This big strategy mistake could cause the wheels to fall off your online branding campaign

For years, I have been telling clients my wheel analogy and its importance for their online reputation. Now, I know that there are dozens of different “wheel” analogies, so let me explain mine.

I see many brands make the mistake of picking one social media platform and make that the hub for all their customer outreach and engagement. For example, a company focuses all of its creative energy on Facebook. It uploads videos. Posts photos. Published a special offer. Only on Facebook. They make Facebook their hub for their brand engagement.

But what if Facebook loses steam? What if their Facebook Page gets banned? What if Facebook says you have to start paying more for engagement?

I’ll tell you what happens, the wheel falls apart. You picked the wrong hub for your online reputation engagement.

Instead, you have to think of Facebook–or Twitter, or Google, or your newswire service, etc–as a spoke in your wheel. Each plays a role in supporting the wheel, but if one spoke fails, your wheel is still turning.

So, what is the hub?

The hub is the channel that you own. You control it. It is the central part of your branding. It’s your own website. My advice is to always use some kind of blog platform on your site and let that be the hub for all of the content you publish and promote. For example, that new sparkly infographic should first, and foremost, be published to your blog. Then you can share on Facebook. You can point your press release to it. You post a small section to Instagram. Etc, etc.

With this wheel strategy, your own site is the hub. The various channels are your spokes. And the tire is where your target audience lives. Your clients, customers, journalists, bloggers, investors, and partners are where your branding rubber meets the road!