Sharing your Rebrand on Social Media in 7 Steps
Deciding to rebrand your company is not a small decision. Your original brand may have evolved into something new and captivating. It may be time for you to rebrand if you feel the changes within your business are big enough for it to reflect something different on social media.
During a rebrand, the original brand becomes something bigger than itself. If your business is thinking of rebranding, this step-by-step article will give you helpful tips on how to promote a company through social media.
1. ORGANIZE WHAT YOU WANT TO PROMOTE
A rebrand encompasses lots of changes, and it is important to know it might feel overwhelming at first. It can seem like it’s going to get worse before it gets better. For your business to come out bigger and better after the rebrand, it is important not to rush your new first impression.
Take the time and decide exactly what you want your new message to be. Some brands decide to completely redesign their business and follow a whole different path, while others simply choose to advance in a new direction. Whatever you choose, make sure you can do this all while staying true to your audience.
2. READY YOUR AUDIENCE
Since there will be change, it is imperative to give your audience a heads up, as you have to get them ready to see those changes. A wise phrase to live by during this process is: Tell your audience, don’t just surprise them. For your business to have a successful rebrand, and for you to keep your audience’s brand loyalty, you have to notify them of the changes to be made.
This can be an exciting time for your business. It is important to note some of your audience may not immediately be along for the ride, and you may even lose some of your current followers. However, this is a time for your business to grow and gain new supporters.
3. CHECK AVAILABILITY
Before you up and decide what your new Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn handles are going to be, you have to make sure they are available. Check and double check the availability of potential social media handles. It would be embarrassing to announce one thing, and to then have to go back and change it due to it being unavailable.
Even if you run into a certain handle being taken, you can get creative. Think about what you are changing and see what you could add to make it more interesting. This is also a great time to start thinking about new descriptions, or bios, to go along with the new handles.
4. PREPARE FAQ
It is inevitable that your rebrand is going to bring some questions to the surface. What you can do to prevent being bombarded with questions is to plan for people to ask questions. Research frequently asked questions that pertain to your company’s rebrand, and come up with answers beforehand.
This way, when customers begin to ask, you are prepared to answer them. This helps to clear up any confusion and makes it easier for both you and your followers to understand what’s going on.
5. UPDATE ALL SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
Before announcing the rebrand, update all of your company’s social media accounts. You do not want to announce a rebrand and have your social media marketing efforts still be focused around the old brand. The first thing your customers are going to want to do is check out all of your new social media accounts.
Your audience is going to be intrigued and is going to want to follow everything new to keep up with the changes. You do not want confusion between what’s old and what’s new. If you have new accounts, delete the old. It’s all about redirecting your audience to the new accounts.
6. LAUNCH REBRAND
Now is the time. The well-thought-out rebrand is finally ready to be launched. You have finalized all of your new ideas, prepared your audience, created new social media accounts or updated the old, prepared for questions and now it’s go time.
Address all of the new changes at the same time the rebrand is launched. If the rebrand is a whole different concept than the old brand, explain why. If you’ve just amped up the original brand, still be sure to let your customers know exactly what has changed.
7. PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE
This is the most important part of a rebrand. The key is to be social on social media. Your previous audience should already be on board, but your new users are going to need to be informed of the new brand and all it has to offer.
Sharing new content you have created for the rebrand is a wonderful way to promote it. This will both inform new customers of the new brand, and show your previous audience the benefits of the rebrand. Promoting the brand will successfully elevate the user experience, and make sure everyone is on the same page.
Now that you have followed through with your rebranding decision, you can celebrate the new brand. It is important to continue sharing all the excitement on your social media accounts while informing your audience how your company operates and reminding them you chose to rebrand for all the right reasons. Social media promotion is a continuous game, so stay active with your brand’s accounts and show how it has become something bigger and better.
This article originally published on the Red Branch Media Blog by Hannah Wilson.
