Rebranding is necessary every once in a while. When your company outgrow
s its original scope or territory, or as a result of a merger, you need to reflect the exciting new changes in the brand name, logo, tagline and various other graphic elements which make up the unique identity of your business.
While it is a necessary step, rebranding is also a tricky one. When it is not done right, your customers may be confused, unable to understand the change. Some of them may walk away, believing that you are not the same company selling the same products they love and need.
Communication is the key to a successful rebranding and it should start where you are most actively looking for clients: on your social media accounts. Indeed, social media is your best friend in executing a perfect rebranding. You just need to know how to use it.
And this is exactly what we will do today: show you how to handle a rebranding on your social media accounts.
- Start Talking about the Change Ahead of Time
People are easily excited by the prospect of being “in the know” for something special going on. And this is exactly how you need to start your proposed rebranding: by hinting at some exciting news concerning your business.
This first step must be followed by gradual sneak peek posts disclosing, little by little, the event you are preparing: a new image, a fresh approach and lots of new features and benefits for your clients under the new brand name and business strategy.
- Be Clear about the New Unique Selling Proposition
Why are you rebranding? The whole reason behind this change is your unique selling proposition – what you do different and better than your competition. The social media is the perfect medium to share a great story about how you are going to do things better and be closer than ever to your customers.
After all, rebranding is always about your customer base: reaching new market segments and consolidating your go-to supplier position among your existing clients.
- Be Consistent across All Channels
The success of your rebranding campaign resides in the consistency in your approach. Once you initiate the process, you should do it on all your social media accounts. Here are a few considerations to remember:
- Facebook™ page names can be changed whenever you want if you have less than 200 likes. Once you exceed this number, you have to send a special request to the Facebook™ Team accompanied by any justifying documents you have. Please note that this process can take weeks or even months;
- LinkedIn page names can be edited for minor changes whenever you want. If your business has less than 100 employees, you can change the entire name of the page. For large companies, you should contact the LinkedIn Help Centre and ask them to help you migrate the followership from the old page to the one you will create under the new brand name;
- Twitter offers the easiest process for changing your handle: log out, log back in and change settings.
- Educate Your Followers
As the rebranding day approaches, let your followers know what this will mean for them. For example: whether they will have to re-join your list of subscribers on your website or to update their customer accounts. In order to lose as few customers as possible, the transition should involve minimal friction and make things easier for your customers (online and mobile shopping, checkout process, contacting the customer support centre).
- Listen to Feedback
As you start unveiling your rebranding strategy, you will receive feedback from your social media followers. If there is a significant percentage of negative feedback, then you need to reconsider and change your rebranding plans. Once your customers note that their opinions were taken into consideration, they will be even more eager to embrace the change and continue to stay loyal to your business.