred to as a two-edged sword and up until now the focus has been on how
it can sometimes make life difficult for those who manage brands big and small. But the reality is that,
when leveraged strategically and proactively, social media can become a brand’s best friend.
First, companies need to view every employee and every customer as a brand advocate. If an
organization has 20,000 employees, that means it has 20,000 individuals who can talk on its behalf and
reach people that the brand as an entity, either through a PR agency or a central PR communications
organization, could never hope to reach. That presents a staggering and really exciting opportunity
when it comes to engaging and influencing people.
“ ne of the
O
great opportunities
with social media,
social marketing
and the whole
idea of social
commerce is that
now companies are
able to reach more
people in a more
effective way than
ever before.”
The next step is to get in front of this opportunity and utilize social to create fuller, more
engaging conversations with your audience. There are four really effective tactics that
companies can embrace to nurture these brand advocates with the goal of transcending
brand management and moving to a state of brand enhancement:
n
n
n
n
L
isten More Than You Talk
U
nderstand Social Influence
B
uild Communities
H
umanize Your Brand
Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these four areas to discover how they can create a
radical change in how companies exploit social media for their brand’s benefit.
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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CHAPTER 3
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13. CHAPTER 3
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
“ ake the megaphone
T
away from your
mouth and put it
to your ear.”
Listen More Than You Talk
This is one of the most basic tenants of good communication but it is one that people seem to forget
frequently. In the context of social media, companies and individuals have an opportunity to speak to a
large group so the natural tendency is to fall into the trap of self-promotion. Blogs are a great example
of this. Someone may put up a blog post that she thinks is pretty insightful or engaging. If the post
doesn’t take off the way she thinks it should, she may decide to give it a little boost, maybe by tweeting
about it. Instead, she should take a step back and think more objectively about the low response. Maybe
it’s not reaching the right audience for some reason. Maybe that audience didn’t exist in the first place.
Or, perhaps the piece just isn’t as smart and enlightening as she thought it was.
Companies that can listen first and talk second are much more successful in exploiting social media
in the long run. Open dialogue can only happen when you really listen to what customers are saying,
understand what is going on in the marketplace right now and respect people’s issues and what
they say they want to talk about. Whether it’s through blog posts, tweets or Facebook updates,
companies that talk more than they listen will find that their messages, no matter how compelling
they think they are, fall on deaf ears time and time again. Smart brands, however have learned
this important lesson and understand that true engagement can only happen when customers
believe their needs, interests and concerns are truly being honored.
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14. CHAPTER 3
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Understand Social Influence
Social influence is critical when it comes to promoting a brand and its message across social media
platforms. But this concept is about much more than boosting a Klout score; it’s about strategically
aligning with key stakeholders, individuals, analysts and even employees who have the influence to
move the needle of awareness in a positive direction for a brand.
For some companies, influence somehow seems like a dirty word and influencers are held at
arm’s length so that they can’t hold too much sway within an organization. In reality, these
influencers are critical brand ambassadors because tapping into their knowledge base
provides the most realistic picture of how others view a brand and what they like or don’t
like about it. Some influencers may have ulterior motives but by and large, these individuals
are really passionate about getting their voice heard within a particular space and are really
successful at doing just that.
Aligning with key influencers takes the notion of co-responsibility for managing a brand and
pushes it to the next level. How? By collaborating with and empowering them to steer and guide
the perception of a brand to important audience bases and through proven channels. This is not
a hands-off proposition by any means. But leveraging carefully curated influencers magnifies the
message of a brand and makes it more believable because it is coming from a third party rather than
from the company itself.
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15. CHAPTER 3
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
CHAPTER 3
Build Communities
In the era of social media, companies need to realize that conversations are going to happen whether
they want them to or not. In light of that reality, the best course of action is to embrace the communal
nature of social media, to use these platforms to let customers have their say and to respond accordingly.
Amazon is a great example of a company that allows customer conversations to take place without
utilizing a lot of filtering. Of course the obscenities and the rants need to be weeded out but for
the most part, Amazon lets customer comments stand as is. This is an incredibly smart strategy for
two reasons. First, it creates a level of trust because, rather than only allowing positive ratings and
comments about a product, which is clearly going to raise suspicions, less than stellar reviews are
including so people have a more accurate picture about the product. Second, allowing those unfiltered
comments creates a community unto itself; a safe harbor where like-minded customers can share their
opinions and know that they will be valued.
This community is an area where social media can really become one of the most important assets a
brand has. Rather than having to hunt and peck and look for customer reactions around
the globe through a host of different channels, the majority of the feedback about a brand or
product is all in one place. And in this place, the company is part of the conversation;
listening, engaged and able to make fruitful changes based on what is being said.
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16. CHAPTER 3
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
CHAPTER 3
Humanize Your Brand
Contrary to popular belief, humanizing a brand is not about putting pictures of people on a web site or
showing a picture of a person next to a 1-800 number. Instead, humanizing a brand is about making the
brand relatable to people.
