With the ever-changing marketing landscape today, your brand’s content needs to constantly be on the go, and the ways to market for your brand are endless. Is it a bit scary? Sure. Concerns such as tracking and measurement, as well as ROI after spending money on so many different mediums are sure to be on people’s minds. Another concern is losing control of your brand; that is, until you realize and understand that today, your brand is in the hands of the consumer. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and many other social networking sites are amazing resources for discussion. It’s engagement. It’s transparency. To ignore your consumers isn’t an option – and why should it be?

It’s a 24/7, seven days-a-week kind of world, not a 9-5 one. Your audiences don’t necessarily call your customer service department to complain or give positive feedback anymore. Instead, they’re talking about your brand online, and they’re everywhere. It used to be more of a one-way dialog – companies communicated their messaging to their audience and that was the end; it was much more difficult to engage a customer or get to know them or address their wants and needs. Today, the online discussion is the epitome of two-way communication, and your company must realize the value in hearing your audiences speak and give their feedback – whether it’s a consumer, a competitor or a prospect. The conversations will go on with or without your company’s voice, but you don’t want to be absent. It’s your chance to interact with your customers and leave a lasting impression. The results of listening and communicating with your audiences can be deeply impactful.

Different types of data are being gathered about branding and companies’ relationships with their consumers and audiences. Our client Aprimo is a leading global provider of marketing software and services that enhance the productivity and performance of marketing organizations. Aprimo has started to conduct research on topics such as the loss of brand control and the role of social media in today’s marketing environment.

At PAN, we are increasingly being given the task to manage our clients’ content. We have years of deep experience with these networking sites and are experts at managing them. While educating our clients, we’re also constantly recommending new ideas and acting as consultants if a crisis arises or if they simply need more creative ideas/brainstorming.

Never before – have we been handed an opportunity to participate and build deep brand loyalty with our customers than today.  With these tools, and compelling content, we can converse at all touch points of the customer lifecycle – from lead generation, to sales, to referral, to resolution. There is a huge revolution happening – and right now is such an exciting time to be part of the marketing mix.