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Building Online Brand Presence through Social Media, Part 2

In part 1 of this post we looked at three very basic rules to remember when building online brand presence through social media accounts.  These rules apply to businesses of all sizes in all stages of their social media development.  Online brand presence is carefully cultivated over time and with thorough plans, not just appearing overnight to a few lucky chosen. 

With that in mind we can jump right back into some basic rules all businesses must follow if they hope to reap an increased online brand presence through social media use.  Today focuses on three rules that are unique for social media marketing but no less important.

Be Active

Online brand presence is such a finicky thing as are one’s customer base.  If one were to study the companies with the largest, most influential, online brand presences they would find they were constantly doing something.  Of course a small business can’t compete with the likes of Coca-Cola or Playstation but they can make themselves available to their customers by responding quickly to comments and posting interesting comments which leads to the next rule.

Initiate Conversations

Facebook and Twitter are vehicles for conversations, not an arena for sales pitches.  Customers can turn to a business’s website if they want to learn about how wonderful a product or service is.  Online brand presence is, also, not directly about sales.  It is simply getting the word out about one’s business.  By posing thought-provoking questions and posting intelligent, interesting questions customers will respect and admire one’s Facebook or Twitter page resulting in the highly coveted online brand presence.

Take the Time

This cannot be stressed enough.  When businesses complain that their social media accounts are not building the online brand presence they were expecting time is usually the reason why.  Businesses need to post a comment at least once a day and respond to comments within a maximum of twenty-four hours.  There are a variety of online solutions for being notified when a comment is posted.  If a business cannot make the time to do social media correctly then perhaps they should explore other ways of building online brand presence.

The rules set forth in this two part post are very rudimentary yet still highly accurate in creating an online brand presence using social media.  It’s easy to get distracted with all the applications and customizations Facebook and Twitter offer a business, but at the end of the day if the goals aren’t met and online brand presence isn’t gained the job just wasn’t done right. 

 

 

Jump into Social Media for Online Brand Presence

For small businesses wishing to build an online brand presence participation in social media is a great way to do it while keeping the costs low.  In fact, the only cost involved with social media as an online brand presence building strategy is the time it will take.  Anyone who has ever been involved in a small business understands just how valuable that time can be which is why there are some simple guidelines to remember when taking that leap into social media with marketing as the goal.

1)    Start Small and Slow – Before biting off more than one can chew in regards to social media marketing for online brand presence they should commit to one website.  It doesn’t matter if the person updating has personal experience with the website or not when starting a page for a small business all the rules change.   We’ve talked in other posts about what should be included in social media posts and how to best attract and keep fans.  Learning to look at social media through those lenses takes some time to get the hang of.

2)    Update Often and Concisely – The often part of this tip is simple.  People want instant gratification and they love fast. Honestly, a small business should be posting at least once a day for maximum online brand presence growth.  The concise part of this tip is a little more difficult.  Communication is a skill that comes naturally to some and not so naturally to others.  One would hope that the designated ‘poster’ in a small business would have stellar communication skills but that cannot always be accomplished.  No one wants to take the time to read a rambling post.  Say what you mean and say it in as few words as possible to build online brand presence.

3)    Keep It In-House – It may be tempting to immediately contract out the work of building and maintaining an online brand presence to another company specializing in online marketing.  While there are plenty of successful and highly qualified companies one can turn to for these services it’s recommended that small businesses try to do it themselves first.  Social media is a very intimate means of marketing and customers and target customers want authenticity that can only be given by one of the team.  An essential part of online brand presence is authenticity.

These are only three tips to help small businesses kick-start their online marketing campaigns in an effort to further increase online brand presence.  The most important tip of all is to remember that social media is only one aspect of marketing.  It is a communication medium that helps the business connect with customers and future customers.  It does not make sales happen.  If social media is viewed as an opportunity to build online brand presence and not as a one-stop-shop of marketing it can be a success for any small business.

Focus on Others to Build Your Own Enhanced Online Visibility

Let’s just assume that everyone has their blog up and running, is posting on it every day and makes sure to make the posts thoughtful and well planned – all in the name of building an enhanced online visibility.  Maybe the numbers aren’t as hot as you’d hoped they’d be or you’re running dry on content.  Whatever the problem may be you’re feeling frustrated with the whole blog process starting to wonder if enhanced online visibility is ever going to happen and if it does is it even worth it.

