How To Properly Use Reputation Management

The online world cares about image. It is the sole focus of a lot of what the Internet is all about after all. Those who manage their image and reputation well are most likely to receive repeat business. Those who allow reputation management to get away from them may see a steady decline into irrelevance. 

Using Outsourced Reputation Management 

Many people want to do their own reputation management online when they first hear of the concept. They think there is no reason they should not be able to handle it. After all, it is just their own image they are trying to preserve. However, an article on the subject on Forbes.com, Michael Fertik, owner of Reputation.com stated:

“The best analogy that I can think of is anti-virus software for your computer. There are probably only 25 guys on the planet who can do good anti-virus protection on their own because it requires deep technical expertise. We have dozens of engineers who work on each of our products, which are designed expressly to fix or enhance your digital reputation and profile. That said, there are certain things that you should do on your own, like have a thoughtful, well-curated LinkedIn profile. And you should have a Twitter handle that is your name, not something like “ILovePizza,” unless your job is in pizza.” 

Well said.

Caution But Not Too Much 

Obviously, avoiding mistakes is a major part of reputation management. That being said, it is not a good idea to completely box yourself off from the entire Internet and never really try anything. You need to be marketing and at the same time avoiding major mistakes. It is a careful balance that has to be struck, but it is possible. 

Sell Yourself, Sell Your Product 

If you are able to sell yourself and your reputation to people online then you are probably in good shape to sell whatever product you need to as well. You just want to make sure that the image you are providing is a good one. No one wants to buy from someone they do not trust or have confidence in. 

Contact us today to get information on how you can get started with reputation management. 

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Consistent Brand Messaging When Building Your Personal Brand

Building a powerful personal brand starts with you. How you present yourself publicly and online strongly affects how your brand is interpreted by the masses. Because your personal brand is a reflection of who you are personally, you must be aware, the totality of your actions will determine your brand.

Nurturing Your Brand Through Authenticity

Your brand is your legacy. Once you establish what you want your brand message to be, you must own it. How you present yourself to the world will define your brand culture – make it memorable. Your actions, expertise, and emotional connection to your brand will define how it is viewed. Offer something valuable only you can provide to the public; live it, and you will garner true authenticity.

Build Character – Online and Off

In the digital age, your online presence with social media has become your touchstone. This is where you engage those interested in your brand. Make sure the design of your online outlets closely aligns with your character and brand message. Whether you have a design team or one person working on creative, make sure there is an understanding of your brand’s uniqueness, your character is clearly interpreted, and don’t forget, a picture is worth a thousand words and this is your moment to shine. It will aid in your social media marketing campaign.

Consistent Brand Messaging

Current and potential clients want consistency. They want to know you will deliver each time with the same or better results. Your clients want to trust you, they want to count on you to be the answer. Consistency in your communications gives clients something to rely on. If you deliver strong and consistent communications, your clients will become evangelists of your brand. 

For more information on how you can build a powerful personal brand, contact the professionals at TwoGirlsConsulting LLC. We understand your physical and digital image must exude your brand. Enticing and consistent communication of your personal brand relies on a carefully crafted strategy. At 2GC, your image is everything.

 

The Landscape of SMS Marketing

Short-message service (SMS) refers to what is commonly known as text messaging. These messages can be sent cell phone to cell phone, or from Web-based services to cell phones. When it comes to marketing, SMS marketing is a growing trend that is still being explored and understood. Here are some of the highlights of the landscape.

A variety of industries are using SMS marketing in their strategies. This includes leisure (venue based), recruitment, retailers, software, marketing, financial services, beauty and hair salons, fast food, education, estate agencies, legal and dental and health offices, and travel agents. The industries at the top of this list use SMS marketing more frequently than those at the end, but you can see the wide variety of applications for SMS marketing.

The popularity of SMS marketing is built on the popularity of mobile devices, which grow in numbers every year. Recent statistics show that nearly 90 percent of the world’s population has a mobile device, which means around 6 billion people can be reached through SMS. Mobile marketing budgets are increasing to meet this area of opportunity. In the United States, mobile ad revenue is expected to exceed $20 billion annually by the year 2015. More than 60 percent of businesses are considering mobile marketing more than traditional methods.

