The Importance of Online Brand Management
Have you ever Googled yourself?
A majority of companies aren’t pleased with the results that they find when they Google themselves, and with good reason. Your company's online presence can make or break you. What happens to pop up during a Google search that’s aimed at your company can bring you a new client or a lost opportunity. Google is the best friend to many, which isn’t a huge secret to anyone considering 83% of online searches happen through Google. However, 91% of online adults use search engines to find information on the web. That means there’s a really high chance that potential employers, colleges, clients and customers are looking you up on the internet before going through with any important decisions.
Online Brand Management
Let’s dive into what online brand management is and how it affects the online presence and online reputation of your company. Online presence is what people see as a whole during an online search about your company. This includes the companies' history, websites, social media profiles, blog posts, etc. What they find can be critical when it comes to potential customers making a decision on who to work with.
Online reputation is what consumers find when they dig deeper into your online presence. This is when aspects, such as customer reviews, can have the power to make or break your company. If you already have a good online reputation, the hard part is done. If you don’t have the greatest online reputation, you should consider looking into hiring someone to manage the reputation and presence of your brand, which is also known as an Online Brand Manager.
Now that you know more about online brand management, you might be wondering just how important is it to have someone managing your brand online. And the answer is this… with the amount of active users on social media today, not to mention the major growth of the Internet, having a good online brand reputation is extremely important. An article by Bynder states that 78% of consumers are influenced by their online research. Basically, if you want your company to succeed, you’re going to want to dive deep into the world of online brand management. By getting someone to monitor and guide the way that your brand is viewed online, your company is more likely to leave a long lasting impression on those who stumble across it.
Have I convinced you of the importance of online brand management? If not, here’s a little more information that might do the trick…
The Impact on Businesses
A negative review is never something that a company wants to ignore (duh). Yes, they’re going to happen and they usually happen to the best of us, even when we do everything right. This isn’t the end of life as we know it, it just means that you’re going to have to do some damage control. Having someone to monitor these negative reviews and reply to them quickly and effectively makes your brand look great in the eyes of the consumer. According to the Spiegel Research Center’s “How Online Reviews Influence Sales”, nearly 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase or visiting the business in person. A business also risks losing 22% of business when potential customers find a negative article on the first page of their search results. How do you get that negative review off the first page? Hire someone, such as a full-service agency, to handle your online brand management. They can work their magic and get positive aspects of your company to be on the first page of an online search versus the negative aspects being on the first page.
Overall
The four main aspects that an online brand manager will work on are:
Awareness – You want customers to know about your brand
Reputation – You want consumers to like your brand
Equity – You want consumers to see value in your brand
Loyalty – You want them to continue to work with your brand
As a top marketing agency in San Antonio, with strong digital services, we are proud to provide innovative strategy and ongoing online brand management to our clients. With the help of Texas Creative, you can take control of your company’s online presence. To learn more, contact us today and if you have any questions regarding online brand management, leave them in the comments below.