Don’t fret. Yes developing your enhanced online visibility is most definitely worth all the hard work you are putting into the blog whether you realize it today, tomorrow or months down the road.  In an effort to give a new perspective to the company blog this post is devoted to increasing your enhanced online visibility by focusing less on yourself and more on others.

I know it seems counter-intuitive to say that but in reality it works.  Enhanced online visibility depends on others being interested enough in your product or service to know you exist.  A blog is a great way (as we’ve established many times) to accomplish this.   But not all blogs are equal.  One of the ways a blog fails miserably is by focusing only on itself. 

“Look what we are doing.” 

“Aren’t we cool?”

There is only so much of that kind of posting that people can take.  That is why focusing the majority of posts on other companies, other providers of service, other anything related to your industry will beef up the enhanced online visibility.

It doesn’t end there though.  Part of focusing on others is responding to comments.  If a fan of your blog takes the time to comment it is only polite to pay notice.  Not all comments are relevant but many are.  By just checking the comments once or twice a day and making a quick comment back blog traffic will increase followed by enhanced online visibility.

These are not difficult tasks to perform for someone already posting daily or every other day.  Sometimes it is even easier to stop trying to think of more wonderful news to write about your own company and look instead for advancements in the industry.  Enhanced online visibility is not easy to create and time must be dedicated for it to be done right but in the end it is most definitely worth it.

Key Words and Phrases Important in Social Media for Online Brand Presence Building

By now everyone understands the importance of social media for companies and their marketing campaigns if online brand presence in any way is desired.  No matter how big or small a company may be their presence in social media is a must.  But just designing a Facebook page is not enough to increase online brand presence.  Devotion to a brand’s page requires the same amount of effort as one’s personal page.  There are several ways to constantly improve one’s brand Facebook page, one of which being keyword optimization within the confines of Facebook.

Now that Google recognizes Facebook posts in its algorithms many marketing experts focus on using the social media giant to improve Google rank and therefore increase online brand presence.  While there is no hard in doing that companies should devote as much energy into improving their rankings within Facebook.  Keywords are also used for search on the website and companies maximizing keywords related to their industry will invariably create a stronger online brand presence.

When using social media companies have been told to keep it fresh, update daily, and find ways to keep their fans engaged to increase online brand presence.  This is great advice and is definitely the way to keep fans coming back, but how do companies get fans in the first place.  Part of building an online brand presence is roping in new target customers.  Not every customer is going to search for one’s company by name.  For them keywords are how they land on one’s Facebook page. 

Just like when writing original web content for one’s website social media comments must have keywords and phrases that will rank them higher in the internal search results thus building online brand presence.  Obviously the same rules apply as with web content – don’t overdo it.   The more natural one works key words and phrases into their comments the more effective it will be.  If one is a veterinarian in Peoria they would need to use phrases like ‘Peoria vet’ rather than ‘our office’ in comments. 

Thinking about what customers and potential customers will use as key words and phrases is only the first step to utilizing search engines for the maintenance of online brand presence whether they be Google or Facebook.  A lot of time and study goes into such processes and it is often in a company’s best interest to contact a professional in the industry of online marketing and development of online brand presence to get the ball rolling.

Quality over Quantity Is the New Game in Building an Enhanced Online Visibility

Now that we are squarely in 2012 everyone must begin to look to the year ahead and how to better their enhanced online visibility.  New reports of what to expect in every industry are coming out by the bucket loads.  After reviewing the predicted trends in industries related to enhanced online visibility we’ve pulled a view that are worth mentioning.  The biggest prediction we have noticed has to do with Google and the changes predicted in its algorithms used to determine rank. 

Google is going to battle in 2012 with those who manipulate the algorithms to get ahead.  They are focusing on the quality of web content rather than the quality.  Up until this point to raise one’s rank and enhanced online visibility in the process more pages needed to be added to a website.  Google interpreted that as good because obviously a company who has many pages has a lot to say.  Well, we all know that necessarily isn’t the truth.

There is a fine line between manipulating search rank algorithms and using guidelines to increase one’s likelihood of receiving a higher rank creating a more vibrant enhanced online visibility.  We have tried within the posts of this blog to feature tried and true ways of competing in the brave new world of online marketing by building an online brand presence and enriching enhanced online visibility.  These trends noted in the 2012 predictions (not the end of the world predictions) are in concurrence with our advice.  In short, to achieve an enhanced online visibility companies must devote the time and experience necessary to get the job done right.

