How To Build a Brand Reputation Online That’s Solid...

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffet

Sage words from a very respected, successful businessman, who has himself built one of the most trusted, consistent, emulated reputations of anyone through sound values and principles and a strong philanthropic commitment.

Brand reputation is the most important aspect of sustaining success and, make no mistake, is one of the hardest things to accomplish.

It refers to how a particular brand or a company is viewed by others. A favorable brand reputation allows consumers to trust you and your company and feel good about purchasing your goods or services and doing business with you.

Below are ways to build a brand reputation online that can help you make amazing connections, learn from others, and grow your credibility and your business while you’re at it.

Ways to Build a Brand Reputation

1. Be Yourself

The social media world is one dimensional, but you can make yourself multi-dimensional. Take a more personal approach to your branding and content marketing. Try to write how you actually are, as if you were sitting across from someone sharing a coffee and conversation.  Practice and study other successful bloggers and web writers style and delivery. What makes them successful to you?

2. Be More Interested In Others

Let people know you care about them, their issues and their challenges. “How I can I help”” is a powerful connector and opens many doors. Qualify and vet people and be clear on who you want to develop relationships with and why.

3. Give People A Glimpse Into Your Personal World

Finding that right mix of personalized professional content gives people a more complete picture of you. Tell people about what foods you like, favorite places you’ve traveled to, music that moves you. A glimpse of your world allows them to relate. Careful about how much you share and what you post online. The Web is viral and you can’t delete or erase things.

4. Get To Know Your Followers

Okay, so you have lots of friends and followers. Do you know anything about them? Survey them for their demographics, lifestyle, attitude and values. Get to know the kinds of industries they represent, which LinkedIn is great for.  If you don’t know the mix of your community then you can’t really serve them.

5. Collaborate And Hook People Up

Try to engage regularly, introduce people via e-mail and social media, state the commonality you believe you have with people and take it from there! We are NOT going to connect and hook up with everyone, but we should be consistently adding great people to our spheres.

6. Temper Your Humor And Anger

Hey, I love a great joke and some edgy language, but I don’t need anything really off color or any profanity to get my attention. Careful here to be professional and respectful of the etiquette of others. No profanity, religion or sexuality is still the best etiquette rule.

7. Be Consistent and Show Up Ready to Play

Be a kid in the playground. Show up, get to know the other kids, let them know what position you play best to help the team, acknowledge when others make a great play, and play your heart out when you get picked to play!

8. Give And Receive

Giving and receiving are both important. I have learned to give first but alo receive graciously. When people ask me how they can help me and I know they are coming from a genuine place, and it is something that can enhance us both, then I accept and allow them the pleasure of giving.

9. Offer Solutions, Sell Later

The rule with social media (which is kind of unspoken) is 4 to 1. Four posts or tweets where you give and provide information and solutions to problems or challenges, to one promoting or selling  yourself.

10. Spread Hope And Positive Energy

We all benefit from others sharing their challenges, successes and triumphs especially now. Good times are full of lessons, ideas and wisdom, but so are tough times. Share your story and show others what you have done and learned that can give people hope.

11. Be Consistent

We can learn a lot from the world’s most valuable brands. What makes these brands valuable in the 21st century is mix of factors including design, technical innovation, safety, price, reputation, distribution, availability, core values and engaging brand marketing. This can take generations to create, build and deliver, but it is consistency that allows people to know what to expect from us.

Are you focused and committed on being the best you can be? If your heart is not in what you are doing, then the best thing you can do is find something else that your heart is in.