Brand management is an area of web marketing that businesses tend to overlook. In one study conducted by Salesforce (Marketing Insights), 63% of respondents reported that they had engaged with the content of a particular brand only to be disappointed in the end. 97% of them went on to state that the experience slight or severely affected their perception of the brand. 23% of them stated that the experience was so bad, they would never again engage with the brand in the future.
As you have probably realized by now, brand engagement can have some serious long-term consequences if not done correctly. It can mean the difference between failure and success as brand management has a direct influence on a buyer’s purchasing decisions.
So what exactly is brand management?
In simple terms, online brand management revolves around keeping track and facilitating the perception that people have of online businesses. The scope of brand management is far-reaching and touches upon anything that has to do with public opinion.
This includes but is not limited to the following:
● website
● social media
● articles
● online reviews
● search engine results
● anywhere online that has conversations going about your business
As you might imagine, many factors need to be considered. Hence managing your brand for web marketing is extremely important. Consider a 2016 Transparency ROI study conducted by “Label Insights” which states that 94% of consumers are more likely to patronize a brand that they perceive as one that offers complete transparency.
Without brand management, businesses can never get a grip on how their customers perceive their company as well as the products or services that they offer. With brand management, companies can make a desirable impact on their target market which will help fuel growth and consumer reach in the future.
So where do you start?
Create and implement branding guidelines
A common mistake that businesses make is that they tend to be inconsistent with the messages they use to brand themselves online. Inconsistent branding can make it difficult for people to recall your business and makes your company appear disorganised and indifferent. Establishing precise guidelines for branding helps your business avoid such pitfalls and highlight the things that make your products or services stand out from that of your competitors.
Online print and digital publishing software can help your business maintain consistency in every stage of your branding campaign. This includes marketing messages, graphics and logo design, sales templates, landing pages and the like.
Train your staff in brand management
Having guidelines for brand management is good and all but it will not do your business any good if your people do not implement them. This includes everyone that plays a hand in representing your business such as your sales staff and SEO experts.
Keep track of your brand mentions online
People can spark conversations about your brand in all sorts of places online which includes social networks, forums, blogs, and even the comments section. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on what is being said about your brand which brings us to the next part.
Respond positively to brand mentions
Now that you have uncovered places where people are talking about your brand, it is time to pitch in on the conversation. The idea is to respond positively to the comments and questions people have about your brand and constructively acknowledge criticisms. In many cases, a complaint about your brand can turn into praise when people see that your business cares enough to respond and help people.
Leverage available online brand management tools
Now achieving the goals mentioned above are easier said than done. Fortunately, there are tools that will help you manage your brand better.
You can start by setting up Google Alerts to send you email notifications whenever the search engine comes across a term or phrase related to your brand. You might also consider investing in premium applications that are purposely designed to track brand mentions — Social Mention, Hootsuite, and Sprout Social just to mention a few.
Keep in mind the insights mentioned above and your business will be well on its way to effective brand management online. As long as your business has a good understanding of your target and what they need, it all boils down to promoting the perception that you want people to have about your business and sticking with it.