The digital realm has made it easier and more accessible for people to create an online business. Compared to a couple of decades ago, with the Internet, social media, and other technological platforms, people now have access to global markets, free or affordable business resources, and access to a wider talent pool.
However, the downside is that because it’s become easier to launch an online business, anyone can do it, and not everyone has good intentions. Therefore, many individuals have become wary of the businesses they interact with in the digital world. Because of this, it’s no longer enough to create a brand, it has to be a reputable one. Luckily, there are several steps that you can take to ensure that your online brand is reputable, trustworthy, and successful.
5 Tips to Build a Reputable Online Brand
Some key areas where you might want to invest in are:
More importantly, however, a virtual office can provide you, the business owner, with privacy and security. If you’re building an online business, you probably don’t want to list your home address and personal cell number across digital platforms and social media profiles (again, not everyone’s intentions in the Internet are good).
Virtual offices also offer other services that might come in handy as you grow and can help you maintain the reputation that you’ve worked hard to build.
Following through on your brand promise means that if you say it will take 2 days for a product to reach the client, then it should take two days, no more, no less. If you say that your product/service will help with XYZ, then you need to make sure that it fulfills that purpose once it is bought and delivered.
For example, Apple’s brand promise “think different” wouldn’t be effective if they created smartphones and tablets that were compatible with other devices chargers and operating systems. Apple has to consistently deliver on this brand promise, otherwise they risk turning away loyal customers.
If you don’t follow on your brand promise, your business is unlikely to ever take off, particularly in the digital world where people can easily leave comments or reviews in a plethora of online platforms.
In the digital world, reviews serve almost like word of mouth references.
For reviews to be effective, it’s best if they include a person’s name. Anonymous references tend to be viewed skeptically and might lead people to think that you’re writing your own reviews.
One last word of advice on reviews, if someone leaves a negative review on your site, make sure that you address it! You can’t just ignore bad reviews, and if you delete them without addressing them, people might leave a new one, and some people will see it. The best way to deal with negative reviews is to reach out to the person, ask them why they weren’t happy with your brand, and find a way to turn that bad experience into a good one. The good thing about this approach is that once the issue is resolved, you can ask the original poster to delete their review or to write a new one.
Poor grammar can negatively impact your brand reputation, as it can be taken as a sign of carelessness by people. If you don’t care enough to make sure that your content is proofread and ready to publish, how can people know that you care enough about the product or service you are offering?
However, the downside is that because it’s become easier to launch an online business, anyone can do it, and not everyone has good intentions. Therefore, many individuals have become wary of the businesses they interact with in the digital world. Because of this, it’s no longer enough to create a brand, it has to be a reputable one. Luckily, there are several steps that you can take to ensure that your online brand is reputable, trustworthy, and successful.
5 Tips to Build a Reputable Online Brand
1. Invest in Your Own Business
There are plenty of free tools and resources out there, but that doesn’t mean that you should use them. If you want to build a reputable online brand, you need to invest in your own business.Some key areas where you might want to invest in are:
- Developing and designing a user-friendly and secure website
- Developing and designing a user-friendly landing page
- Creating valuable website copy
- Optimizing your website with SEO
- Adwords and social media campaigns
- Creating a unique brand name and logo
- Website hosting…(nothing screams unprofessional as much as a website that ends in “yourname.nameofwebhostingservice.com”).
2. Hire a Virtual Office
Hiring a virtual office can help you build your brand reputation by providing you with a professional business address, a local phone number (even if your business is based in a different city/country), and depending on the industry you’re in, it can be a useful tool to obtain all the necessary licenses and permits.More importantly, however, a virtual office can provide you, the business owner, with privacy and security. If you’re building an online business, you probably don’t want to list your home address and personal cell number across digital platforms and social media profiles (again, not everyone’s intentions in the Internet are good).
Virtual offices also offer other services that might come in handy as you grow and can help you maintain the reputation that you’ve worked hard to build.
3. Follow Through on Your Brand Promise
Have you clearly defined your mission and vision? Do you know why people will want to purchase/use your service or product? What is your brand promise? These are key questions that you need to have answers for.Following through on your brand promise means that if you say it will take 2 days for a product to reach the client, then it should take two days, no more, no less. If you say that your product/service will help with XYZ, then you need to make sure that it fulfills that purpose once it is bought and delivered.
For example, Apple’s brand promise “think different” wouldn’t be effective if they created smartphones and tablets that were compatible with other devices chargers and operating systems. Apple has to consistently deliver on this brand promise, otherwise they risk turning away loyal customers.
If you don’t follow on your brand promise, your business is unlikely to ever take off, particularly in the digital world where people can easily leave comments or reviews in a plethora of online platforms.
4. Make It Easy for People to Leave Reviews
Speaking about reviews and comments, if you’re launching an online business you’ll want to include in your website and social media profiles the option for people to leave reviews about your product, service, brand.In the digital world, reviews serve almost like word of mouth references.
For reviews to be effective, it’s best if they include a person’s name. Anonymous references tend to be viewed skeptically and might lead people to think that you’re writing your own reviews.
One last word of advice on reviews, if someone leaves a negative review on your site, make sure that you address it! You can’t just ignore bad reviews, and if you delete them without addressing them, people might leave a new one, and some people will see it. The best way to deal with negative reviews is to reach out to the person, ask them why they weren’t happy with your brand, and find a way to turn that bad experience into a good one. The good thing about this approach is that once the issue is resolved, you can ask the original poster to delete their review or to write a new one.
5. Use Proper Grammar and Proofread Your Content
Whether you’re writing a caption for a post on social media, writing a blog, sending out a newsletter, or just writing an email to a client, you need to make sure that you are using proper grammar at all times! This is why proofreading is so important, to make sure that you catch and fix any typos or mistakes before you send anything out.Poor grammar can negatively impact your brand reputation, as it can be taken as a sign of carelessness by people. If you don’t care enough to make sure that your content is proofread and ready to publish, how can people know that you care enough about the product or service you are offering?
