4 Practical Steps For A Brand Makeover

A brand’s image is crucial for its success, prompting both new and established brands to undergo strategic makeovers, beyond just logo changes, to stay aligned with their audience and objectives.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to give your brand the revamp it needs.

Step 1 – Performing a Social Media Audit

Overseeing a social media assessment is like giving your brand a thorough health checkup. It allows you to pinpoint areas of strength, identify opportunities for improvement, and chart a clear path forward. In the ever-shifting sands of the digital world, staying self-aware and agile is not just advantageous – it’s essential.

Identify Your Presence

Every brand, at one point or another, has ventured into various social platforms with different strategies. Over time, some of these profiles may fall by the wayside, becoming inactive or even forgotten.

List All Profiles: Use a spreadsheet to track all the platforms where your brand has a presence. This includes mainstream platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, as well as niche platforms relevant to your industry.
Check Consistency: Are the usernames, logos, and bios consistent across platforms? Inconsistent branding can be confusing for your audience and may weaken your brand’s credibility.

Evaluate Performance

It’s not enough just to be present on a platform; one must also measure the effectiveness of their presence.

Gather Data: Use platform-specific tools such as Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, and Google Analytics to gather data on engagement rates, follower growth, post reach, and other vital metrics.
Compare with Past Data: Track your growth and engagement over time. Are there spikes or drops that correlate with specific campaigns or events? Such insights can guide future strategies.

Analyze Content

Your content speaks volumes about your brand. An essential part of the audit process is to assess not just how much content you’re posting, but its quality, relevance, and alignment with your brand voice.

Content Categories: Group your content into categories (e.g., product promotions, user-generated content, industry news). This will give you a clear picture of what dominates your posting strategy.
Check Engagement: Which type of content garners the most interaction from your audience? This can guide your future content strategies, helping you offer more of what your audience appreciates and less of what they don’t engage with.

Competitive Analysis

No brand exists in a vacuum. To truly understand your social media standing, you must also be aware of where your competitors stand.

Identify Main Competitors: List out brands that are your direct competitors or hold significant influence in your industry.
Analyze Their Strategy: What kind of content are they posting? How frequently? What seems to be working for them in terms of engagement?
Spot Differentiation Opportunities: Rather than merely copying what competitors are doing, look for gaps or areas where they’re lacking. This can offer you a unique advantage, allowing your brand to fill a void that others are missing.

Step 2 – Setting Clear Objectives

Objective setting is the anchor of any brand strategy. By understanding and fine-tuning brand perception, prioritizing engagement, and focusing on conversions, a brand sets itself up for sustained success. Coupled with the SMART framework, this approach ensures clarity, focus, and achievable growth.

Brand Perception

Every brand has a distinct voice and identity, which dictates how it’s perceived by its audience.

Self-Reflection: Spend time understanding the current perception of your brand. Use tools like social listening or feedback surveys to get a pulse on how your audience views you.
Envision the Ideal: Decide on the ideal perception you wish to create. Do you aim to be seen as an industry thought leader, a fun-loving brand, or a trusted companion? The way you position your brand directly influences audience interactions.

Engagement Goals

Engagement acts as a direct measure of how your content resonates with the audience. It’s more than just metrics; it’s about forging genuine connections.

Current Engagement Analysis: Understand your current engagement levels. Which posts get the most likes? Which ones are shared widely? This gives insights into what your audience currently enjoys.
Set Targets: Decide on the benchmarks you aim to achieve. For instance, you might set a goal to increase comments by 20% in the next quarter or double the number of shares on a particular type of content.

Conversion Metrics

While engagement is crucial, for many brands, the endgame is conversion. Whether it’s sales, sign-ups, or another desired action, these are tangible outcomes that often dictate a brand’s success.

Track Current Conversion Rates: Utilize analytics tools to understand the current conversion rates. For instance, if you run an online store, what percentage of site visitors end up making a purchase?
Identify Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Be specific about what you aim to achieve. If increasing sales is the objective, set a quantifiable target, such as boosting sales by 15% over the next six months.

