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Online reputation is one of the most important things to consider when building your brand. Whether you are shipping products worldwide or serving your community as a small neighborhood restaurant, a good online reputation can win you new customers. On the flip side, a bad or nonexistent online reputation can cost you potential customers. That’s how important it is to take control of your online branding.
Plus, once you build an online reputation, you have to work to manage it in order to protect it. There are professionals and platforms to help you, from content creators who specialize in search engine optimization to brand reputation management platforms that bring all the loose ends together. Whether you do it yourself or hire some expert help, here are some questions to keep in mind as you build your online brand.
How do you build brand reputation?
Building an online reputation takes work. It also takes strategy — you want to attack it on a number of fronts. Three of the biggest areas to work on include content creation, social media, and customer engagement, which includes review management.
Content creation is a great way to build your online reputation. By sharing useful and engaging content through your website, blog, and guest blogs, you can get your brand in front of more people. Content creation can also attract the attention of potential customers by offering information they seek out rather than hammering them with advertising.
It is important to use keywords that people are likely to use and that are closely related to your business and the topics you share. Keep producing great content with relevant keywords, and people will seek you out for the information and products they want.
While content creation can bring people to you through the keywords they search for on Google and Bing, social media can help you reach out to new audiences directly and introduce them to your brand. Engaging social media done on a consistent basis is key to building a solid online reputation for your brand. This is a great place to engage with consumers on their terms, and to share stories and create experiences that resonate with a specific, targeted audience of people who are more likely to buy your products or services.
How can you protect your brand reputation?
The final piece of brand reputation management is online reviews. Word of mouth has been the fuel that runs the engines of business forever, and it is still going strong in the digital age through online reviews.
In fact, it is easier than ever for customers to share their experiences with a business. For better or worse, thousands of people can read the reviews of your business online. The accumulation of this input is a key part of your company’s online reputation. A strong online reputation can mean a growing business, while a bad or nonexistent online reputation can really hurt your bottom line.
Taking control of your business’s online reputation allows you to shape how you are perceived by current and potential customers. Doing this takes initiative. It also takes a lot of organization because of all the details and moving parts. Who has time for that? Fortunately, there are online reputation management platforms like Podium that can take care of it all so you don’t have to take too much time away from your business.
How long does it take to build a reputation?
It can take time to build a solid online reputation, at least 6 to 12 months. The good news is that you can get started right away and see results as soon as you have positive reviews coming in from satisfied customers. The key to building strong online brand reputation, especially if you want to see results soon, is to engage with customers. Answer their questions, address any issues they have, and share new details about your business and products. This activity adds up and can quickly elevate your online profile and reputation.
People like to hear from businesses they patronize. Even more, they like to know that they are being heard. Responding to your customers is a great way to enhance your reputation and give your company a leg up on the competition.
How can you protect your brand reputation?
You may have heard about the old Warren Buffet adage that it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it. With online engagement, you can build that reputation much faster than 20 years, but protecting it from ruin is something you have to think about. Just as there is much reward in online engagement and reputation building, there is also some risk. That’s why it’s important to actively engage in online reputation monitoring, and if necessary, online reputation repair.
Bad reviews can damage your brand’s reputation. The key to protecting your brand is to constantly monitor it online for anything untrue or slanderous and to always be working on positive engagement and reviews. Bad reviews happen, but they can be overwhelmed by a greater number of positive reviews. You can also take the opportunity to address bad reviews with positive responses and assistance. Even if people only look at the average rating your business has received, a lot of five-star reviews will outweigh those few one-star reviews to keep your reputation soaring.
How do I build my brand?
Building your brand takes time and effort. You need to get your brand in front of a lot of people. Find opportunities for positive engagement with people online. This includes customers and potential customers that you attract by producing engaging content and through social media outreach. By associating your brand with positive interaction, helpful content, and of course great products, your brand will earn a solid reputation.
This is where expert help can really go a long way. It takes a lot of work to build your online brand, monitor it, and protect it. A brand management platform like Podium will do a lot of that work for you so you can focus on delivering the great products and services associated with your growing brand.