BRAND NOISE REDUCTION

You know…there is something that is bugging me about social media and all of the hoopla surrounding it. I am deeply entrenched in helping brands get into the social media fray with my agency The Big Fat Mouth, but I also believe they need to do it the right way. They cannot just jump in and make a ton of noise and believe they are “doing social media.” In fact, if there is one thing that I say brands are guilty of in social media, it is that they are creating more Brand Noise. Isn’t that a good thing? NO!

Noise is defined as “a nonharmonious or discordant group of sounds,” and when we talk about Brand Noise we are basically saying a nonharmonious or discordant group of sounds as it relates to a brand or product. Isn’t that counterproductive? Many brands think they can go out there and use social media to increase their profile when the truth is they are simply clouding their message. At The Big Fat Mouth, we counsel our client on Brand Noise Reduction through social media. Basically, what that means is we show brands how to use social media to deliver high quality brand messages as instead of creating Brand Noise.

Brand Noise Reduction is all about trying to deliver the highest quality messages that are on strategy, versus just being out there and just making noise. Think of it as the right message, in the right place, at the right time, using the right approach. Sounds simple doesn’t it? It is astounding how many brands can not seem to get this right. They might deliver the right message at the wrong time or in the wrong place. Imagine of you had just signed a deal with Tiger Woods (which would have been exciting for any brand a month ago) and went out and announced that in the past two weeks. You would be shooting yourself in the foot. Regardless of how long Tiger disappears for, he is still a a marketing juggernaut and will be one of the most marketable athletes of all time. Just not this month! Of course that is an extreme example but you can see how important it is to get all four of those things right.

1. Right Message
2. Right Time
3. Right Place
4. Right Approach

If, and only if, you can say that your communication in social media meets those 4 criteria, are you practicing Brand Noise Reduction. I believe that as consumers find more and more places to get information, only those brands that practice Brand Noise Reduction will benefit fully from the power of social media.

Look for our white paper on Brand Noise Reduction right after the New Year.