What Nike achieved with its latest 30-year slogan anniversary ad featuring Colin Kaepernick can be called a blunder, a PR disaster, or a brilliant move to strengthen its emotional bond with its most loyal customer base. However, the social media response varies from those who chose to burn their products, to those expressing their strong support, and this is where such powerful brands can actually take this risk and benefit from it in the long run. On the other hand, unless you come with a several-decade-long existence, you need to do your best to build a reputation without alienating any customers.
This by no means keeps you away from any risk-taking, on the contrary, almost everything you do at first will require a certain level of uncertainty, and you’ll need to refine your strategy through the years. However, the five listed ideas should help you work on that strategy in the years to come, and strengthen your company image for greater success.
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Build your online presence
Companies tend to invest hefty sums of money into building fast and furious websites in the early stages of their journey. However, what may have been considered cutting-edge a few years ago doesn’t guarantee ongoing visitor retention – yes, that’s how quickly things change in the digital world. Constant revamps, regular posts, ongoing chats through comments, and social media shares is what your brand needs to earn and retain its reputation.
Of course, the essentials such as loading speed, quality images, and ease of navigation remain the most relevant factors in website design. That is still no excuse to not put some creative effort into your digital presence and turn it into an experience!
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Get more social
It has become an indelible part of our lives, and what we do on social media heavily affects our actual, real life decisions. After all, when you are looking for the next best running gear, you go to your sporty friends and ask them if they know a brand you can trust, or a store with a discount.
However, what you as a brand do on social media, by posting audience-appropriate content, enticing engagement, and inspiring communication, will inevitably shape a significant part of your image.
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Refine your communication
Customer service representatives are not only your first line of defense, but also your brand ambassadors when it comes to solving issues, making customers happy, and inspiring loyalty. However, just like your customers need a trusted professional service from you, your agents need to work in the best possible conditions to ensure effectiveness and seamless communication.
That is why many businesses choose to buy a 1300 number, which will not only give them a single point of reference for their customers, but enable growth of their customer support teams through a single number. It’s an image-builder that makes sure you have a trust-worthy, professional reputation.
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Build alliances
Another key tendency of this digitally-oriented world is trusting celebrities as well as complete strangers who make their name building brand relationships. These micro-influencers use their exposure and growing follower base to get the right brands in front of the right people, and their support can be vital for any up-and-coming company trying to make its way to the top.
Depending on your industry and your social networks of choice, make sure to do your homework, find the people who have the same values as you do, and start thinking about commitment.
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Focus on internal factors
As much as you invest in quality channels of communication, there are so many other internal factors that can either make or break not just a marketing campaign, but an entire brand. The people who work in your teams should be those who truly understand what you stand for and be able to communicate that through their job.
Whether it’s content creation, or delivering a stunning product design, your employees are the backbone of your brand reputation. Keep them happy and hire the people who are the right match for your brand identity, and both parties will be able to advance.
Dan Radak is a marketing professional with eleven years of experience. He is currently working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies. He is also a coauthor on several technology websites and regular contributor to Technivorz.
