Cultivating a brand image is an important aspect of online business. If you have a successful and powerful brand, you create brand recognition. Customers will in turn, come to associate your business with certain qualities. This in turn helps to boost your customer base and project a positive image that you can benefit from.
Part of that brand is to look at your reputation, and manage how your business is perceived. Ideally, there should be no negative portrayals of your business. Also, anything you do should be positive and reflect good on your business. We have listed four simple ways below that you can do this!
Use consistent, non-offensive language
First and foremost you must manage the language you use. This includes verbally when engaging with customers, suppliers, and shareholders. But it also includes any online content – websites, a blog, emails, and social media.
You must use non-offensive language. Also, you must be incredibly careful to avoid any inflammatory language that could potentially cause upset. We have all seen businesses and individuals being called-out for their comments on social media, for example – don’t let your business be counted among these people. If you think that something you are typing could be taken the wrong way, rewrite it, or don’t post it!
Only link to curated content and reputable websites
To create an effective business and SEO strategy you must use backlinks and link to other relevant content. This is a well-practiced technique. However, it can also be damaging to your brand reputation. What happens if you link to a relevant article, only to find out that the company has other articles with inflammatory content? This could damage your reputation and you could become associated with these views too.
Whenever linking to external content, research the company or source thoroughly. Check their ethos, and the other types of content they publish. Also, it is prudent to include a disclaimer when posting a link, something like “We are not responsible for any external content and do not share the sites viewpoint unless explicitly stated” – this can help cover your business and reputation.
Check regularly for spam content and interactions
Spam can be incredibly damaging to your brand reputation. We have all seen the Facebook business pages full of scam comments. Alternatively, we have all seen social media accounts that are followed by beautiful models or made-up people. This looks bad on your reputation – it makes your business look cheap, and like it doesn’t care.
Curate your website, blogs, and social media content to remove any spam content. Do this on a regular basis to ensure nothing slips through and potentially damages your brand. Only allow relevant content to the post, web page, or blog that the person is responding too.
Use a consistent set of promotional material
Finally, using a set of consistent promotional material and marketing can help boost your brand reputation. For example, you should have a set of professional business cards (You can use tools like Business Cards to create one). You should also use consistent language, colors, and styles for your promotional material. This will help create a unified look for your business and boost your reputation.
As you can see, if you keep a tight control on your online material and customer interactions, you can easily manage your brand reputation. It is important to understand the benefits of a positive brand reputation. Just think about the companies that have been involved in scandals – how damaging has this been for their reputation and sales? Brand reputation is vital, so take control of yours today!
By Robert Phillips, for AdBerry
