Did you know “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is one of the most successful Fairy Tales ever?  It’s in the List of AFI’s 100 Years 100 Movies and ranks 34. Originally it was written by the German Brothers Grimm.
Remember the evil Queen who asks: “Mirror, mirror, on the wall…who’s the fairest of them all?”. The Mirror, pleasing her, answers: “you are, my Queen”. Then one day, the Queen discovers Snow White is the fairest of them all and decides to kill her. We all know she did not succeed with her Strategy. The Tale ends with the Queen falling of a cliff to her death. Snow White marries her Prince and lives happily ever after.

Snow White’s Fairy Tale teaches 3 Golden Lessons to Successfully Position yourself or your Brand in today’s over communicated marketplace.

1. Learn your Customers Mind

To successfully Position yourself, your brand, products or service don’t look at yourself, your brand or the product, look at the customers or prospect’s Mind. That is your Magic Mirror! And be honest with yourself. Really listen to how they perceive you. Don’t be like the Evil Queen. Learn how they talk about you. What do they like and what they don’t and why?

How can you listen to them? This is where a social community build around twitter, linkedin, facebook, youtube and other social media channels can help. You need big ears and they should be everywhere people are talking about you. Do not try to convert people that you are the fairest if you are not. It will not work. Stay real with yourself. Authenticity is highly valued these days.

2. Be consistent

The Social Media Mirror will come up with two results. One you like and the other you don’t. If you like how customers perceive you, nurture it, create a social profile that matches it. Use this social profile on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin or Youtube. And make sure you keep the position for a long time. Be consistent.

If you don’t like what you see, find another hole in the market. But only do it if you are sure you’ll be there first.  And again, if you take your new market position, be consistent, different, and easy to understand. Make sure everything you do with social media supports the position you would like to have in people’s minds. Keep looking in the Social Media Mirror and stay real with yourself. If your customers don’t buy your new (brand) position look for another one. It will save you a lot of money and time if you stop converting customers.

3. Build a relationships

You know why everybody loved Snow White? Because she took care of others first. The Dwarfs were crying for days when Snow White lay in the glass coffin. This teaches the importance of building a relationship and how to do it. The relationship you have with your customers wields influence over them. They will buy anything from you as long as it confirms the promise you(r) brand makes.

Social Media are the best tools to build an online relationship. Here again, it is about listening to others first. If you have a Facebook Page hire a great community manager. Make sure, he / she is passionate about your business, committed to support your positioning and is able to connect with your audience. Look for empathy if you hire someone. In How to Be Good at Business with Facebook I talked about how to stand out from the crowd.

Blogs are a great way to create a relationship with your audience. You’ll be able to engage with them and learn from their comments. Blogging, if done the right way, follows all 3 lessons – learn your customers Mind, be consistent and build a relationship. In How 3 Golden Rules Make Your Blog Posts Go Viral I talked about how you could use blogging to accomplish these.

Now, more than ever, you need to know how to position yourself in our over-communicated society.

I am sure your business will be successful if you start looking in the Social Media Mirror. Listen to your customers, be consistent with your position and engage to build relationships. That’s the only way your Time and Money is well spend.

What is your experience with positioning yourself with Social Media. Please leave your comments below.