04 Aug Why is accountability key to your branding?

The advent of social media and instant reviews has changed the way brands interact with consumers.

These days your brand reputation can literally turn from good to bad overnight and on the other hand social media allows some companies to experience what looks like effortless, organic growth online.

However effortless success is rarely the case. Many brands are working smartly online to successfully manage their social media branding. If you feel like your online branding is getting away from you, the best thing to do going forward is to add structure to your approach.

If you build routines and strategies into your operations, you will not only grow your branding but also protect it in the volatile online environment.

Check out our tips below. They could really make a difference.

Track and build

Be deliberate about what you post online. Create an editorial calendar to schedule your posts in advance. Use it to build a picture of your brand. Generate content that is useful to your customer base. Don’t limit your posts to blatant sales or product information.

Conversations happen online at lightening speed. Have a designated responder to manage positive and negative feedback on posts, and particularly reviews.

This applies to your own social media channels but also review aggregator websites, too. There are tools available online to help you monitor your brand presence on third party websites.

Ignore negativity at your peril. Be sure to respond in an appropriate manner. This responsiveness and willingness to address concerns publicly develops huge respect and a reputation for customer service online.

Brand standards

Consistency in branding goes far beyond the need for quality graphics. If you have more than one staff member managing your social media and online presence, it will be of great benefit to create a brand experience standards manual.

This can outline the processes for dealing with customer feedback and interactions. Importantly, it should also include information about the essence and personality of your brand. For example, some brands are relentlessly impersonal and professional online. Others take a warm friendly approach, sometimes even bantering with customers, as a combined method of brand building and conflict resolution.

Trust us when we say these choices are deliberate – the responses a brand makes should not be dependent on the staff member on duty.

A manual with written procedures to follow will create continuity and provides a step by step chain of escalation for any issues that arise.

A brand experience standards manual will ensure a customer’s brand experience will be of the same standard of quality each time – which creates an association with reliability and trustworthiness.

Evaluate

Once your editorial calendar is in play, check over the data to measure your engagement levels. Review what works and what doesn’t. Make sure the content is still relevant and dedicated to building your reputation and presence online. Does it align with your overall brand messaging strategy? It pays to be coordinated across your communication channels, both on- and offline.

Managing your online presence and staying accountable to your planning processes can have an incalculable effect on your brand.

Get proactive and watch your brand grow by working with Visual Caffeine on your social media and online marketing strategy.