360: Does Your Brand Have What It Takes To Go The Distance?

One Brand.

At Brandemix, it’s our vision. If you think it’s simple, think again.

Organizations, from healthcare non-profits to global financial firms, actually convey different messages to different audiences. These companies have one mission statement and set of values for employees, another for customers, yet another for shareholders, and possibly a fourth for talent they’re trying to attract. But some customers become applicants; some applicants become employees. Employees are also investors.

Put this in the new marketing landscape, where brands communicate globally to audiences 24 hours a day. It soon becomes obvious that a single, focused brand improves marketing, retention, recruiting, and return to shareholder.

Here’s how the process works:

Most people in your audience are customers first. We all know the reasons why branding is important in the general marketplace: it creates awareness, distinguishes you from competitors, and makes an emotional connection with buyers. Advertising has gone beyond answering questions like “What does the product do?” and now addresses “How does this product make me feel?” and “What does this product say about me?” Good branding creates loyalty and evangelism, as followers sing the brand’s praises to their friends through social networks. Look at the passion for Apple products, Ford Mustangs, or even Oreo cookies.

That love leads some customers to want to work for the brand.

Check your home page, then your careers page.

Is there a value proposition? Are the branding and messaging still the same? If not, that potential employee might wonder which identity is the “real” one – and suddenly the idea of working for your brand doesn’t sound so desirable. It’s crucial that the marketing and HR departments share the same vision and values; otherwise, job-seekers may feel like they’re applying for a position with Jekyll & Hyde.

You passed the first test, now what?

Let’s say that your careers site is branded perfectly and the employer value proposition is consistent with your corporate brand. The customer, who became an applicant, got the job and is now an employee. What happens now? Are they exposed to and trained with the same branding that made them love the company in the first place?

This is an important question; a recent study by Aon Hewitt showed that the companies with the most engaged employees outperformed the stock market in 2010, and the Harvard Service Profit Chain states that engaged employees result in a 22% increase in revenue. So the internal communications office must also be aligned with the HR and marketing departments.

“One Brand” ensures that your customers, employees, and business partners all share a core belief in your brand.

Did your brand go the distance—360 messaging consistent across internal, external, candidate, employee, investor, alumni, and vendor?

 If your branding isn’t a singular, consistent message shared by your entire company, maybe it’s time to consider a re-branding effort. Brandemix can help. 

The 5 Secrets of a Great Intranet

What’s an intranet? A site where employees can read their about their benefits? A list of departmental phone numbers? A place where press releases go to die?

You’ve got it all wrong. A good intranet allows a company not just to inform and educate employees, but also to engage and inspire them. In a large enterprise, it might be the only way that employees connect with each other and the senior leaders. If you’re not using your intranet to build brand equity, you’re missing a crucial opportunity to improve employee engagement, satisfaction, and performance.

As the internet has evolved, the important characteristics of an intranet have changed. In fact, intranets don’t have to be accessible only on office computers – how about an intranet app that employees can access on their mobile phones?

To insure that you have an engaging and compelling intranet, make sure it has these five important elements:

Interactive
Intranets should allow communication from employees, not just to them. A weekly poll on the front page is a an easy, no-pressure way to get insights from your staff. A simple question like “How can we best improve our sales channel?” can lead to all sorts of interesting ideas.

Multimedia
It’s almost 2012 – is your intranet still just text? Employees can only look at copy for so long. You should include photos of the senior leadership team, audio of the CEO’s speeches, and videos of company events. You might even allow employees to post their own photos and videos of company parties or field trips. Facebook’s own bloggers have said that sharing pictures is one of the most popular activities on the social network.

Effective intranets engage employees.

Timely
Nothing turns employees off like old news. No matter what exciting content the site has, if an employee sees “Get ready for Election Day 2008!” they won’t take the intranet seriously. Update the site at least once a month; once a week would be preferable. “Breaking news,” such as an employee getting a major reward through the recognition program, can keep employees checking the site frequently.

