5 Steps For Building An Online Brand That Connects And Compels Action

Forbes

17 hours ago

Adam Petrilli is a reputation management expert and CEO at NetReputation.com, an award-winning Online Reputation Management (ORM) firm.
Building a successful brand requires visibility, communication, connection, engagement and customer advocacy. A strong online presence can achieve all this so your business can grow and thrive. A digital presence lets you shape and tell your story, build customer relationships and distinguish your brand from competitors.
Below, I'll map out five critical components for building your online brand.
Communicating across all online channels is critical for establishing brand credibility and trust. Make sure all your profiles—from Google My Business to your website, social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, TikTok, etc.) and Wikipedia page—are consistent and accurate. This includes your brand's look and feel and the narrative you convey about your values and mission statement.
You want to represent authenticity, establish an emotional connection and impart information that speaks to your customers and potential clients. Every part of your brand should align with your overall message.
I recommend writing and publishing positive stories and headlines to boost your brand's presence and credibility. Regularly provide valuable, educational and original content to engage your customers and prospects and build trust. For example, you can create high-quality blogs to post on your website and thought leadership articles for B2B publications, business magazines and LinkedIn.
In your stories and posts, include social proof such as testimonials, reviews and milestones that showcase your brand's credibility. Engage in conversations on social media that reflect your brand's personality.
I've found that a consistent content strategy also helps with search and getting to the top of page one on Google. When a client or potential customer wants to find out about your brand, they'll likely see and click on the positive stories and headlines you've created.
If any negative or irrelevant results appear in search, content creation with fresh, new stories will help push these results down on the page. In generating valuable and engaging content highlighting your brand's strengths, achievements and positive customer experiences, you can outweigh negative content in the search results.
When creating blog articles and other content for your website, optimize it with relevant keywords and phrases to help ensure you're targeting the right audience when people search your brand online. By strategically including relevant terms in titles and throughout the content, you can help Google identify specific topics and direct individuals looking for that information to your website.
Other key steps to take when developing or reviewing your existing website include ensuring it is responsive, looks great and functions seamlessly on mobile devices. Maintain consistency with your visuals and ensure the site is easy to navigate. You want clear calls to action once customers and prospects land there.
Your digital brand strategy must include a strong social media presence to connect with customers and build relationships. Be sure to choose the right platforms, which requires knowing where your audience spends their time scrolling and engaging.
LinkedIn is a must for connecting with decision-makers if you provide financial services to businesses. Instagram and TikTok may make sense if your customers are in travel or fashion. Spend time researching your audience's preferences so you can focus your efforts where your customers are most active.
Ensure your content rings true across the social media channels you engage on. Be authentic and genuine. Participate in conversations, comment and ask questions to strengthen the connection with your brand.
Equally important, post consistently so you remain top of mind with your customers. Mix it up with your posts and include videos and customer stories to further engagement. Keep in mind, however, that quality trumps quantity.
It's not enough to create an online presence for your brand if you don't monitor it. You want to continue to have control over how your brand is perceived. Employ a proactive and responsive review management strategy that keeps tabs on what is being said about your brand and business.
Various social listening and media monitoring tools, as well as Google Alerts, will help you track online conversations, respond to feedback, identify trends and patterns, and assess and manage brand reputation.
If a negative comment or review appears, respond professionally and quickly. Be real and take accountability, if appropriate, to turn a customer's negative experience into a brand win and advocacy if you can make things right.
I also recommend identifying patterns in conversations so you can take these opportunities to make adjustments. For example, if customers complain about delays in receiving products, you can immediately investigate the cause and set things right before it becomes a crisis in confidence and impacts your sales. This helps with client retention, as it shows you value your customers' input and are ready to make necessary changes to address and meet their expectations.
A consistent and accurate brand profile that reflects your story; a content strategy that includes positive stories, articles and headlines; an optimized website; a strong social media presence; and a proactive review management process are the building blocks of an online brand presence that connects and engages with customers and encourages prospects to take action.
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