Branding in the Digital Age/Personal Media Strategy response

The thing that I found most interesting about the article "Branding in the Digital Age: You're Spending Your Money in All the Wrong Places"is the statistic that stated that fewer than 1 in 10 shoppers visited the manufacturer's websites of the product they were interested in buying. Here are companies that are spending tons of money making sure these websites are up and running, and filled with information, and the research shows that most people don't ever visit these sights.

The article goes on to explain that people use websites such as Amazon to find products and to do their research, and that as a result companies started providing links back to their site. I know that for me, when I am interested in buying something, I usually will go on Amazon in order to compare prices and see reviews. It's an easy way to help narrow down your options, especially since today it seems like there are so many options.

For example, I went on Amazon just before Christmas to look for a record player. The search results gave me some of the top picks, which I could sort by rating or price, both of which are important to me. And from this, I was able to narrow it down to a record player that I wanted to buy. It seems to me, then, that the strategy for companies here should be to make sure that their products receive top results on sites such as Amazon, and that comes down to having a product that warrants good reviews, and having a customer base that cares enough about the product to take time out of their day to write about it.

This idea of building a customer base that cares ties into the other article, "What's Your Personal Social Media Strategy?" For businesses, social media's role should be not just about giving people exposure to products, but it should be about generating a dialogue with consumers and building a relationship with buyers, both potential and existing. I think Taco Bell (@TacoBell) does a really good job of this on Twitter, as evidenced by these responses that Buzzfeed collected.

Dang, now I really want Taco Bell.

They reached out to their audience in a funny way; I think it's really important to show that they have a sense of humor, because it makes them seem like more than just a huge chain. They're raising awareness about their fast food restaurants, but they're also reaching out to people on a more personal level, and this could only help sales.