Measure Your Brand Effectiveness, Online

Many brands have difficulty giving, receiving, or both. It's just not part of their DNA. Why expose the firm, some say, to the legal risks of blogging, tweeting, embedding UGC into a corporate website, or any number of related social sharing activities that are now so easy to do thanks to the Internet?

Interconnecting conversations is neat, they'll say, but let someone else do it. Or let or employees, or customers and our broader constituents engage in these types of activities in their own free time. Facebook is for friends and families, not Fortune 1000 firms.

Heardable disagrees.

We believe that brands who choose not to be part of the social conversations are doing a disservice to their shareholders, to their customers, staff and to their brands themselves. Branding is no longer something you can control like a closely controlled marketing campaign over time. Brands are about people. And people want to be heard.

The law of reciprocity says that those who give are likely to receive in turn -- and often in exponentially greater proportions -- since the act of giving is considered to be a noble, forthright and trusted action that people notice, talk about and reward.

Shakti Gawain write about this paradox in his book, Creating True Prosperity, when he says, "Receiving and giving are opposite energies that are inextricably linked together in the natural flow of life, like inhaling and exhaling. If one aspect of that cycle doesn't function, the entire cycle ceases to function and the life force cannot move freely.  If you can't inhale, you will soon have nothing to exhale, and before long, your body will be unable to continue living."

Here are nine 'elements of brand amplification' that if practiced by your brand, you will be better positioned to satisfy your customers, create positive work-of-mouth, and even generate higher sales.

TRY: Is your brand willing to try something new and daring or are you more of a fast follower? When you try new things, the people who follow your brand are more likely to perceive you as a trailblazer and thought leader. When you allow your constituents to try before they buy, or when you try new ways of working with them (before they demand it), it can foster trust.

FIND: Make it easier for folks to find your brand in search engine, find content within your website, find answers to questions about your products and services. Surprisingly, most brands remain invisible to the people most-likely to look for them.

CARE: Do you feature your customers as case studies in brand best-practices? Are you a brand that gives back to your community through charitable giving? Do you answer the phone promptly or respond to email inquired in a personal, human tone?

PLAY: Do you allow people to play with your products in your retail outlets? Do you provide rich and engaging online experiences -- which can help solve complex problems and become essential extensions of your brand? Do you let customers interact so they are more likely to transact? If your brand is playful, fun and engaging then I am more likely to tell 10 friends about it. What's that free marketing worth to you?

LISTEN: Does your brand respond when someone posts a negative comment about your brand on twitter? Do you regularly reach out to your constituents via surveys or do you provide online feedback buttons to gauge satisfaction levels so you can respond with answers/solutions?

HELP: Online chat, easy-to-find phone numbers and mailing addresses on your website, on-site search tools, how-to podcasts, free consultations, video tutorials. These are just a few of the simple ways forward-thinking brands reach out and engage their customers -- answering questions they might have in multiple formats that are tailor-made for various situations.

SHOW: Does your brand take time to showcase it website features via insightful screencasts? Do you post presentations or instruction manuals on edocr.com, SideShare.net, Flickr.com, or DoxTop.com? Why wouldn't you want to make it as easy as possible for folks to do business with you?

SHARE: Does your brand use RSS feeds and API feeds that allow users to connect with your content and brand remotely? Are you willing to share insights and information that may not be 100% tied into your business plan? Transparency = trust!

GIVE: Give customers more of your brand and you, in turn, will receive much in return. Don't believe us? Look what happened to Starbucks when they gave coffee lovers a 'third space' to call their own. See how Kodak reinvented their company focus and rejuvenated their brand by celebrating the joy of photography in ever single marketing program they launched.

Brands who will not or cannot give won't be receiving for very long. Said another way, companies are more likely to fail if they are unwilling or unable to listen and provide what their customers demand. In today's web-focused world, consumers and business constituents are making simple, yet meaningful, demands.

Amplify your brand. Give, so you can receive.