Recently somebody asked me a question on Quora as to how one can use Facebook reactions to create Brand affinity.

This got me thinking as I thought how easy it is today to get an instant response to your brand messages. The reaction is instantaneous so much so that in your private social accounts people get so hooked on to see how many likes they have got leading to depression if their posts do not get the desired response.  Would it be the same for brands and really how can they leverage this.

My answer to the question is below. Do read and share feedback.

I am presuming you are wanting to build a brand through the digital medium with Facebook being one of the key platforms. I am also presuming you are going to be building content for the brand which is Facebook friendly.

First, let’s look at what is brand affinity?

In simplistic terms brand affinity can be defined as the emotional connect a customer has with your brand; i.e. how emotionally invested he is in your brand. And we as marketeers like to think that he is choosing our brand over the competition because of how much emotion he has invested in your brand.

If we assume all the above, then you can build great content befitting your product or service by clearly defining what it stands for. I would like to give you an example of a brand called Rebel Circus who have built terrific content.  Or look up #effingutbrewery/ #effingutbrews a brand our company #xebeccommunications is building which has great brand salience.

It is now relatively easier to gauge what resonates with your customer and what does not. The closer your content is to your brand values, the more it connects with your customers. The likes, shares and comments give you instant feedback. Being a two-way communication, you can easily check the pulse of consumers and decide what works and what does not.

So net, net you must define your brand values and what is the tone of voice you want to use. Building a meaningful brand always works in the long run.

If it has a meaning for your end-customer, it creates terrific brand affinity.