Social Media Personalizes Your Brand

Take a second and think of the brands or companies you interact with that have the worst reputations. Here are the ones that come to mind for me:

• Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
• Comcast
• United States Postal Service (USPS)

I was traveling through the San Diego Airport recently and as I passed through the security checkpoint, I saw this sign that caught my attention.

How hated is security at airports? So much complaining and disdain for the process. Most people acknowledge that security at airports is actually quite important but who enjoys the exercise? Probably no one. We grumble, complain, and dread the experience.

With one picture, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) made my experience brighter. No longer was I suffering through the experience with a faceless organization. They had personalized it with the faces of their employees.

This wasn’t done with social media but it’s a great example of how humanizing your brand changes the way your customer feels. These are people with families and lives. It’s hard for a person to continue being grumpy  when given that window into the lives of others.

(Sorry the image is blurry. I took it quickly, afraid that they wouldn’t like me taking pictures at a security checkpoint.)