Who owns your brand?

Skilled marketers, investors and employees all believe they have the power to shape public opinion about their brand. And for a long time, they did. But the days of one-to-many marketing is long gone. Welcome to the brand-new era of customer brand ownership through social media.

Today, your brand is owned by your customers and social media gives them the tools to shape how your brand is perceived in the public eye. Your business is constantly evolving, re-creating itself on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and countless other avenues. Every joyous experience and humble criticism is shared forever for everyone to see. How you go about nurturing the process will play a major role in whether you sink or swim.

There are many stories of companies who have leveraged this powerful platform to build empires, and even more who have filed for bankruptcy because of a solitary comment left to fester and spread like a cancer. And therein lies the crux; managing social media has become just as important for brand building as the content it strives to share.

Core marketing strategies for large companies employ round-the-clock surveillance of the public voice. While this measure may not be required for all companies, studies have indicated that a reply or resolution submitted within 40 minutes of an online criticism has resulted in favorable public opinion and has triggered greater trust and confidence in the brand. And the audience will share that experience. Why?

Because they own the brand!