by Leigh Goessl

Created on: September 12, 2010

A company's brand is its identity and this is one of the early steps a company should take as it begins the building blocks to its foundation. It is essential for a business to define who they are and what they do prior to beginning any of the other processes associated with starting a business.

Once a brand is established, companies enjoy the relaxation in knowing that consumers know who they are and associate them with their specialty. However managing a brand does not stop there, it takes ongoing nurturing to ensure the company remains true to its roots and maintains a presence as a business consumers can rely upon.

The social media has added a new twist to traditional marketing and managing a company brand identity. It used to be consumers interacted through talking with neighbors, chatting with other customers in stores or by sharing information via family, friends and colleagues. Perhaps an occasional letter to the editor in a newspaper.

Today's world is different, consumers are not talking to a handful of people, they are literally sharing information with millions of other web users, every single day. The Internet has transformed the way companies need to market their businesses.

There are many challenges involved in managing a brand on the social web. Social media experts define some of the challenges of as being:  transparency, scale, managerial tools, revenue ability, customer relationship management, and uncertainty about the future. Another consideration is correctly engaging in market research and strategic planning and essentially understanding how social media relates to traditional marketing.

*Transparency

Companies that appear to hide or remain aloof are not going to be as attractive to consumers as those businesses which present themselves to be the proverbial open book. With so many corporate scandals floating through the media, people often tend to automatically be wary and suspicious of businesses.

Providing strong levels of transparency will ultimately provide the public with higher levels of confidence rather than wondering what shifty behavior is going on behind the scenes. Social media expert Drew Olanoff emphasizes the need to "be everything to everyone". He recommends companies be forthright in their messages.

*Ratio of Consumers to Employees

Ford's social media chief, Scott Monty, cites scale as being a significant social media challenge. The reason for this is simple, there are more consumers than employees. It is difficult

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