There was Web 1.0, then Web 2.0 and now we even see Web 3.0 as web interactions transform and become even more interactive.  

So, in all of this – does a website still make sense?

 I’ve been a strong proponent of a blogsite (a blog with the comments turned off so it will act like a website).  And, I’ve supported it because of the growing discomfort between website design and getting pertinent, timely and interactive material out there with ease.  We know that this is so as we see so many promotions for “do it yourself” type sites really messaging that you have control of the site.

So, does your brand still need a website?

I posed the question to the BRANDidos (those who chat in the weekly brandchat conversation on Twitter) and this is what they said:

• ambercleveland: Websites do play a role in brands, it is a 24-hr store for your message #brandchat
• karimacatherine: Q2 : Website is another touchpoint.they have to be integrated in a larger branding exercise to deliver value to customer #brandchat
• techguerilla: @brandchat Q2: Influence varies by specific brand, but yes they play a role. Sometimes a primary one #brandchat
• McCreadyM: Q2 websites should play a huge role – important touchpoint for consumer #brandchat
• klequoc: Q2: Hell yes!! Websites = key platform to convey what the brand is about = especially as consumers tend to research online #brandchat
• michaelnewhouse: Absolutely, all part of Brand Integration mix Q2: Do websites play any role with brands these days? #brandchat
• EvolveTom: Q2: Websites are a necessity — you need a central collection point for your customers/fans. The site has to support SM #brandchat
• KevinLyons: Q2 Websites (like direct mail, social media, sign on door, voice on phone, biz card, etc.) are brand conveyor & engagement tools. #brandchat
• wileyccoyote: @karimacatherine i don't think that Web sites should have been static before social. brands always have to change face #brandchat
• LoisMarketing: Websites do — or should — play role in brand. Many times they are customer's first and regular interaction point. #brandchat Q2
• GetResults: Q2 – Websites play an important part in any branding – just as does customer experience, ads, etc – all part of the mix #brandchat
• RobertJames1: Q2: Your website is the hub of your brand. Develop it properly, build it strategically and make it useful #brandchat
• CASUDI: Web sites are a very important anchor for your brand ~ 24/7/365 presence #brandchat
• karenswim: Q2: Yes! You still need a hub, social media does not replace that #brandchat
• pure_ink: Q2: More than ever. The web can define a brand from interactive, to wayfinding, to informational. #brandchat
• JohnAntonios: Q2: i think standalone websites are useless – they are reading a label of some sort – you have to engage (2way communication) #brandchat
• MarketingMary: Q2 Does anyone NOT search company websites when researching products/services? #brandchat
• abarcelos: Q2. People still go to websites to find out about a brand. It's critical all channels communicate ONE consistent message. #brandchat

At the just of the conversation, you can see that websites are just one of many touch-points for a brand.  They are not the “be all, end all” for a brand.  In fact, nothing in branding is.  

If you discover your brand, yet you don’t craft your communication plan to express and exude your brand – then how valuable is the discovery.

The same applies if you exude your brand but have not taken the moment to discover your true attributes and your unique promise of value – what good is that?

It is a mix.  A good mix.  And, how you use if for your personal or company brand needs to be done consistently with your brand attributes and message.

So, what are your thoughts?  Do you still need a website?

Author:
Maria Elena Duron | chief engagement officer is co-founder of #brandchat, a weekly conversation on Twitter.  Join us weekly as we discuss all aspects of branding.

We’ve all heard when someone IS the company.  They embody it.  As entrepreneurs, they started it and everything with and within the company reflects this person’s personal brand.

I was fascinated to find something uniquely military, carried by a personal brand that truly embodies the military brand, come to Main Street America.

Military Brands

And, of course, on this Memorial Day weekend in the United States.  This story came to mind…

Companies, schools and even couples have turned to tried and true military practices in the name of team building, common vision and to solidify relationships.  Military practices have come to help Main Street America focus on increasing team work.  While Memorial Day offers a day when we remember and focus on the contributions of the brave men and women that have served the United States, military practices have begun to serve corporate America proving that “Uncle Sam” really knew what he was doing in creating cohesive teams.  Lean mean fighting machines are now teaching corporate America how to be lean strong teams.

Debra Semer, executive director of Operation Ward 57, uses the HOOAH! Button to motivate her team. The nursing staff working with patients who are wounded warriors likes to come by and press the button when something good has happened. “It might sound a little cheesy but the smile that comes when they press the Hooah! Button is something else”, Semer reflects. Hooah is a military term often used to encourage and motivate the troops.  Cynthia Rhodes, a case manager for an attorney, says “it creates a great team feeling whenever they turn in a case – they hit the HOOAH! Button.”  Nine case managers that put together the legal cases, at this office, use it to encourage and give each other “pats on the back”, according to Rhodes.

Even Boot Camps

Even couples-to-be, are finding that Bridal Boot Camps, help them to be a stronger couple.  Collette Trebon and Scotty Moniz, married on May 15th, attended Bridal Boot Camp.  “We are a team,” says Moniz. “There’s a lot of give and take. I gotta pick and chose my battles.”

Christine Dwyer, founder of CancerGrief, appreciates the smiles and cheers when she strikes her HOOAH! Button during support groups for those who are touched by cancer, “they remember those serving us and they feel uplifted and hopeful”, shares Dwyer, who is also grateful of the reminder that her son is serving in Afghanistan.

Even across the pond in London, England, this past weekend, May 22nd, Royal Marines Officer Rob Suchet put Umi Hotel employees through their paces – all in the name of team-building.

