Social media is without a doubt a great tool for marketing your business online. It is also very effective as a way to grow your reputation, as well. Using your social channels to build your reputation is a lot easier than you may think. The secret to achieving this goal lies in how you approach your entire social media strategy.
Growing Your Reputation With Social Media
When you see social media marketing as something that is part of a bigger picture, you will be able to use this channel within your cross channel strategy in a way that is consistent and holistic. When you treat social simply as a platform for sharing your blog posts or promoting your business, you lose out on the many benefits that it has to offer in both short and long term.
How can you use social media to grow your reputation online? Let’s have a look at some of the simplest ways to get started.
Create a consistent brand voice
One of the simplest and most effective ways to grow your reputation across your social channels is to have a consistent brand voice. A big mistake that many businesses make is treating their various social pages as an afterthought. Social campaigns and posts that are not consistent or carefully planned can end up making your entire brand seem haphazard and chaotic. When you have a consistent voice and brand across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and any other channel you utilise, your audience will know what to expect from your brand, however they choose to reach you online.
Provide genuine value
Another mistake is seeing your social channels as a space to promote your business at every opportunity. In reality, flooding your pages with self-promoting updates can end up damaging your reputation rather than helping you grow your reputation. Instead, aim to provide content that is genuinely useful and interesting. Share relevant tips and content that people want to see – industry updates, news, images, videos, tips, guides and articles from trusted sources will all help you establish your brand as an expert in your niche.
Build a culture of engagement
That brings us to our final point. Engagement is key to building your reputation. When you put time and effort into sharing quality content, only to ignore comments and fail to build community, you end up coming across as one-sided. Instead, aim to listen and interact in a way that drives relationships and loyalty. Active engagement is a good way to position your brand and grow a following of customers who are invested in your business, products and vision. This is easily one of the most effective ways to build a reputation that is based on trust, participation and authentic relationships.
These tips should help you align your social media strategies in a way that helps you build your online reputation at the same time that you grow your audience.