Organized
You’re going to archive a lot of information on an intranet: benefits information, press releases, company directory, HR documents. But if the employees can’t find the information, the intranet is useless. Have a robust search system that lets users quickly get what they need. Place navigation at both the top and the bottom, with clear and simple drop-down menus. Use the front-page poll to ask employees what information they’re having trouble finding and rearrange the navigation accordingly.

Customizable
All our favorite sites are personalized, from Yahoo homepages that show local weather to sports sites that feature our favorite teams. Make sure that one section of your intranet home screen has a section that employees can personalize with their preferred links. Someone may want to see the company’s stock price while another might want to see how many sick days they have left. A “quick links” section not only saves the employees time; it also gives them a sense of ownership for the page.

Time to "reconstruct" your intranet?

At BRANDEMiX, we apply the principles of branding to employer branding, which covers the entire experience. If you’d like to learn how we can create or improve your intranet, visit our website or call 212-947-1001.

For the latest on social media, online recruiting, mobile marketing, and other branding trends, please like BRANDEMiX on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and join our LinkedIn group, Your Digital Brand.

A Day in the Life of a Social Media Expert

A quick search of the phrase “Social Media” on Indeed.com just now served up 1,923 jobs with that phrase in the title. Actual opportunities range from Social Media Managers, Coordinators, Strategists and Specialists to Social Media Community Managers. Ever wonder what these people actually do? Great news, today you’re in luck. I’m Jason Ginsburg, the Director of Digital Branding at BRANDEMiX and this is my story.

At BRANDEMiX, we teach companies how to go from Social Media Starters to Social Media Superstars, and you might say that I’m the guy that puts the star in Superstar. I’m a social media strategist and addict, plugged in to cyber conversations 24/7 and continuously working to find new ways of keeping those dialogues going, for us and for our clients.

Half of my day involves listening. I track what people are saying about the brand or company, and monitor where they’re saying them. Then I respond.

I comment on whatever is happening in the industry or region, or refer to world events, or even just the weather – sometimes just to prove that a real person is running the show. I retweet and re-post anything interesting from the incoming stream, and I’ve set up special news feeds just for relevant keywords. I express sympathy towards someone who experienced poor customer service and show encouragement if someone wants to share a video. I engage with the audience wherever its mood leads.

The conversation can be quite lively and always keeps me on my toes. When a matter gets serious, I make sure to pass it along to the client for immediate attention.

I also run the social sites for BRANDEMiX, where I discuss online branding and marketing with other professionals.

All this time, automated posts that I scheduled earlier in the week have been going out.  That’s when I go into research mode. I scour the web for the latest online trends and tools that can help connect our clients’ and employer brands with their desired audience.

This week I discovered Roost before the New York Times did. I got my Google+ invitation weeks ago. Today I’m following developments in augmented reality and watching how Chatter and Yammer are changing companies’ internal communications. I also take this time to read the smartest, most innovative blogs for inspiration.

Hold on a second- it’s time for another quick check of the livestream – I never want to let a question or complaint sit for too long.

Let’s move on to the multimedia part of my day. Some contests (we call them Sweeps) and campaigns require photos or videos, or even PowerPoint presentations. I upload media to multiple sites, tag them for the best SEO, and respond to any comments on the existing photos and videos. This week I was stymied by the inability to do a bulk upload of some pics. I expressed my frustration in the form of a tweet to the company, and in 5 minutes, I had a reply tweet that said the bulk uploader is in development. Things like that make my day.

OK- time for blogging. I create content for our clients, either consumer-facing or internal, such as an employee newsletter. After writing, it’s back to – you guessed it – the social sites, to make some final posts, follow some last links, and schedule some content for the coming days.

Despite what you’ve just read, the mercurial nature of social media ensures that no two days are the same. My success is measured in business results and I am constantly refining my strategies and tactics based on desired outcomes and pre-established objectives, whether that’s friends, fans or followers.

