The Role of Social Media in Branding and Rebranding

 Social Media was created as a tool to bring the world closer together. And it has done just that. Social Media connects people from all over the world, making it possible for individuals to share information and interact with each other conveniently. The role it plays in the current economy is evident in every sector. Social Media is capable of linking an idea to a business’ name whether it is pleasant or unpleasant. Social Media is also capable of changing more salient elements of a business such as what they are known for.
The world is a different place from what it used to be a few years ago. People have different preferences compared to their predecessors. Social Media highlights these changes through its regular use. This makes this digital tool a great source for valuable information that brands can use as they develop their branding and rebranding strategies.
Branding is the term used to describe methods put in place by businesses for their consumers to be able to tell the difference between them and their competitors.  The success of a company’s branding or rebranding is heavily dependent on its ability to  grab and hold the attention of consumers. If social media can show what is preferred by the younger generation then it can also show in addition what would motivate them. One popular tactic of using hip trends to become popular is businesses sponsoring popular social media influencers to use their products or model.

Social Media: A PR Expert’s Dream
Social media has become a cornerstone in almost if not everyone’s life. People use it to interact with each other from all over the world, to share opinions on whatever topic they choose, to share memories captured in videos or photos or to simply do business. As of 2021 more than half of the global population or just about 4 billion people are social media users. This alone makes social media the perfect digital tool for the promotion of any brand.

Using Social Media for Branding
The current global commercial space is dominated by startups that take their first steps as an online store operating through social media. Larger entities are also making their presence felt through powerful social media and other digital tools. In other words ecommerce has dominated the commercial world. The ability to make a brand popular by simply sharing a page, for instance, makes social media extremely useful for branding. Social media helps business to create a name for themselves. With the publication of the business’ name a company becomes known separate from other business that may provide the same thing.

Rebranding Using Social Media
Rebranding is the recycling or refreshing of a company’s method of gaining popularity for their business in order to keep the attention of customers or in order to gain new customers. An updated or refreshed brand image is best shared with the public through social media platforms.
Social media makes this process easier because of its massive information stream. A business, if it takes the correct approach, can easily change its entire previous impression on consumers to whatever the current desired idea is. If a business desires to change their logo or colors for instance, this can be shared with the public through the visual and audiovisual content the company posts on its social media platform. This will help to keep the target market engaged with the brand and reduce or even eliminate the risk of losing some customers during rebranding.
 
Gaining Brand Loyalty Through Social Media
Brand loyalty is crucial to business success. Every successful brand has a base of loyal supporters who habitually select that brand over the competition. While social media helps a business spread its name across the world it also begins to create brand loyal customers. If the business uses proper branding methods which make potential customers comfortable they may very well become loyal customers. If the brand’s social media pages successfully engage the target market then the business’ odds of gaining and keeping a loyal customer-base will increase.
Whether you are implementing a branding or rebranding plan, social media is a powerful tool which should be front and center on your radar.