Social media is the perfect place to promote your brand and build your presence online. You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for a banner and can use in-built features like Instagram Analytics and TikTok Trends.
However, if you’re undergoing a rebrand, you may find that many of your social media followers push back against your changes. This is a common experience, as many web users reflexively dislike change—even if you feel the rebrand is entirely necessary.
Rather than scaling back your rebranding efforts after negative comments, take proactive action to rebrand effectively on social sites like Facebook or Instagram. This will prepare followers for the change, build a buzz around your brand, and aid your efforts to expand your firm’s reach.
When to rebrand
If it’s been a few years since you last considered your social presence, it may be time for a digital rebrand. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to choose new colors or change your business’s name, but you should think about sharpening up your graphics and cleaning up your videography.
If you’re unsure of whether or not a rebrand is right for your business, consider looking towards industry leaders in your market. Compare the direction big brands have taken in recent months, and compare their brand presence to your own. If you feel that your content looks outdated, chances are that your followers will feel the same. You’ll also want to assess common challenges to consider before a social rebrand such as:
- Your current presence and the value that different channels add (appraising the effectiveness of your presence may even convince you to shut down your X or LinkedIn page if you feel it isn’t worth the effort).
- The rules of each platform and potential pitfalls you may face when making wide-scale changes to your profile pictures, graphics, and page names (for example, you’ll need to check that the new tagline you wish to use isn’t already taken on Facebook or X).
- Your capacity to create new graphics and social post templates that fit the platform you’re posting to.
- The expectations your audience has and the potential pushback you’ll face when making changes.
You may even feel that, on reflection, you want to rebrand by changing your name online. This can feel a bit risky, as you don’t want to replicate the “X” fiasco that cost the company formerly known as Twitter to fall by 71 percent in value since the Musk takeover. However, there are plenty of examples of brands that have changed their name successfully (like Starburst and Snickers) that can guide your efforts and help you plan a successful rebrand.
Planning the rebrand
Once you decide that a rebrand is in the cards, move swiftly to start planning your next move. This can help you get ahead of common obstacles before you roll out new colors, logos, and graphics. You should bring the whole marketing team together at this point and host an effective brainstorming session that covers rebranding essentials like:
- Your expectations and goals for the rebrand
- Clear brand guidelines that cover tone, voice, style, and color palettes
- Your plan to build a buzz around your rebrand before it launches
Hosting a pre-launch brainstorming session is essential to get everyone pulling in the same direction. Brainstorming is beneficial for your team as it helps folks build on each other’s ideas and encourages teamwork. Effective branded brainstorming can refine your proposed changes quicker, too. This is crucial, as you’ll need to start building a press release for your proposed changes before pushing them on your social channel.
Consider tasking one of your team members with responding to negative comments on social sites once your rebrand launches. This can make a world of difference to the success of your proposed changes and will protect your long-term brand vision.
Conclusion
Social media rebranding is a huge undertaking for your business. You’ll need to conduct plenty of audience research before switching your fonts or graphics and should work collaboratively to ensure everyone is on the same page. Adopting a collaborative approach can get the rebrand completed quicker, too, meaning you can send press releases to your clients long before your rebrand goes live.