Effectively accomplishing this objective means connecting the dots for the customer; distilling the
essence of a brand and showing what it does and how it impacts people around the world. Using SAP
as an example, a lot of people see the company as a big corporate monolith. But when they hear that
SAP helps its customers produce 77% of the world’s beer or 79% of its chocolate or 86% of its athletic
footwear, they start to understand what SAP really does; helps other companies do their jobs better
on a worldwide platform. That little shift in focus does a phenomenal job of bringing the biggest
companies down to a level that is relevant and true.
“Humanizing a
brand means
thinking about
what customers
care about and
determining
how a company
can interact and
engage with
those customers
on a more fruitful
basis.”
Of course, to be successful in this pursuit a company has to understand and be true to its
DNA. If a corporate culture is very product-centric, trying to become customer service
oriented overnight is probably not realistic. A better tactic is to start with the easy wins
that are more in line with the company’s culture. Regardless of its culture or DNA, every
company needs to remember to demonstrate empathy through social media. Looking
at how a brand can solve a problem, satisfy a need or a desire, or make a customer’s
life easier is the most sincere, effective way to humanize a brand.
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CHAPTER 1
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CHAPTER 2
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17. CHAPTER 3
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
How do big brands
maintain one-to-one
relationship with
customers?
CHAPTER 3
Social Media: A Brand’s Best Friend
Few would dispute the fact that social media is here to stay in some way, shape and form. Smart
companies know that it is a force to be respected but also recognize that it can be strategically
exploited to effectively bolster a brand’s influence, image and market share. Through careful care
and feeding, social truly can become a brand’s best friend.
TW Answers: It’s not the
brand that creates the
relationship, it’s the people,
which goes to the idea of
people to people, not brand
to people. In both B2B and
B2C there is a shift taking
place, moving from brand
relationship to personal
relationship. It used to be
that a company would only
have a few people speaking
on behalf of a brand and they
were really only speaking
to the press and analysts,
and maybe to a few dozen
customers who were in the
upper echelons. Social media
has really changed that
and as brand ambassadors
come out and say they
take responsibility for the
service and support aspects
of a brand, a one-to-one
relationship is being created.
n isten carefully to constituents and steer conversations toward the topics that interest them.
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The end result is meaningful interactions that pay off in the form of a growing number of
engaged customers.
n eek out and leverage influencers who can infiltrate audiences and effectively socialize a
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brand’s message. This is a critical element in growing a brand exponentially and without the
shadow of the corporate voice.
n ecognize that social media is a collection of communities. Honoring conversations and
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feedback about a brand or product, and providing a place where both can be shared with little
or no filtering, provides tangible, invaluable insight that companies can leverage in order to
better their organization and the customer experience they provide.
n rovide real world examples that demonstrate what a brand or product does. Making the brand
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relatable, humanizing it, gives customers and influencers a true sense of why they should care
about it and, in the best scenario, advocate for it.
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INTRO
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CHAPTER 1
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18. KEY TAKEAWAYS
Defending and Enhancing your Brand on Social Media
Regardless of how it evolves, one thing is certain; social media will continue to be a powerful force in
the way brands are shaped and perceived. But managing and enhancing your brand in this dynamic
new reality does require a shift in thinking, so here are some final thoughts to consider:
n t’s true that corporate missteps are often amplified thanks to social media. Having a plan to be
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strategically reactive in those situations, and utilizing social media to amplify your apology and
plans for change, can minimize the damage and help you to move on gracefully.
n Social media provides companies with a tremendous opportunity to gain insight into customer
behaviors and opinions. Give your constituents that platform, invite them to participate and
really listen to what they have to say. It may not always be what you want to hear but it may be
exactly what you need to hear, which is invaluable.
n A community of sorts has been created through social media. Yes, it’s a very large community
and most of its inhabitants are not brand experts per se. But, you are a part of the community
so join in. Leverage influencers, truly listen to and respect the conversations taking place and
take every opportunity to make your brand real and relatable.
n Remember, whether your company is large or small, social has some amazing benefits to
offer. Embrace it, use it for the good of your brand and your company, and enjoy the ride in the
process.
pm labs
Social
3
2013
CONTENTS
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INTRO
|
CHAPTER 1
|
CHAPTER 2
|
CHAPTER 3
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19. SAP
As the market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and
industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to
mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently
and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and
services enable more than 248,500 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and
grow sustainably. SAP is proud to celebrate its 40th year in 2013 across our footprint in over 128
countries and across our 65,000 global employees. www.sap.com or @SAP
Founded in 2002, PureMatter is a mashup of Silicon Valley smarts, science and spirit that energizes
business through social marketing. Visit PureMatter Labs now to get the marketing resources you need
to formulate smart solutions to your programs, thinking and theorizing.
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pm labs
Social
3
2013
CONTENTS
|
INTRO
|
CHAPTER 1
|
CHAPTER 2
|
CHAPTER 3
www.purematter.com | 19
www.purematter.com