Build and Protect Your Brand on Social Media

Social Media is a tool that many users and businesses are using to build and maintain a reputation. Brand reputation is the ideas and emotions that customers associate with a brand. Many consumers check online reviews and social media to weigh the credibility of a company, service or product so it is important for companies to leverage social media to provide ‘social proof’ to build a stable digital brand. Chris Anderson noted, “Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what Google says it is.”

Besides leveraging social media for marketing and branding, their are also vast opportunities to use social media to compile consumer data. Social metrics such as likes, shares and comments can help companies to determine consumer preferences so that they can continue to understand the impact of their marketing efforts and adjust their brand reputation. In addition, regarding brand reputation, many companies have fallen victim to social media disasters where they may have made a mistake with a post or incorrectly handled a customer service issue. Social media is another place where companies can provide customer service (even on a 1 to 1 scale) so it is important for them to have a well-maintained presence. Poor presence or moderation could result in a loss in customers, decline in stock process or a decline in follows on social media accounts.

The issue of cyber security is also a concern as hacking is on the rise and their has been many example of companies or essential members having their accounts hacked which can lead to a disaster for the brand image. Create a social media security checklist by ensuring to verify social media accounts, enable Two-Factor Authentication, train employees to react and prepare a disaster response strategy. By leveraging a social listening tool (like Hootsuite), brands can monitor and engage with mentions of your brand.

Brands can provide themselves with a competitive advantage over their less active competition by striving to build a stable social media presence by providing compelling and brand build building information, take precautions to protect their digital presence, respond to social media engagements, and provide incredible customer service.

Written by: Andrew C. Belton