What else is on the horizon? Well, I can’t reveal all my secrets.

Want to know more about my exciting social media life? Connect with me at @BRANDEMiX or our Facebook page.

Happy Birthday, BRANDEMiX

Good Morning Readers.

Today, on the sixth anniversary of BRANDEMiX and the BRANDEblog, it seems like a good opportunity to look back on what I’ve accomplished and share with you all that I’m thankful for.

2005 was a very different world, and not just because everyone’s mortgage was secure and Barack Obama was still the junior senator from Illinois.

The internet in April of that year would hardly be recognizable to us now. Facebook existed, but it was available only to students at Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Columbia. YouTube’s first video had just been uploaded. It would be another year before Twitter, another two years before the iPhone, and another four years before Foursquare. This rather empty social media landscape was ruled by MySpace, which was only a few months from its $580 million sale to News Corp.

Into this environment came BRANDEMiX and the BRANDEblog, and I was seen (not all that favorably) as an agent for communications change. My crime? Advocating the use of blogs!

Thankfully we've moved on (and by the way moved physically 3 times)!

I’ve been amazed to watch the scope of BRANDEMiX services expand from recruitment marketing, website development, and of course, employer branding to managing complex consumer branding projects, advertising, digital marketing and social media campaigns for wonderful clients in all industries and locations.

I’ve also had the privilege of speaking and presenting all over the world, bringing my workshops on the Four Essential Social Media Profiles and my “One Brand” philosophy to conferences and organizations of all kinds. Six years ago, we were all “SoMe Starters,” but now I get to consult and help create “SoMe Superstars.” Nothing makes me happier than watching someone who didn’t know a hashtag from a hash brown look at me and say, “I get it now.”

From internal communications projects like onboarding, benefits and wellness, and employee rewards, to public efforts like consumer branding and marketing, We have assisted companies with both their employer brand and their consumer brand, bridging the gap from marketing to HR.

And I’m supported in my endeavors by the finest designers, writers, service professionals and marketers, not just in New York City but perhaps the entire country. So big thanks to Jason, John, Katie, Anita and Stacey for leading the teams that bring the magic to the mix.

And thanks to you A-man for reminding us of the celebratory day. And shout-out to all the FOB's (Jayne, you were the first Friend of BRANDEMiX) for believing.

Looking back at the past six years, I consider myself a success…until I realize that I started my company at the same time that Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook.

Maybe I haven’t quite arrived at his level yet, but I’m sure enjoying the journey. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Brand Unified Theory

Everyone who interacts with your company, whether it’s customers, employees, or job applicants, is exposed to your brand. A brand conveys not just your mission and values but also your attitude and your position in the marketplace.

A single consistent message makes marketing simple. It conveys a sense of purpose to everyone in your company and a sense of identity to everyone outside it. We call it the “Brand Unified Theory.” Here’s how it works for each group listed above.

Employees

If your advertising is saying one thing and your internal communications say another, you’ll soon find that your employees are working towards the wrong goals.

When employees share your core beliefs and values, it informs everything they do. Even if an employee never interacts with a customer, she can still use your brand’s principles to guide her business decisions. Employer branding makes everyone on your team realize that their actions contribute to a goal, and that they’re working not just for a company but for a way of life.

Customers

Some CEOs are comfortable with a basic motto like “We’re simply the best telecommunications company.” But that leaves many questions unanswered: The “best” for whom? Does “best” mean best prices, best selection, or best customer service? Why are you the best? How will you stay the best?

Studies have shown that consumers consider brands when making decisions, so branding becomes crucial when you’re trying to distinguish your product from others. Matching your customer brand to your employer brand makes both stronger.

