Improve you online reputation through successful personal branding

When it comes to making waves online as a business, it’s all about establishing your brand and creating for yourself a reputation. There are a million different ways to do that, but not all methods are as good as others. Social media is a very effective platform for managing your reputation online, which can in turn drive traffic to your website and boost your sales. The trick is to brand yourself effectively and t position yourself well in your niche, so potential customers begin to see you as an authority in your industry. Here are 10 ways you can do just that.

Keep your eyes and ears open

One of the best social media marketing strategies is simply to know how to listen. Take notice of conversations happening online about your industry. What are customers looking for? What problems are they experiencing that need solutions? This kind of digital reconnaissance will provide you with a wealth of information you can use to develop some content marketing strategies going forward.

Narrow down your focus

One of the best things you can do to foster your brand’s reputation is to narrow your focus. It’s much more effect to think of your marketing efforts as taking aim with a laser rather than casting a wide net and seeing what comes in. Know your brand message and your target audience and keep your eye on that prize.

Be yourself

Potential customers will see right through you if you are inauthentic in your posts or if you content reads like an essay or brochure. Don’t try to “sell” your audience anything; a sales-like approach will immediately turn away many people. Instead, a more effective approach is to use a tone in your online communications much like you would if you were speaking to the customer in person. You’ll come across as much more personable and approachable, which will go a long way toward establish your reputation in a positive way.

Be someone your audience feels they can trust

There’s so much dishonesty online. One of the best ways to set yourself apart from all of that is to be honest! Be transparent. When your audience takes a leap of faith on your business and comes up realizing that you can be trusted, they will come back time and again. Providing honest, reliable, and trustworthy service to your business is a sure-fire way to boost your reputation.

Provide meaningful content

All of the content in the world won’t help you to achieve your branding goals if your content is meaningful to your audience. If your content doesn’t offer something of value to your audience, it won’t keep them coming back. Moreover, content that isn’t considered valuable won’t generate buzz, won’t be shared, and won’t do anything positive to help you establish a foothold online. Without great, sharable content, your brand’s growth potential will be limited.

Don’t blow your own horn

There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your brand and believing in yourself, but don’t make your content so self-promotional that it reads like a sales pitch. Otherwise, your message will be lost in a sea of marketing buzzwords. As a general rule, it’s good practice to limit the amount you self promote to about 20 percent of your overall content. With the other 80 percent, provide interesting, useful, and valuable content that will compel your readers to keep coming back for more.
These are just a few ways in which you can establish your brand’s reputation online. There are lots of others, too, but the important things to remember is to be authentic, useful, and trustworthy.