Now that the Google Panda is onboard with this ideology we expect some big changes in 2012.  First of all, things are going to get more competitive.  As Smartphone activations are growing exponentially more and more people are utilizing search engines making those top ranks even more coveted than ever.  As Google and other search engines are realizing the underhanded schemes to improve rank through less than honest methods and begin cracking down on such practices new less than honest practices will emerge confusing companies even more.

Again, we fall back on do the job right.  There are no shortcuts to creating an enhanced online visibility.  There is no magic trick that one can do to become an overnight search engine sensation.  Creating a viable enhanced online visibility is possible for any company if they stick to the tried and true methods and heed advice given by the experts in the field.

There is Truth to Our Tips and Suggestions for Building Online Brand Presence

This entire blog is devoted to helping companies and individual business owners develop and maintain an online brand presence.  Contained within pages and pages helpful articles are all kinds of tips and strategies gathered from some of the best marketing and SEO marketing firms and specialists in the world.  Anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis has by this point recognized themes – advice we repackage and reword time and time again in an effort to stress their importance in building an online brand presence.

Well, we feel vindicated.  Recently PRWeb reported in an article the top SEO tips and trends for 2012 as predicted from some of the world’s best companies.  Within the list are topics we just can’t discuss enough in this blog aimed at helping create an online brand presence.  Here is a simplified summation:

1)    Keyword Optimization and Research – companies must do thorough research into what keywords customers and potential customers are sticking into search engines when looking for services and products.

2)    Linking – There is simply no easier way to build an online brand presence than to link, link, link. 

3)    Social Media – Companies expecting to compete in this day and age must develop a strong online brand presence through social media.

4)    Forum Commenting – Perhaps one of the easiest and most affordable ways to promote an online brand presence is through participating in online communities by commenting on forums and other blogs. 

5)    Review Submissions – Providing well-written, thought provoking reviews of products or services in one’s industry is a great way to link.  Most of the time the reviews will be posted with a link back to one’s company.  Online brand presence is built and rankings are raised.

These are just five of the recommended best practices for companies wanting to improve their rankings on popular search engines and in turn increase their online brand presence.  Although all of these tips seem relatively simple they do require time and dedication, something many companies honestly do not have available.  To get the job done right hiring a professional may be the best decision.  After all a strong online brand presence will bring in far more revenue than the cost of any SEO or marketing expert.

Build Online Brand Presence through Expertise

During the last five years or so a big trend in marketing has been creating and maintaining an online brand presence.  In fact, so many companies (across all industries) are so focused on building their online brand presence that an entire industry has popped up as a result dedicated to making that online brand presence a reality.  While there are definitely many paths a company can choose to create an online brand presence some have proven results while some are a gamble. 

Any company ready to commit to the creation and ongoing maintenance of their online brand presence can begin by turning to professionals who know the necessary steps to establish a productive online brand presence. For those companies with an established brand and ready to move to the next level, there are several seemingly small tricks to follow that will reap major results.

As the internet continues to grow there are more and more websites devoted to questions and answers.  This is a great way to spread the word about one’s company.  Every company should commit to being an expert in their field.  Part of the responsibility of being an expert is answering questions.  By visiting such sites as Yahoo! Answers frequently one can give thoughtful answers to industry questions while furthering their online brand presence.

Frequenting question and answer sites accomplishes more than just increasing online brand presence.  It keeps the proverbial ear to the ground.  By reading common questions and common answers to issues linked with one’s industry one can begin to see trends in information and misinformation.  This can be useful for one’s own marketing campaigns.  Also, if one is in the business of selling products question and answer sites provide valuable reviews.  There are a number of ways a smart company can use such information to their advantage.

Cruising the internet looking for questions about one’s industry seems like a relatively simple way to build an online brand presence.  The truth is, though, that it takes time and dedication.  Companies unable to dedicate the appropriate amount of time necessary to maintain an online brand presence should not be ashamed to admit as much and leave it to a professional specializing in online marketing and search engine optimization.  As with anything else  to create an online brand presence of substance time will have to be devoted to have it done right.

Use Reviews to Create Enhanced Online Visibility

Companies dedicated to creating an enhanced online visibility are always looking for interesting and unique ways to do so.  One way that helps one’s own company as well as makes friends with other companies is to write a positive review of a product and allow the company being reviewed the freedom to use it as they please.  This creates friendly relations as well as increases one’s enhanced online visibility.