Job Applicants

In a way, job applicants are both customers and employees at the same time. But you won’t be able to attract the talent you want, and job seekers won’t consider you, if you’re not clear about your brand. A survey of over 1,300 job seekers in the Gallup Management Journal recommends “caring about prospective employees as much as you do about your customers and current associates.” To go further, a study by talent assessment specialists SHL warned that applicants who were treated poorly during the interview process tended to share their frustration on blogs and social networks. Clearly, you need not only to communicate your brand to job seekers, but also live your brand so that they come away from the application experience happy.

The Brand Unified Theory ensures that your customers, employees, and business partners all share a core  belief in your brand. Put the theory into practice and turn your people into your brand’s believers, supporters, and advocates.

Four Ways to Keep Your Employees Committed to Staying Healthy

How Well Are You Doing Wellness?

Absenteeism costs American businesses around $200 billion a year. Promoting wellness at your company not only reduces these losses but lowers your health insurance costs. You may already have bike racks in your parking lot and healthier snacks in your vending machines, but that’s not enough to increase your workers’ health and productivity. Below are four ways, from low-tech to cutting-edge, to keep your employees committed to staying healthy.

1. Copy Costco

The future of corporate wellness programs is to make them social. Wellness-only Facebook pages allow employees to check contest deadlines, share advice, and give each other encouragement. Costco’s Facebook page is particularly effective in getting information to its employees, answering questions, and posting photos of activities.

Similarly, Facebook Events lets companies invite employees to marathons, health screenings, and other activities. Make you let the world's most popular social network work for you.

2. Scratch That Itch

Contests can be social, too. For example, though giveaways are fun, they don’t provide a lot of participation.; once you’ve entered, you’re done. The solution? Scratch-to-win cards. The more an employee participates in the wellness program, or the more benchmarks she passes, the more cards she’ll receive. Scratching off cards is much more engaging than a prize drawing, and colleagues can gather around to cheer each other as the employee discovers what she won. If you have workers who play the lottery, they’ll love scratch cards.

3. Game the System

Virtual gaming is the next step, and software tools like Bunchball’s Nitro can apply game mechanics to any campaign, including corporate wellness. Participants can earn points and rewards each time they take a health quiz, practice for a marathon, or for each day they don’t smoke. Games appeal to people’s innate love of status and competition. New challenges and an ever-changing online leaderboard can ensure that everyone participates, anyone can win, and no one ever gets bored.

4. Life Support

Another social aspect to a wellness program is the support group. Biking and running groups get to exercise together, but the workers trying to quit smoking, or eat healthier, or manage stress are often left to fend for themselves. Creating a group lets them support each other and reward each other’s success. A support group could be a half-hour weekly meeting (with or without management), a special site or message board on your intranet, or a public social support site like 43Things.

Consider all these social aspects when you create or redesign your company’s wellness program. From Facebook to games to old-fashioned face-to-face “social networking,” making your corporate wellness program social can keep your employees engaged, productive, and healthy.

Helping You Help Them

Don't ask me why but it seems that no matter how industrious you are as an HR professional, your success often hinges on the participation of your employees, who, unfortunately, have little motivation to make your job easier.

They’ll drag their feet when it comes to filling out HR materials or completing training – even safety training that could save their lives.

So, direct from the best agency in brand-aligned workforce communications, comes a few professional trade secrets.

Create a clear line-of-sight to "why and when"

First, make sure you communicate both the importance of the materials and the deadline for completing them. The date should be prominent and attached to the materials so the two can’t be separated. If you’re sending materials by email, make sure the deadline is in both the body of the letter and on the materials themselves, whether it’s a PDF, an intranet site, or a spreadsheet. Follow-up with reminders, either in person, by email, or through a public forum like the company newsletter. If there are rewards for finishing early (see below), announce who was won so far, giving motivation to the procrastinators.

You'll Win with Contests

Nothing persuades like competition. Divide your staff by department or into special teams, or make the contest an individual endeavor. Whoever finishes first, or gets the most answers correct, or has the most participation, wins a prize. Contests with multiple prizes, such as weekly winners or both a “best” and a “most” award, work best; if people know the prize has already been won, they have no reason to participate.

