How online presence can improve your brand value
It’s an undeniable fact – a brand with a strong online presence will receive more traffic and reach more consumers. But it’s not always the best brands that have the highest SERP ranking.
This is why the same amount of work and dedication that went into building your brand needs to go into building your online presence.
The average consumer will actively search for a brand, and the easier it is to find it, the better. In this article, we'll talk about how to improve the online presence of your brand without compromising your core message.
1. Become the Content Master
Naturally, the ultimate goal of your brand is to make a profit. But before you start calculating the revenue, it’s essential to focus on the customer first.
The best possible way to go about it is to create informative, educational, evergreen, and most of all, free online content. You can begin by answering the questions users might have about your product or service.
Another great approach is to provide valuable advice in different media formats. Your content should never be pandering to your potential customers and should always aim to inform above everything else.
2. Play the Long Game with SEO
Both creating content for your brand and implementing SEO strategies takes time.
Building your brand value with an online presence is not something that can happen organically overnight. And no number of paid ads and promotions are going to give your brand the long-term presence and trust you want.
Almost every successful brand has had, at best, moderate success in the early stages of building their online presence. A long-term mindset is essential, and if you make the effort without taking shortcuts, it’s going to pay off eventually.
3. Maintain Your Brand’s Online Reputation
For better or worse, your brand’s online reputation matters immensely. The first piece of good news is that no brand has a perfect online reputation, and it’s not something you should try to strive for.
The second, that with proper damage control, your brand can overcome even the worst reviews. In general, user reviews are an incredibly valuable tool for your brand's online presence. You can ask your users if they’d be interested in contributing their honest opinions.
Another important aspect of this is how you respond to negative reviews. Often, it’s a bad reputation that echoes the loudest. Make sure to respond promptly and, above all, professionally.
4. Integrate Your Personality with Your Brand
This doesn’t mean that you need to put your personal life on display and equate it with your brand. But it does mean that you might want to consider combining your personal and professional social media profiles.
Alternatively, it could mean connecting yourself and your brand in the form of a blog post. It’s the kind of dedication and authenticity many consumers love to see. Also, interacting with people on social media will likely lead to more likes and shares, and more traffic to your webpage.
5. Ensure Your Website Is Mobile-Friendly
This strategy on how to improve online presence will always find a place on the list. That’s because it’s absolutely vital if you want your brand to be successful. A consumer is likely to see your brand promoted on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook while using their smartphone.
If they decide to click on a link that leads to your landing page, a few things will go a long way. First, the loading speed of your page will matter a lot. After a few seconds, if your website isn’t fully open, odds are you’re losing traffic.
Second, users need to be able to see everything clearly, without straining their eyes. And finally, user interface and navigation should gravitate towards minimalism and easy access.
Key to Strong Online Presence – Knowing How to Listen
Putting your brand out there for others to see and judge can be a vulnerable thing. Especially if you’re very passionate about what you do.
But once you’ve made sure that your online presence is secure, it’s not time to relax. Online branding can be volatile, and it’s important that you research what’s being said about your brand and where you could add improvements.
It’s not about re-inventing your brand every time someone has something unfavourable to say about it. It’s more about listening to the demands of the market. And more importantly, your consumers. And then delivering as best as you can.
Author’s Bio: Hitesh is a digital marketing strategist and entrepreneur with more than 12 years of experience in digital marketing, start-ups, branding, and customer acquisition strategies. Hitesh is the CEO and Founder of Reposition Group, which encompasses a number of companies in the digital sector including SEO.co.uk, Reposition.co.uk, and Bouncezap.com, amongst others.