The SMART Framework

Central to effective objective setting is the SMART framework. Here’s why each component is vital:

Specific: Goals should be well-defined. Instead of “increase engagement,” aim for “increase comments on blog posts by 30%.”
Measurable: If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. Having quantifiable goals ensures you can track progress effectively.
Achievable: While ambition is commendable, goals should be realistic. Setting unattainable targets can demotivate teams.
Relevant: Ensure that objectives align with broader business goals and brand vision.
Time-bound: Assign deadlines. This creates a sense of urgency and a clear timeframe for evaluation.

Step 3 – Crafting a Content Calendar

Creating a content calendar is an exercise in strategic foresight. By identifying relevant themes, diversifying content types, maintaining consistent scheduling, and yet leaving room for spontaneity, brands can ensure a compelling and consistent digital presence. The calendar not only structures content dissemination but also acts as a reflection of the brand’s commitment to its audience.

Content Themes

At the heart of any effective content strategy lies thematic consistency. It provides a sense of continuity and direction to your content pieces.

Audience Research: Engage in a deep dive into the preferences and interests of your target audience. Use tools like surveys, social listening, or even direct feedback mechanisms.
Alignment with Objectives: Ensure that the identified themes resonate with the brand objectives you’ve set. For instance, if a brand aims to be perceived as an industry thought leader, the themes should revolve around deep insights, innovations, and expert opinions in that field.

Diversify Content Types

Different members of your audience consume content differently. By diversifying content types, you cater to a broader segment and enhance engagement.

Audience Segmentation: Identify the different segments within your target audience. This could be based on demographics, behavioral traits, or preferences.
Tailor Content Types: For visually inclined audiences, infographics and videos might be more effective. On the other hand, those seeking in-depth knowledge might prefer long-form blog posts or podcasts.

Schedule & Consistency

A sporadic approach to content posting can lead to diminished brand recall. Regularity ensures that your brand remains top-of-mind for your audience.

Select Your Tools: Choose from a myriad of tools available, such as Trello for visual content planning, Asana for task management, or even Google Sheets for a straightforward approach.
Allocate Resources: Ensure that you have dedicated resources (content creators, graphic designers, social media managers) to adhere to the calendar.
Set Reminders: Tools like Asana allow you to set reminders. This ensures that deadlines are met and content is posted as per the schedule.

Flexibility

While planning is essential, the dynamic nature of the digital world demands adaptability.

Allocate Buffer Days: While charting out your calendar, leave a few days as buffer. This allows you to accommodate any trending topics or unforeseen events that align with your brand voice.
Stay Updated: Regularly scan the digital landscape. Platforms like Twitter or even Google Trends can give you a pulse of what’s gaining traction in real-time.

Step 4 – Engaging with Audiences Regularly

A brand makeover isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s about consistent engagement and being attuned to the feedback and needs of your audience.

Prompt Responses: Ensure that you’re responding to comments, messages, or any form of engagement in a timely manner. It fosters goodwill and gives a human touch to your brand.
Encourage Feedback: Whether through polls, surveys, or simply asking in a post, seek feedback from your audience. Their insights can be invaluable.
Host AMAs (Ask Me Anything) or Webinars: These can be a great way to interact directly with your audience, address their concerns, and showcase the new direction of your brand.
Analyze & Iterate: Regularly go back to your analytics. See what’s working and what’s not, and be ready to tweak your strategy accordingly.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, a brand makeover is an exciting journey that requires strategic thinking, meticulous planning, and continuous engagement. By conducting a thorough social media audit, setting clear objectives, crafting a strategic content calendar, and ensuring regular audience engagement, you set your brand on a path of rejuvenation and renewed relevance. As the digital landscape continues to change, remember to keep these steps in your playbook, ready to revisit when the next makeover beckons.

Meet the Author

Lorraine Song is a digital marketer who specializes in creating & implementing successful digital marketing campaigns for businesses of all sizes, with a focus on social media marketing. Lorraine is well-versed in the latest digital marketing tools & strategies & is always staying up-to-date on industry trends & developments. In addition to her professional experience, she holds a degree in Business Communications.