Exhibitionism?

Sometimes exhibitions can be as fun as competitions. If you’re implementing a safety program, ask your staff to designate “the most dangerous place in the office,” along with “the safest place in the office” – based on the safety materials, which they have to read to fully participate. Hold a humorous meeting to decide what to call the new floor safety warden (my favorite was “Captain Safeguard”). Give everyone stickers and let them tag potential hazards around the workplace. You can even add a “contest” element by holding an election to pick the safety warden. Any activity that involves the entire company provides extra motivation for reluctant executives to participate.

Your Staff's Favorite Radio Station? WI.FM

“What’s in it for me?” employees ask all too often. There are lots of responses that are well within your budget – or even cost nothing at all. The winning employee(s) can leave early, work from home one day, or host an "all-jeans day" for themselves and their favorite colleagues.

Use your company’s “wall of fame” or Employee of the Month program. (If you don't have one, start one.) Of course, simple public recognition costs nothing: giving the winner a standing ovation at your next staff meeting or posting their achievement on the bulletin board can mean a lot to your workers. Keep the prizes simple- even a pizza, movie pass or Starbucks card can add sizzle to your shtick.

Making success fun makes your workplace more productive – and your job a lot easier.

With a Name like Best, You've Got to be Good.

It's no surprise that certain names keep blogging up all the time on the BRANDEMiX BRANDEblog. These are the ones that continue to push both the creative envelope and choice of messaging. So, here we again write about Best Buy.

I've been following Best Buy's internal buzz for a while and continue to be impressed with their efforts- from internal operational ROWE (results-oriented workplace) to hologram mall messages, their internal employee community named "Blue Shirt Nation" (influential in affecting changes to the email policy, improving enrollments in the 401k program and setting up systems for employees to communicate between shifts) and now today's subject Best Buy Connect, they seem to have it all going on.

Best Buy Connect is an external site - its purpose to showcase the people, behavior and unedited perspectives/ideas of those who power Best Buy-- their employees. It personalizes the brand, increases accessibility and affects current and future customer and employee perceptions. No small feat.

“If people outside of this company could really feel the culture and drive that makes this place what it is, we can strengthen our reputation, goodwill, and ultimately grow our talent and grow the company. The beauty of that is that we didn’t need to create anything new, people are doing it and we don’t want to control it, we simply want to make it easier for the rest of the world to find the energy and human-ness”. This from Dawn Bryant, Best Buy PR.

The site aggregates employee blogs, Twitter, YouTube and other sources including Tweets and blog posts from Barry Judge, Best Buy’s CMO. Best Buy employees are already active with the social web, aggregating sources is good for many reasons including creating a central location for employee insights in different media as well as providing additional flavor for the personality of the people that make up the company - at all levels.

A few tips of advice from Best Buy on a social media aggregator:

* A legal team can help with traditional concerns but it can be tricky since most companies aren’t approaching social media with an aggregator mentality. Many are still focused on controlling the message.
* Organizations will lose credibility pretty quickly if they persist in trying to control electronic mediums. ”If you don’t like what you see out there as a company, you need to make changes on the inside”. The truth will manifest outside.
* Don’t mess with the authenticity of the medium (thus, aggregate and don’t try to control)
* This kind of project brings some risk, so think it through and update your PR crisis plan as necessary
* Spread the word grassroots style - promotion via social media using traditional PR tactics doesn’t work
* Revisit with those involved to stay relevant and up to speed with the technology
* Make guidelines public and easy to find - it’s about transparency

During the current economic situation, this kind of transparency is particularly interesting since most companies are probably tempted to control “the message” more now than ever as they deal with lower sales, staff changes & layoffs and inevitable belt tightening. I think by aggregating multiple sources, Best Buy is giving interested readers multiple stories to consider, which gives a broader picture of the organization.

