The November opening weekend was a duel between the live-action Interstellar and the animated Big Hero 6. While a successful turnabout for both films, the latter, a Disney film based on a Marvel Comic, won in the opening box office in the United States alone, outshining the Christopher Nolan space opera and highlighting Disney’s rebound from its nadir in the 2000s.
The seeds of Disney’s box office triumph and success stories like it are rooted not only in quality content but also in the interplay of content sharing, social media buzz, and an understanding of the audience. This winning formula for promoting a brand online is an indispensable part of any marketing or online reputation management campaign, and is particularly useful in rebuilding confidence in brands and personalities that have been tarnished by bad press in the past.
Understand the audience. Connecting with your audience involves not only being where the target audience is but also taking the time to know them better. This includes learning what they want and expect from the brand and finding the best way to meet these expectations.
Establish rapport. You should then foster a connection to your audience through regular interactions, itself a good way to learn about them. When establishing a social media presence, you should make the best use of all the available features of the site to encourage interaction while encouraging the organic sharing of content.
Show them what you’re made of. Most businesses and individuals are more than just a few noodle incidents, and it should reflect on the content and how it’s presented. The marketing teams of Big Hero 6 and Interstellar showcased their films’ greatest selling points. Give them great content and don’t be afraid to show it off!
Don’t make it all about you. Rapport with an online community means that much of the interaction should be directed toward the community rather than be entirely about one’s personal brand. Pop star Taylor Swift’s interactions with her Tumblr followers follow this principle, focusing on community interactions over excessive self-promotion.
You may not be in the entertainment industry, but influencing how people see and talk about you or your business online works the same way, and can go far in helping you build or rebuild your image.
Taken together, these strategies create a good base to build or rebuild a brand image on and establishes a framework for present or future online reputation management. Understanding these principles and allowing work in concert with one another can fast-track the rebound of a strong brand image, whether business or personal, by bringing accomplishments and community relationships forward.