The idea is simple, really.  Within one’s industry an expert in a company finds products or services that are good, novel or compliment their own products and services and rights a glowing review.  Then, the review is posted on the company website for all to see (and is used to build an enhanced online visibility).  A link to the post is sent to the company (of the reviewed product) with a note giving permission for them to link back to the review as they please. 

The important part to remember in all this is that the review must be sincere to truly help a company’s enhanced online visibility.  The only thing worse than a bad review is a generic review of no real substance.  If a product or service being considered isn’t worth much or one’s company sees no substantial value in it they shouldn’t write about it.  This falls under the old adage of ‘if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all’.

If, on the other hand, there is a product or service that has really wowed a company they should explain to the masses why they believe in that product – even if it is a competitor’s product. Yes, that is right.  If a competitor is really doing something right and one’s company writes up a review saying as much the competition will undoubtedly post the review (and the link back) everywhere possible helping create an enhanced online visibility for the company writing the review. 

Many companies feel that they have their hands full already trying to maintain a blog, a website and other marketing materials.  Between advertising online and through traditional methods companies may not see the benefit writing reviews would have considering the time required for completing.  The benefit is very real, despite many beliefs, and will surely help build an enhanced online visibility if done honestly and thoughtfully.

Commenting Correctly to Build Online Brand Presence

No matter whom one asks about ways to build an online brand presence the suggestion of commenting on articles and forum posting keeps popping up.  While in theory this seems simple enough in reality it is much harder if one really wants to utilize it as fully as possible. Thanks to less than honest comment posters flooding the internet in embarrassing campaigns to bolster online brand presence it has gotten harder for real, legitimate companies to utilize commenting.  It can be done, though, with a little patience and hard work.

The first point in comment posting to understand is that there is a fine line between not enough posting and becoming a menace.  To truly understand and learn where this line is located in regards to maximizing online brand presence I’d recommend that any blogger pick an online article in which they are interested and read the comments.  I can almost guarantee three-fourths, if not more, are selfish promotions.  They add nothing of quality to the article and simply take up space.

Now, I’m guessing anyone reading this post does not desire to be in that camp. With that assumption in mind there are a few rules and tips to follow to protect one from becoming a nuisance to blogs and forums while trying to build an online brand presence.

1)    Praise is a wonderful thing to dish out if an article or forum post is truly appreciated.  Be specific in the praise. WHY did you like the article? There is nothing worse than a generic “This article is great!”  If you’re going to take the time to type a comment when creating online brand presence make sure it has some grit.

2)    No promotions needed to create an online brand presence unless your company is truly relevant to the article or topic (in the case of a forum).  For example, if your company makes jewelry and you are posting on a forum for men wanting ideas for gifts for their wives, by all means drop a link to your website.  If, on the other hand, your commenting on a industry article about marketing jewelry, do you really need to promote your website? No, you don’t.  Leave an interesting comment about the content of the article.

3)    Comment often.  This cannot be stated enough.  One comment left on an article, blog post or forum will not establish your online brand presence.  It may take a little extra time to revisit the article, but find the time and keep commenting! It will be worth it when you become a valuable member of the community.

Enhanced Online Visibility and Web Content

At this point everyone serious about increasing their enhanced online visibility should be working diligently on their website and blog giving a large chunk of time and devotion to smart web content.  Key words and URLs are important but there are some even more, basic, good housekeeping rules that need to be followed to really make the most of a web site and send one’s enhanced online visibility into the stratosphere.

Develop Enhanced Online Visibility through Organization

For anyone who has performed any management task, no matter how big or small, the concept of good organization is not new.  Unfortunately many forget to apply organization know-how when working on the company blog.  Archiving posts is a crucial part of a successful campaign to create an enhanced online visibility.  Most archives are organized by category, date and perhaps key words (which is different from category).

Develop Enhanced Online Visibility through Link Baiting

Link Baiting refers to the deliberate posting of articles intended to draw a lot of attention to one’s website.  Obviously not every article can create a sense of urgency and compel people’s interest.  A good rule of thumb is to create a link bait post for every twenty to twenty posts written.  Since these are designed to attract attention they need to well-written (really show what you’ve got), have a hook, and a great graphic if at all possible.  Some ideas for link bait articles would be an interesting video or picture, breaking industry news, or secrets from within revealed.