These insights provided by Lee Odden in his Online Marketing Blog were summed up as follows:
"I can say from those interactions and the social participation by corporate and employees, Best Buy really appears to be one of those companies that’s walking the talk both in terms of their public social media projects and the culture of the organization."

And so I praise Best Buy on the weekend that their former competitor Circuit City is going dark. Coincidence? I think not.

The Cerebral Palsy Associations Of New York State’s Metro Services Has Chosen BRANDEMiX To Brand And Launch An Employee Communications Campaign

The Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State’s Metro Services has chosen BRANDEMiX, the NYC-based communications consultancy known for innovative branding around human resources initiatives, to brand and launch an employee communications campaign in support of their new strategic plan.

Of Metro Services’ 1,600 employees, 1,100 work offsite providing direct support in group homes and elsewhere in the community.

“A dispersed staff performing on-site services poses unique communications challenges,” says Janis Pshena, VP of Human Resources for Metro Services, ”especially when attempting to implement a new strategic plan.”

According to a Flinders University report, worker isolation is one of the issues that contribute to the high turnover in the direct care profession.

“Successful internal branding and communication means higher retention which translates into long-term cost savings and improved quality of service,” says Jody Ordioni, President of BRANDEMiX. “We’re implementing a series of solutions that inform staff, convey employer support, and inspire a sense of teamwork around the new strategic goals.”

Metro Services’ new strategic plan will guide the organization through 2013 as they work to promote personal choice and independence, and enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.

Communicating the Experience can Increase Retention

Which Job Do You Want?

This interesting tidbit is from the Harvard Business Review.
Posted by Tammy Erickson on October 10, 2007 6:51 AM

Imagine that you’re in the job market, with offers in hand from three firms. All three are attractive -- the type of opportunities you’ve been looking for with competitive compensation packages. You decide to meet with each firm one more time, specifically to talk about what your entry experience might like -- what to expect in your first six months on the job. Here’s what representatives from the three companies say. Which job will you take?

COMPANY A “Actually, your first three months will be a probationary period in which you’ll get to know and work closely with your assigned teammates. They’ll see how well you work with the group and contribute to its success. At the end of that period, your teammates -- your peers -- will vote on whether or not you will get to stay in the organization.”
COMPANY B
“We can’t tell you what your exact role will be or who you’ll be working with. For the first three months, you’ll be in our “fishbowl,” performing a series of weekly challenges, perhaps designing new products or marketing campaigns, under the close scrutiny of our CEO and other senior executives. At the end of the time, depending on what we observe, we’ll help you find the right position for your skills.”
COMPANY C
“Your first three months will be spent learning our way of doing business. We have a specific way of operating, and we expect you to follow our processes closely. We’re convinced that the ways we’ve outlined are the most productive and successful. After an extensive training program, you’ll get a chance to apprentice with one of our strongest performers.”

If you’re like most people, these three ways of starting work at a new company are not equally appealing. In fact, depending on your personality and preferences -- depending on how you view work and the role you want it to play in your life -- you’ll probably have a distinct preference for one over the others.

In a Harvard Business Review article, "What It Means to Work Here”, getting it right -- finding a work experience that matches your personality and preferences -- is key to your ultimate enjoyment of your work. In the end, the realistic demands of the job need to be in line with the role you’re prepared for work to play in your life. By choosing the company that is best suited to your needs and priorities, the more likely you are to be highly engaged in your work.

Organizations differ widely along these important components of the work experience. Some companies have risk-based compensation (options, bonuses), while others have predictable cost-of-living salary structures. Some organizations set up highly flexible, self-scheduling work groups; others take a pretty intense “all hands on deck” approach most of the time. Some reflect an underlying philosophy of paternalism; others a virtually complete contractor-like hands-off attitude. As you think about what you want to do next, it’s as important to think about your preferences for these “experience” factors as it is to consider the actual objective of the work you’ll be performing. If you don’t get this right, no matter how much you intellectually like the idea of what you’re working on, you won’t really be engaged.

Here were the results as of last night when I picked my choice. (B)