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This is a quick post I put together I think might clarify the obscure mantra of “Having social be a part of your brand’s DNA.”

In my professional blog, I cover tactics and hacks companies can use to grow their user base. BUT, all tactics in the world wouldn’t work as well as having a good ‘Social DNA’ carved into your brand.

Having “Social’ as a part of your DNA can manifest in many ways. The phrase is often used as high-level talk with little concrete examples of what it means.

Or when you do get examples, it’s usually a campaign that was designed to be social in the first place or just some random funny tweet a company sent out.

What does having a ‘Social DNA’ even means?

This week, I had a chance to encounter two great examples of what a having a true social-centered brand means.

One comes from Elon Musk and the second comes today, from Spotify.

Elon Musk doing real customer support through Twitter

The story, as published on inc.com, shows you how using Twitter as a listening tool can go a long way.

In short, Loic Le Meur took on Twitter to complain about Tesla drivers hogging charging spots while running their errands. Making other Tesla drivers wait for hours to charge their cars.

Le Meur shared his frustration on Twitter, mentioning Tesla’s founder Elon Musk. It took Musk minutes to answer back.

See the correspondence here (Taken from the Inc article):

Elon Musk Social Media

Elon Musk Social Media

 

Within 6 days, Tesla published a new policy on their website, reading:

“We designed the Supercharger network to enable a seamless, enjoyable road trip experience. Therefore, we understand that it can be frustrating to arrive at a station only to discover fully charged Tesla cars occupying all the spots. To create a better experience for all owners, we’re introducing a fleet-wide idle fee that aims to increase Supercharger availability.”

From a social media complain to a company policy change in 6 days.

Lesson learned: 

This is a good example of how social isn’t used only for online engagement, but to incorporate important feedback in their product experience.

Even more important, they acted fast. In the pace, the world runs in 2017.

Spotify’s HR are eyeing President Obama for Playlist curation role

A while ago, President Barak Obama curated a presidential playlist on Spotify. The team at Spotify congratulated him on his fine taste in music (It’s actually a great playlist).

A week ago, Obama joked in an interview saying “I’m still waiting for my job at Spotify… ’cause I know y’all loved my playlist“.

Spotify couldn’t let this go un-noticed.
Days later they posted a new job on their careers page – apparently, they’re looking for a “President of Playlists

Requirements? “Have at least eight years experience running a highly-regarded nation.”

President of Playlists

President of Playlists

Lesson learned
Listen and react to current events, and don’t take yourself too seriously.

Spotify, as a brand, has a sense of humor.
Having that characteristic is what make Spotify a social brand.

  1.  They were fast to respond
  2. They stayed current and reacted in real-time
  3. Showed a great sense of humor
  4. Go native. They didn’t send a press release or just a tweet. They published a job on their career page.

Check yourself

Don’t dismiss these examples as “big brands that can afford it.” It’s actually the other way around.

It’s much harder for Tesla to make such a policy change withing days. There are more important things Spotify’s marketing team can do daily to help their business grow, and their pipeline is a full as yours is.

How do you handle your communication with your followers and clients? Are you bringing real personality into your brand?

Are you speaking in the language your market’s speaking in in 2017?

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