Social media marketing began as a place for businesses to share content and generate traffic to their websites (hopefully ending in a sale), but it's grown into a much larger platform. Social media platforms give businesses the opportunity to interact with individuals on a personal level to convert consumers into loyal customers. A strong brand reputation leads to greater recognition, a competitive edge against your competitors and increased customer loyalty. Here are three ways you can improve your brand’s reputation:
Stay present on your social media accounts
It’s not enough to just create social media accounts, you have to stay present. Posting regularly to your social media accounts increases brand awareness and visibility. Consumers are able to get a better feel for your brand if you actively tell your story. Whether posting regularly means 3 times a week, daily or twice a day, choose a schedule and stick with it. Social media planning tools enable you to manage all of your social media channels in one place; scheduling posts ahead of time ensures your social media accounts stay present and up to date. Encourage your followers to interact with your posts by quickly responding to their comments and questions.
Capture reviews from past customers:
Encourage your customers to leave reviews on Facebook, Google and other review sites. 82 percent of consumers read online reviews of local businesses. These reviews (or the lack of reviews) impacts whether consumers choose your business over a competitor. Build up your reviews by sending an email to past customers, inviting them to share their experience online. Using an automated system to collect reviews during a follow-up/thank you email saves you a step later on.
Read and reply to every single review. A simple thank you for good reviews goes a long way. Negative reviews can be a bit trickier. While you may be tempted to get rid of or ignore negative reviews, the way you respond to them tells future customers a lot about your business. Take the opportunity to grow from the feedback you receive in negative reviews. Stay professional and avoid arguing in your responses. Simply thank them for the feedback and lay out the facts (if there is a discrepancy in what happened).
Create consistency across all of your social media platforms:
Brand consistency increases the likelihood that a customer sees your company as dependable and trustworthy. Take the opportunity to use your social media platforms to allow your customers to get to know your brand on a deeper level than just the product you sell. Emotional conversions create lifelong customers.
To create consistency, we’re not suggesting you simply copy and paste, but rather keep your brand’s voice consistent throughout all of your social media platforms. Use the same logo, name, voice and message across your accounts. Creating a folder with branded assets is an easy first step to ensure brand consistency. Select topics that are relevant to your brand’s message and approach them with the same tone across all of your online channels. If your brand has a spunky personality on Instagram, it should have a similar vibe on Facebook.
Building and maintaining a strong brand reputation is vital to your business’s success as it not only builds trust and loyalty but also ultimately leads to higher sales and expansion.