How Companies Improve Brand Reputation in 2022
Brand reputation is a significant influence on the success of a company. The impression you leave on your customers is more important than ever today; There’s a constant public conversation about brands, services, and more online. But unfortunately, Americans are more likely to share their negative experience with a company than positive ones.
So, how can a company improve its brand reputation in 2022? As we break down the concept of brand reputation, you will see how it manifests across different channels such as public relations, content creation, digital marketing, and more!
What is brand reputation?
The way consumers view your business can make or break your success. While spreading awareness of your company is necessary, curating this effort will make it much more effective. Brand reputation is a combination of the public opinion and outward appearance of your business.
Brand reputation is most easily understood by examining cases of large companies in the public eye. One prominent example of poor brand reputation is the BP oil company. The unfortunate Deepwater Horizon oil spill has permanently smeared the brand’s reputation. That has earned BP the label of irresponsible, environmentally unfriendly, and negligent.
Patagonia is one business that has continued to win over the hearts of consumers. It has a dedication to high-quality outdoor clothes and a focus on community engagement. Yet, it does not compromise values or its target market.
What are the effects of excellent brand reputation?
An excellent brand reputation will make many aspects of a business smoother. Whether it’s partnerships, marketing campaigns, new product launches, or something else, being perceived as a good company by consumers makes your job much easier.
In a consumerist society like ours, there are constant conversations surrounding brands. Public opinion is inescapable, whether it’s a close group of friends giving each other recommendations or an anonymous Twitter conversation. As a result, your brand’s reputation can decide to move the needle one way or the other.
While having an excellent brand reputation requires surface-level work, your bottom line can see the real payoff.
Positive reputation > Increased awareness > Loyal customers > Higher profits
How to improve brand reputation through public relations
Because the consumers themselves essentially decide your reputation, it only makes sense to focus on them. Public relations are all about maintaining a relationship with customers that attracts them to your product or services while keeping your business in a positive light.
There are many ways to utilize public relations campaigns, but we’ve narrowed it down to a couple of cases that matter to every business.
Focusing on the customer
Customers are much more likely to feel connected to your brand when they feel seen and heard. Not only does a good relationship create return customers, but it influences those exact customers to spread awareness through word of mouth. Focusing on the customer means going the extra mile to create a better experience as they engage with your company.
An example of this is Warby Parker’s free home try-on. The company sells eyeglasses and have been renowned for a while due to its high-quality materials. Recently, the business has begun running a free program where they send you five pairs of glasses to try on over five days to see which you prefer. This is an excellent example of focusing on the customer’s needs and making an effort to make it easier for them.
Despite the above example, creating a better customer experience can rely on more straightforward changes. For example, an option for free quotes on your landing page or free return policies can send a message to your customers that choosing your company is synonymous with a smooth and painless experience.
Engaging with the community
By participating in the community, a business can elevate its brand reputation. Luckily, there are often multiple “communities” to tap into. For example, a brick-and-mortar operation has a geographical area where it can become recognized and accepted as a part of the community. In another sense, a brand with an online presence has the opportunity to be a player within many communities online, both large and small.
Locally, there are plenty of options for connecting to the community. Partnering with nearby stores and organizations can get your brand in front of new audiences. If treated correctly, events and competitions can engage the same customers close enough to become regulars.
Online, there are many communities where brands can spend time building a reputation. Facebook groups, trending topics on Twitter, Reddit subforums, and many others are significant areas for connecting to customers. Like any other form of marketing, it’s essential to understand the tone and voice that your brand is putting out when engaging online. For example, look at Wendy’s, which made headlines for having a stellar connection with the Twitter community.
How to improve brand reputation through content
A significant part of a brand’s reputation is the content they present online. Content can mean many things, from social media posts to in-depth articles. Much of a company’s footprint in the digital world consists of actual web pages, whether those are landing pages, articles, help guides, or something more.
Taking the time to whip up quality content can significantly impact your brand reputation. This is the material that consumers use to get a reading (no pun intended) on you and your product or service. If your content turns them off, they’ll never experience what you truly have to offer.
Creating content for SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a fundamental factor in brand reputation, and putting the effort to optimize your web presence can return outsized results. As your website(s) climb further up the Google search results page, your brand reputation will boost alongside it.
Creating content for SEO purposes will bring more traffic to your pages, driving your bottom line. Your click-through rates will reflect if you post informative pieces that cater to a customer’s interests. Covering as many bases as possible in SEO should be a priority within your content creation department.
Creating content for authority
While content is often created solely for SEO purposes, you can significantly increase your brand reputation by becoming an authoritative source online for industry members or the community that you serve. This is not a replacement for SEO but an additional level to content creation that accentuates your brand reputation.
No matter how many people visit your website, nothing guarantees that they will remember it or return to it again. To improve your chances, put in the time and effort to create a website that provides more value than just a path to your service or product. This means becoming an authoritative source within your field.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to fill a blog with heavy technical analysis for your most hardcore customers. Instead, this focuses on your target market and the content that would educate and entertain them.
Robinhood, for example, is only a stock brokerage. But, because its management understands the desires of its users, the company continually puts out articles, newsletters, and even a podcast to engage consumers and elevate its brand reputation.
How to improve brand reputation through digital marketing
Digital marketing is a vital tool for expanding the exposure of your brand. However, you can present your brand to whoever through algorithms, data collection, and targeted ads. As a result, your digital marketing efforts most easily affect brand reputation.
Utilizing ads for a positive brand reputation
For businesses using online channels for marketing, search engine and social media ads are integral to attracting customers. Because ads will be a significant part of your campaigns, it’s necessary to approach them to understand how they will impact your brand reputation.
If your advertising is deemed misleading, lifeless, or bland, so will your brand. Your brand reputation is genuinely on the line as the first point of contact between you and a potential buyer. That being said, tasteful and personable ads can set you far apart from other competing brands. This is where A/B testing, style guides, and other tools come into play.
Improving brand reputation through web design
Your business should give off great first impressions via its website. This means more than just a slick landing page. A brand’s site should reflect its qualities. The website should be too if you want to present your services as quick, simple, and straightforward.
While an ad may be the first point of contact, your website will significantly impact the likelihood of continuing down the sales funnel. Its appearance, ease of use, and usefulness all play a part in keeping the visitor within site. Modern web design should feel fresh, be intuitive to use, and contain all the resources a customer of yours might want.
How do top companies elevate their brand reputation in 2022?
While it’s impressive to imagine that every company is run by a Swiss Army knife of a human, business owners, small and large, need more hands-on deck! Companies with incredible brand reputations work with professionals behind the scenes. So many facets of business require attention, yet a brand’s reputation can suffer when stretched too thin.
Techna Digital Marketing is the solution to this problem. Business owners and managers of all industries have hired Techna and its team to handle their digital marketing efforts at a fair price.
To find out more about how Techna can help you grow your business and brand reputation, contact us today!