Your brand is more than just your logo or the color palette you use online. It’s the reputation you build, and the relationships you create with your followers. Fail to maintain a good name, and your reputation and influence will crumble.
With so many content creators on the web today, your audience doesn’t have to follow you if they are unable to trust you 100%. That’s why it’s so important to make sure that you’re maintaining the right reputation.
The following 5 strategies will give you more than a way to defend your online identity; they will provide brand-building support, without breaking your budget.
1. Create Educational Content
There’s a reason why marketing experts agree that “content is king”. Producing content online, whether it’s videos and podcasts, or blog posts and articles, is a way to increase your reach in the digital world.
The right content attracts traffic, but it also supports better relationships with your followers and enhances your position as a thought leader in your field.
If you regularly post informative and educational content, your followers will begin to trust you and your brand a lot more.
To develop a better reputation through content, make sure you focus on creating the right resources for your audience. Think about the audience you target, and the kind of questions they’ll want you to answer with your content.
You can also look at your competitors to see what kind of content they’re producing and use it as inspiration. Just make sure you don’t copy/paste your campaigns.
2. Maintain Positive Communication
If you want a solid reputation online, then you need to make sure to communicate with your audience frequently, and transparently. Social media channels are a fantastic way to establish a positive relationship with your followers.
To improve your online reputation, don’t just post at your social followers, have conversations with them.
If someone leaves a comment on your social platform, never ignore them, regardless of whether the comment is positive or negative. If your followers say something nice, you can respond with a “thank you”.
If they share your content and tag you, a quick note to thank them will go a long way to establishing a closer relationship because your followers will feel heard and appreciated.
However, if someone says something negative, be careful and remain calm. Throwing names and defaming someone could do more harm to you than to them. Handle the situation with grace and try to find a way to end any disputes as quickly as possible.
You’ll also want to ensure that your followers are following in your steps. Monitor your channels closely to eliminate any sort of toxic behavior. You’ll quickly start losing followers if they see that your platforms are no longer a safe and uplifting environment.
3. Form Relationships With Other Influencers
As a new brand, you might struggle initially to reach the right people who would surely enjoy your content if they only knew about it. Also, people often have a difficult time forming opinions about your brand because they don’t know much about you.
If that’s the case, having some help from other influencers can be very helpful.
Partnering with influencers that already have sway over your target audience can give you a quick boost when you’re still in the early stages of building your brand.
Influencers with an established follower base could extend your reach to people that might not have heard of you yet.
Larger influencers also give you more credibility, showing that you have connections with the right people.
Try sharing their content to drive traffic back to them, and in turn, they can give you shout-outs that generate more traffic and engagement.
You don’t have to aim for partnerships with the biggest names in your niche, either. Even micro-influencers in your or similar niches can make a major impact and help you stand out from the crowd.
4. Openly Admit to Mistakes
We all make mistakes. Human beings aren’t perfect, and since you’re most likely tasked with managing your brand on your own, there’s always a chance that something could go wrong.
You can take a few steps to prevent certain issues from happening, such as having the right protection in place for your website and social media accounts. However, even then there is no real guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong.
The good news that most of your customers will have some empathy for you. Authenticity is the magic word here.
As long as you show you’re willing to learn from your mistakes and solve any problems that emerge, your followers will be generous.
You have to be transparent about your mistakes from day one. Admit to anything that goes wrong right away and apologize.
Show your audience that you’re not trying to sweep any issues under the rug and be prepared to update and improve however you can. Admitting to the occasional mistake will even make you seem more relatable, making your brand easier to connect to.
5. Protect Your Site and Assets
Speaking of mistakes, although some problems will be unavoidable, there are many steps you can take to protect yourself and your audience from any harm that may come to them as part of their experience.
Start by ensuring that you have the right security in place for your site, online channels, social media accounts, and anything else that you use to build your digital reputation.
Find a way to protect your digital assets from potential hackers and security issues.
Make sure that you have a backup plan in place to defend your data and ensure that your site can stay up and running if something goes wrong.
Nowadays, it’s easier than ever for hackers to access sensitive data about you or your followers. If you want to start treating your online brand as a business, you need to be aware of how badly malware and other malicious attacks could affect your reputation.
Remember, it’s not just your site that you need to protect, but your social media platforms too. Keep your followers safe wherever they interact with you.
Building Your Reputation Takes Effort
Unfortunately, while a great brand takes years to develop, all it takes is a few bad mistakes or a security vulnerability, and you could end up with a tarnished reputation.
To protect your brand and build valuable relationships with your audience, you need to ensure that you have the right strategy in place. The tips above should give you plenty of ways to begin building a great reputation, without spending a fortune on expensive marketing campaigns.
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Author: Ashley Wilson is a digital nomad and writer for hire, specialized in business and tech topics. In her self-care time, she practices yoga via Youtube. She has been known to reference movies in casual conversation and enjoys trying out new food. You can get in touch with Ashley via Twitter.
