Two things have resonated with me these last few days and I wanted to share these with you.  It is in regards to how powerful it is to show the people behind the logo.

The first was reading Amy Jo Martin’s new book “Renegades Write The Rules” (Amy is the founder of social media agency Digital Royalty) where she talks in some detail about this humanisation*.  That people want to connect with people, not logos.

This is something I have heard a lot about in my time in the industry and continues to strike a cord.  The second thing came to me whilst watching ‘Undercover Boss USA’, one of those programmes that I find fascinating.

Why does the show work so well?  It’s because it shows to the boss that it is not about technology or strategy or product, it’s about the people you have in your company.  More importantly it shows to employees that their boss is a real person with falabilities, a family and with beliefs…. this develops an emotional connection between them all.

The biggest frustration of both employees and fans in any business is lack of communication.  How can they buy into something when they have no idea what the philosophy is or what direction they are going?  Just ask the fans of Blackburn Rovers!

If you have employees who want to work for you and believe in the direction you are taking them then it improves your chances of success exponentially.

The same can be said for the external image of a company.  Those who hide behind logos and send out controlled corporate messages will have no emotional link with consumers.  If a better product (or even similar) comes along there is no affinity to stay with your brand.

So how can you ensure that you can have that relationship like others have done.  Those such as Apple, Virgin, Zappos and UFC to name just a few.  What do they all have in common?  They have leaders who have a vision, are very public/visible and approachable.

Even though Steve Jobs was never one for Twitter, he was the face of the brand and it was his vision that people bought into rather than any individual product.  The other mentioned are Richard Branson, Tony Heish and Dana White, all advocates of social media, who give consumers an insight into what their brand is all about, where it is going and why they should buy into their dreams.

So how does this relate to you?  It has always been said that people buy into WHY you do something rather than WHAT you do.  Whether it is a club, NGB, brand or charity, once people understand what you stand for and can feel part of the journey then they will follow you through thick and thin.

If you develop the ‘why’ you should be on there and how you can help give fans/consumers an insight to what you do and be a positive influence… then go for it.  Developing that link with them and showing people there is more than just a logo to what you are doing then I believe you will succeed.

As Amy says in her book;  “In contrast to traditional branding, social media focuses on building loyalty through community because…. humans connect with humans, not logos.”

“This human connection to brands isn’t groundbreaking.  If you think about your favourite brands, you’ll typically be able to identify the people you connect with, whether it’s the CEO you heard speak, a celebrity who endorses the brand, or someone you know directly who works for or advocates the brand.  There’s usually a human touch point that makes that brand more meaningful to you than your agreement with a tagline.”

Shaun, over on Digital Football, wrote about Chairman of clubs tweeting.  Should they do so and who does it now?  It is an open-ended question as they tend to do it with no real strategy and is more personal to them.  Are they doing a good job or damaging their clubs?  If you have no strategy then you could be doing the opposite of what you want to achieve.

For the record there are only 3 currently tweeting;

• Tony Fernandes                  (QPR)
• David Gold                            (West Ham)
• Darragh MacAnthony       (Peterborough)

Remember, people like to connect with people, not logos. 

*You can read more about Amy’s great new book (which launches tomorrow – 2nd October) with my review/write up tonight.