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Avoid These 10 Digital Branding Mistakes

In an effort to cure small businesses of epic branding fails, here are ten specific etiquette tips to keep your brand from being labeled as "that brand"!

Last week, I got an email from my auto-responder informing me that someone left a comment when they unsubscribed from my Brandspiration updates.

Here’s what she had to say…

I’m fed up with getting e-mails which say nothing. I don’t understand tweeting and I don’t want to read the whole of your website, either send me an article or don’t. I don’t have time to waste!” Now, I’ve gotta go out and have fun at someone else’s expense…”

This note made me super excited!

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Why on earth would I get enjoyment from being told that someone doesn’t want to hear from me anymore? It’s an opportunity to find out what I can improve about my brand. That’s awesome!

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Like many of you that have created a company blog, I share email notifications that let subscribers know when a new post is available. There is also a link that encourages my subscribers to tweet about it (if they are so inclined) and a link to read the entire article.

While her response gave me insight on her personal preferences I was more concerned with the hostility of her response and conclusion that my emails  “say nothing” and are a waste of time. So, I took the opportunity to find out more and asked her to clarify: “Was she receiving a blank email or did she just not like the format of my notifications? In response, I received another somewhat angry email, but she clarified what she meant, and I left it at that.

I appreciate that she took the time to answer, and considered the fact that maybe she was just having a bad week.

 

Bad Weeks Equal Bad Branding

When I’m on social media networks like Twitter I’ve noticed that I get a lot of retweets when I share content about business etiquette and common courtesies. I suspect most people are fed up with everyday online jerks and could use a bit more optimism in their lives.

This observation, and my recent “angry email” encounter, made me realize that there are a lot of people out there that are unknowingly branding themselves as “a-holes” — they are essentially committing Internet rage.

I liken this phenomena to “normally nice” people that become antagonistic behind steering wheels. They engage in hostile behavior behind the cloak of Internet anonymity.

Don’t be this guy (or girl or brand)!

 

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