How to Rebrand your Social Media Presence
If your business has shifted since you first created your social media profiles, and you’re thinking of considering a rebrand of your company’s social identity, this is totally possible. If prepared the right way, it is possible to rebrand your company via social media without losing a large amount of subscribers along the way.
Is Rebranding Social Media Right for your Company?
You’ll first want to consider whether rebranding is a smart option for your company.
True rebranding involves updating a company’s goals, message and culture. – Luke Brassinga of Likeable Brands,
Your social networking profile is closely linked to your company’s image. If you are thinking about rebranding just because you like the sound of a new name better, the extra effort may not be worth it.
Therefore, rebranding is suited to the following companies:
• Ones that want to change their overall structure
• Companies interested in diversifying their products
• Businesses that want to address aspects that are outdated or failing
If rebranding is right for you, here are the steps to take for rebranding your social media presence.
Be Well-Prepared
To avoid any errors, follow these steps:
• Secure the .com version of your brand name’s URL
• Make sure your Twitter handle will still be available
• Run focus groups to target any issues with your prospective rebranding
Take the time with the research portion before you take on a huge rebranding campaign. This will prevent any possible disasters with your marketing efforts.
Know Your Limitations
When you’re preparing for rebranding, there are some limitations to consider. These restrictions should not get in the way of rebranding your social media profiles, but you’ll want to take them into consideration before undergoing the change process.
With Facebook, owners cannot change their names after they’ve received 200 “likes,” so brands can’t buy or sell Facebook fans. Sure, you can create a new page and get your previous followers to like your new page, but you must be aware that you will have some fan losses.
When it comes to Twitter, changing your user name and profile information is easy and there should not be any issues. However, you’ll still want to conduct an outreach campaign in order to educate followers as to why these changes have taken place, and what your new brand means.
With LinkedIn, changing your personal information is easy, but it’s more complicated with rebranding when it comes to LinkedIn Groups and Company Pages. This is because group identities can only be changed five times. To prevent issues, make sure your group logo is ready before you change your group name so you can avoid a large number of changes needed when you rebrand. Also, another complications is that LinkedIn Company pages can only be changed when you contact the LinkedIn Help Center directly. If you predict these changes with your social media platforms, though, you should be best equipped when it comes to the rebranding process.
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