Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Disney walk into a bar (go with me on this one). The bartender says to the three branding powerhouses, “Free drinks tonight to the brand with the most influence!”
Starbucks orders an espresso shot (classic Starbucks), knocks it back and yells, “I’ve got the most Likes on Facebook!”
Coca-Cola waves his hand at Starbucks says condescendingly, “Oh Rookie, how cute you are. Come back when you hit puberty.”
Disney leans in and says one word: “Mickey.”Then he drops a microphone and walks away with his arms raised (where did he get the mic?)
The bartender again: “All impressive. But who is bigger?”
Then, from the corner of the bar, hidden by shadows, saunters a man in his seventies up to the bar. And in his classic baritone voice he says, “Oh Myyy. Size matters?”
Ok. So Jon Stewart won’t be calling me anytime soon to write jokes for the Daily Show. I get it. The phrase, “Stick to what you know”is blaring in my head. And what I know? I’m learning from Mr. Sulu. The Star Trek helmsman himself: George Takei.
It is true—vastly true—that Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Disney all have higher Facebook Page Likes than Takei. With Coca-Cola sitting pretty at 86.6 million followers, I’d say they’ve hit light speed on the branding frontier (see what I did there?) compared to Takei’s 7.3 million. But—and this is a big but—that’s not the only number to concern yourself with on Facebook. There’s this little number count lurking behind the scenes on every Facebook Page that tells you how many people are talking about this page.
And this number? Well let’s just say that the pissing contest is pointless because George Takei blows them all out of the water. With over 2.5 million people talking about his page (compared to the giant Coke not even breaking one million), you can bet your cute little Trekkie behind that his brand is stronger than the lions, and tigers, and bears in the branding game. (And again…Oh Myyy).
screencap of the George Takei facebook page
Let me put it this way:
A Good Brand has got their message (or story) down to a science. Their vision and mission is portrayed time and time again with their colors, their personality, their sense of adventure (aka risk taking).
A Great Brand does all of the above. But the biggest difference? It gets everyone talking about it. All. The. Time.
That’s what Mr. Sulu has accomplished and why I study him (not in a creepy way).
Here are the 5 tricks George Takei uses to create a Great Brand.
1) Niche.
Oh the niche. One of the biggest problems I see with most new entrepreneurs is the need to sell something/have something to say to everyone. But the reality is, everyone can’t—and won’t—be your customer. Or your fan. When you pick a niche (a selected group, topic, or theme to “speak”about), you are drawing in those that have the same interests and therefore, you get people who are more engaging. Takei talks about topics that draw in a certain niche: “Trekkies, Howard Stern listeners, and the LGBTQ community.”
2) Consistency.
There are two things to consider when talking about consistency:
1) How often you post, share, or speak. Keep it the same so that your target market knows what to expect.
And 2) the topics of things shared fall within the niche.
For example, let’s say you’re into fashion and there’s a brand you follow that updates you on the latest trends and stories in the industry. You may bristle when all of a sudden they begin to talk about the nuisances of astronauts without relaying it to fashion (and I’ll buy a drink to the person who can believably connect the two). Needless to say, George Takei is very consistent on both counts. Meaning that people can easily trust him to deliver every time.
3) Short and Visual.
Takei takes his target audience into consideration here. He knows that the people who follow him will log onto their Facebook app from their phone and quickly thumb through their news feed. It’s a fact that our attention spans these days are (ahem) short lived, to put it nicely. So Takei creates short, visual posts to not only grab attention as they are sprinting through FB, but he also makes sure the posts fit into the hyperdrive viewing style of his readers: Quick, fun, and to the point.
4) Interactive.
Now imagine that I doused this particular trick in cognac whip cream, sea salt caramel sauce, and a perfect plump cherry on top because this is a delectable humdinger (people don’t use that word enough anymore. Humdinger. Rolls off the tongue). This is what Takei does to the max and why his “People Are Talking About This”number is so high. Takei has spawned and enhanced a system that allows his fans to share content with him and he puts the best ones up on his wall. In other words, the bulk of his posts are fan-generated. And moonlighting as the cherry on top, he adds captions, and stories, and comments to just about each one. This little nugget of brilliance causes fans to respond, like, and (woot woot!) share his content. Which means that friends, of friends, of friends are following George and gives him the numbers (Boom. Dessert is served!)
5) Creates Community.
And to tie it all up, between his niche, his consistency, knowing his audience, and his ability to avidly interact with his fans, George Takei creates a community. The need for belonging to something runs deep in our DNA. We want to feel like we’re members of something—anything. A family, a group, a town, a team. George brings people together by inserting humor, passion, and honest glimpses into his own life. Ergo (hehe) his fans have grown to love and trust him so they stand up with him. Which means, he’s someone worth listening to. He’s created a brand that sticks. A brand that people can feel proud to be a part of.
Brand isn’t just about picking the right colors or font. It isn’t about matching a business card with your website (though clearly I do suggest this). It’s about parenting a place where people can go and feel relieved when their expectations are met. It’s a place where they feel comfortable to share and proud even to the smallest degree because they believe they belong. And a Great Brand affirms that belief.
You don’t needs millions of followers to achieve this greatness. Giving the tricks above a tip of the hat—if you will—can spark new life in your brand (or even catapult it into existence), making it easy for your fans to know, like, and trust you.
Even when you throw in a bad “Walks into a Bar”joke.