Enabling the Consumer Voice
Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report never ceases to ignite conversation and drive reflection across the industry on what the future of the Internet means for marketing. There’s no shortage of highlights and key slides, but one that really stood out came from Candace Payne’s Facebook Live video.
When Candace Payne put on the Chewbacca mask on Facebook Live, the Internet was like a powder keg ready to explode. The Facebook Live video drove 153 million views, but what’s more powerful is what it did for the Kohl’s brand, which was only mentioned twice in the video.
Kohl’s quickly became one of the most talked about brands out there, and more importantly for the brand, the Kohl’s app became the leading app in the iOS App Store.
All of this is important because Kohl’s had nothing to do with making this happen, but it certainly became the primary beneficiary (which they capitalized on). All of this points to a golden rule of marketing that’s been true since the beginning of communication. Buyers want information from each other, and in an era of constant connectivity that information from other buyers is near infinite and always available, allowing buyers to go into a purchase with near perfect information. The one voice that’s left out of that conversation is that of the brands themselves.
This can lead to an incredible benefit for brands that earn a positive reputation, but the brands that are spoken of negatively can be hurt almost beyond repair. Brands are in an ecosystem where one message has the potential to wield great power for better or worse.
Make it ‘For Better'
Brands can take one of two approaches to this: 1.) hope for the best or 2.) set-up for success. I’d choose the latter, but that’s just me.
What does a successful set-up look like?
Align with the right people. Brands should start thinking right now about who they align with both from an influencer standpoint as well as consumer. Build your brand in a way that shows it aligns with the values and beliefs of the target, and don’t try to make the brand something it isn’t. Brands that align with people who aren’t aligned at the core end up looking foolish, and it can often backfire.
Trust your audience. Brands shouldn’t always tell people what to do when they share. Magic can happen when people share the message in their own way. Instead, brands should give them the reasons and the means to take the message and communicate it however they choose. That’s where the authenticity of pieces like Candace Payne’s come through. Kohl’s didn’t tell her to do that. She chose to do it in her own way and it came across as 100% authentic, and the results speak for themselves.
Ask. Once you have the right people and give them the tools. Ask them to help spread the word. This can take the form of promotions and contests, but it can also take the form of simply asking. Brands that resonate with the core of an audience will get talked about. They will get shared. And the positivity will come through.
Setting up for success is about putting your brand’s story out there from voices other than your own. Carefully crafted audiences given tools and stories to share will in fact share them. Most of those stories won’t take off to the level of a Chewbacca mask, but they will put more content out there in the world that will inform other buyers of your brand’s values from voices other than your own.