Develop Enhanced Online Visibility through Analytics

All companies have access to their blog analytics.  This is tool that often sits unused in the company toolbox.  Through careful examination of analytics bloggers can see which posts were most popular and cultivate categories to match.  Also, trends in times of high traffic can be discovered through careful observation.  Lastly, analytics provide where the click originated from allowing companies to tweak their marketing to those locations producing the highest quality visitors.

With a little bit of time any size company can improve their website’s traffic thus building enhanced online visibility.  Organization cannot be stressed enough as it will ultimately make or break a site.  Even the best web content is worthless if visitors can’t navigate a site easily.  Companies can further their website’s success through a careful analysis of statistical information provided by analytics and well-placed link baiting.  If done properly enhanced online visibility will be increased with immediate results.

Incorporating Taglines into an Online Brand Presence

At times companies spend so much energy developing their online brand presence that they regretfully forget some very simple marketing strategies that still work, even in today’s digital age.  Alongside a great brand is a great tagline.  Companies electing not to develop one of their own are being neglectful in their marketing campaign.  When a tagline is combined with strategies to build an online brand presence companies can see an exponential growth in customers.

Taglines are everywhere.  Nike and “Just Do It” are synonymous.  Taglines are used so often and invade our subconscious associations with the product they represent so well that we rarely even notice them.  That is exactly why every company should develop their own tagline to coincide with developing their online brand presence.  There are professionals in PR and marketing whose whole professional existence depends on creating custom taglines for companies while simultaneously building online brand presence and usually companies are well advised to hire them rather than try and develop their own. 

For those choosing to try creating their own tagline independently there are a few guidelines to follow.

1)      Be original and unique

2)      Articulate the company’s mission and qualities

3)      Associate with the target customer base

4)      Accentuate the company’s advantage over the competition

5)      Communicate the goals of the company’s product or service

Once a tagline is created it should be used online for all marketing.  The company blog should incorporate the tagline into every post.  Every forum post or comment post done in the name of marketing should include the tagline.  Every email signature of every employee should proudly display the tagline.  Not to beat a dead horse, but once a successful tagline has been created it cannot be used too much.  The more a target customer associates that ideal with one’s company the more likely they are to remember the company. Online brand presence depends completely on customers thinking of a specific company for a specific need.

While many companies love to micromanage their PR and marketing teams to truly create and maintain a success online brand presence the two teams must work together. Even if a company consists of two employees and all the marketing is farmed out, every single member of the team must work together in every strategy to make an online brand presence be big and be real.

 

Make-Over Your Facebook page for Enhanced Online Visibility

By now everyone understands the power social media can give a business in terms of marketing and creating an enhanced online visibility. Facebook, being the most popular social media site to date should be the focus of your company’s social media campaign.  With that said there is no better time than this week between Christmas and New Year’s to do some remodeling of your Facebook page. 

Enhanced Online Visibility – Comment on Fans’ pages

Most employees don’t have a lot to do this week and busy work is a chore but necessary to any successful marketing campaign.  Unlike the typical office Facebook is hopping this time of year as people are sharing pictures and comments about their holiday festivities and New Year’s plans.  To really jumpstart your company’s enhanced online visibility for the upcoming year utilize this week by commenting on your Fans’ pages.  Once that is done every one of their Friends will see your comment and your company by default.  This is a great way to interact with your Fans showing that you value them and spread the word of your company.

Enhanced Online Visibility – Offer Something Spectacular

With everyone giddy with gift giving and getting they will jump when your company offers an extraordinary deal available only to Facebook Fans.  Of course, add a caveat that they have to comment on your company’s page or on their own page or invite Friends to either get said great deal or be eligible for winning it (in an effort to boost your own enhanced online visibility).  To make the offer enticing and stand out in a crowd of many companies vying for your customers’ money and mouse clicks, make the offer appropriate and worthwhile. Most people aren’t going to waste their time for a lousy 10% off their next purchase.

Enhanced Online Visibility – Have a Relevant Gimmick

With so many holidays packed into this time of year it’s easy to come up with a unique way to project your Facebook page into other’s lives.  Throw an online New Year’s party.  It’s easy and free and will attract attention from your Fans.  Add several reminders each day about the online New Year’s party and make sure to add promotions and discounts.  One idea is to give out prizes for the best New Year’s photos posted to your page. 

Regardless of what your company does with its Facebook page, do it now.  By utilizing this downtime during the holidays your company has an opportunity to seriously boost its enhanced online visibility and gain new customers.