His boy scout troop, according to Andrew Franco, uses the word HOOAH! not just in the field but even with their medieval play.  He said, “it keeps them motivated and focused as a team.”

A productive team is made up of people who share a common goal, a common vision and a level of trust and belief that each other will do the job that they are supposed to do.  In this lean economy, businesses are seeking ways to be more productive with the team members they do have.  According to Dan Schawbel, author of ME 2.0 and a columnist for BusinessWeek, “engaging the people on the team is what gets them excited and committed about their work and their customers.”

Can you think of any other items branded as a military practice or military brand that have crossed over from the military to Main Street?  I’m anxious to hear your stories especially during a weekend here in the United States focused on reflection of all things that are military.

Cross-posted on TheBuzz101

Author:

Maria Elena Duron | chief
engagement officer is co-founder of #brandchat, a weekly conversation
on Twitter. Join us weekly as we discuss all aspects of branding.

Social media spirals us towards a plethora of updates and tweets ranging from hating certain brands to blow by blow accounts of your daily hygiene.  It really is TMI (too much information)!

At last week’s #brandchat, I posed the question – can your brand be too honest?
This hot topic brought about some great answers from the BRANDidos (term of endearment used for people who chat on #brandchat)

 Here are some of the insights:

• DavidSandusky: Q1 Be you. Be relevant. What is private likely not relevant to share. #brandchat
• CASUDI: A1: Honest as you want remembered forever by Google? Is that a valid criterion for brand transparency? #brandchat
• karenswim: Re Q1: In our salacious tell all culture, transparency is sometimes misguided #brandchat
• correlationist: #brandchat A1 – While transparency is key, being open with the wrong audience could be counter-productive. Know who u are talking to!
• eamcc: #brandchat Q1 Integrity matters more than transparency. The first is responsive, the second reactive.
• Kevin_PriceCom: If the unique aspect of you is supported by transparency then it is good. #brandchat
• JillKoenig: @brandchat A 1 My belief is anything that is aligned w/your brand & adds value to your community is worth sharing

And, Craig Ritchie drove it home with a quote he shared from SXSWi (South by Southwest Interactive): Evan Williams, from his SXSWi keynote said – "A window is transparent but a door is open." You don't have to be a door.”

So, if you’re aligned with your brand, you can still be transparent yet you don’t have to be an open door – it’s all about balance.

If your updates are all about business, people will find that dry, cold and, at times, too promotional.  And, that’s the wrong feel we want to exude, especially since, as Kent Dean, Director of Field Marketing for Rosa’s Café, states that social mediums deliver an opportunity for engagement.   That engagement needs to be nurtured not turned away.
In fact, Rosa’s story is pretty amazing because their fan page was truly started by a fan.  Much like Coca-Cola’s story that’s been so well circulated, Rosa’s also had a brand advocate, better yet a brand evangelist who already created an amazing fan base.  Instead of shunning that fan, they met with him, learned from him and garnered his partnership and association with their Facebook presence. 

Smart move – take a brand evangelist and provide them the tools to be even better at advocating your brand.

Dean teaches members of the American Advertising Federation during luncheons and workshops, to solicit responses in their posts – be authentic and approachable. 

Further, he says:  Have a normal conversation with customers and ask questions; Respond to criticism publicly and be sincere; Don’t just talk about business; Promote fan journalism.
Perfect example from this past Friday – Rosa's Café posted: Weekend's here! If you're happy and you know it say 'MAGNIFICO!!!' Got plans?

What works for a company brand also works for your personal brand.  Here’s a quick 5-point checklist to see if you’re doing that.

1.  Can people comment on your blog?

It’s engaging when people can comment on your blog.  It does not mean that you are sharing too much.  In fact, it gives others permission to engage you.  Sometimes when you’re labeled as being “too open” in social networks, it can mean that you’re broadcasting messages instead of engaging in conversation.  Remember, after all, these networks are social networks.

2.  Do you have a Facebook Fan Page?

With Fan Pages, people can access your page without having to be members of Facebook (provided you keep your age settings on the default settings – changing those settings means that people will be forced to log-in so that Facebook can verify their age – this defeats the purpose of a public page), a huge plus for people who would like to get to know you without disclosing who they are right away.  They can also become a fan without you having to approve them.

3. Can they make comments on your Facebook Public Profile (fan page)?

What so great about a fan page is it become a community for your brand advocates – if you let it be.  To do that, your settings for your page need to allow fans to “write on the wall” too. What if someone says something spammy or lewd?  Delete it.  If they complain, address it publicly- in general – and provide other options to communicate.  For example, take it to a private ‘in message’ for all the details and to have an in-depth discussion.
This does take a commitment of checking your fan page every single day.  You don’t want something left on the page that’s inappropriate for weeks and not addressed by you. 

With all social networks, if you cannot invest the time to establish meaningful connections, then don’t participate in them. They can hurt your more than help if you publicly show you don’t value them.

4.  Do you respond on Twitter?

Again, social networks are social.  Engage and communicate – not just broadcast.  Help others, create lists, lead chats, provide insight, support and resources.

5.  Do you use in-message (Facebook Messages; LinkedIn Inbox, or Twitter DMs or direct email)?

Can they communicate with you privately or do you drive and answer only exchanges that are public? 

You can be ‘on brand’ and still be socially adept.  As one BRANDido shared, karimacatherine: Transparent doesn’t mean you can talk about everything, your life, your clients.

Cross-posted on TheBuzz101

Author:

Maria Elena Duron | chief buzz
officer, speaker and coach is co-founder of #brandchat, a weekly conversation
on Twitter.  Join us weekly as we discuss company and personal
brands!