SMS marketing helps reach mobile device users who do not use their device to connect to the internet — or about 76 percent of all mobile users. The number of SMS messages sent in 2013 approached 10 trillion, and more than 45 percent of mobile device users report being aware of mobile advertising. Application to Person (A2P) messaging is whenever businesses contact customers, and A2P messaging is predicted to surpass person-to-person messaging by 2016. 

For more about these statistics and the landscape of SMS marketing, click here for a graphic from socialmediadd.com. SMS offers a great window into the lives of customers, regardless of their online activity, and the future shows potential for increased growth in SMS marketing. For more information about how to use SMS marketing for your business, contact us today!

How to Communicate Your Vision Strategy

When two parties come together there are occasionally creative differences that must be resolved to move forward. It is important to be able to explain your vision to your client while also listening to their ideas for the vision and end results. 

Any good conversation, work-related or not, includes healthy amounts of listening, asking questions, and seeking to understand the other perspective. There may be times your client’s vision is the right one for the job. But there may be times you need to tactfully steer your client in another direction.

When there are differences of opinion, it is good to focus on something you can both agree on — namely, the mission, vision, and goals of your client. Ideally, both you and your client will be pursuing their business success, whether that is selling products, running events, or connecting with consumers. Once this ground is reestablished, it is up to you to clearly communicate the vision based on your experience in the field, creative genius, etc. 

 It helps to remember to stay professional and offer your client  reasons why your design ideas are strong and likely successful. You have the experience they need, and when you can clearly communicate your ideas you give your clients every reason to trust you with their hopes and dreams. Remember, business is not personal and a client simply might not like your designs for no clear reason. 

As Steve Jobs once said, “[they] don’t know what they want until you show them.” So your job is to show your clients what they want in a professional and tactful way.

Contact us for more tips about corporate communication or other questions.

Content Strategy in the Advent of Google’s Hummingbird Overhaul

In September of 2013, Google announced a complete overhaul on the search engine behemoth’s algorithm. In fact, this change was implemented a month earlier the press conference held to announce it and explain some of its features. A change of this magnitude had not been made since the Caffeine update years ago.

Content strategists should understand that the Hummingbird algorithm still incorporates some of the changes we saw with Panda and Penguin. PageRank and other site quality determiners are still being used by this new algorithm to order search results.

One of the primary goals of Hummingbird is to address today’s more complex and sometimes voice-based queries. When a potential reader of your content uses Google to ask, for example, “How can I find an amazing PR person for [type of business] in [local area] on a budget?” your content needs to discuss that question, and it needs to address it in a credible, findable, useful way.

Search Engine Journal has outlined some important ways that Hummingbird may impact content and content strategy. First, context counts. Google’s aim is to use contextual cues to more accurately deliver search results that cater to the Google users intent. Per SEJ:

. . .  “Context” has entered search strategy lexicon, which accounts for more personalized search tactics based on location, platform, device and/or hyper local factors.

Second, though keywords are clearly a part of good content strategy, their importance is diminishing as sole determiners of rank. Deep, rich content that actually answers searchers’ queries is much more important that keyword-stuffed drivel. As Google’s spiders and Google’s users become savvier, content that clearly is designed to drive traffic rather than add value will be relegated to the proverbial dungeon of search results. Content that truly and accurately addresses specific queries, however, will receive top billing.

Finally, the importance of authorship for optimization should not be underestimated. Hummingbird makes authoritative content even more vital. Therefore, content strategists should be certain to keep the social profiles of their clients thorough and up-to-date — particularly Google+ profiles.

For more tips and advice on content strategy in the contemporary marketplace, contact us.

 

Related articles

• How Google Hummingbird Can (And Should) Impact Your Content Marketing Strategy (business2community.com)
• What Google’s Hummingbird Update Means for Small Business (mashable.com)
• How Google is Changing Long-Tail Search with Efforts Like Hummingbird – Whiteboard Friday (moz.com)

 

Avoid These Mistakes for a Better Social Media Content Strategy

You invest significant time and money into your social media content strategy. Yet, you still ask yourself, “What can I do to secure a higher return on influence for the resources I expend on content marketing?”  There are a few common mistakes that businesses make when trying to engage clients through social media.  Here are a few to avoid:

• Not Posting Enough.  We live in a fast-paced society, and clients are constantly hungry for fresh information.  To keep people coming back to your site, make sure to post new content regularly.  Websites that stagnate will quickly lose interest and clients.
• Information is Too Dense.  People are busy and don’t want to wade through dense articles for information.  While you should avoid posting fluff, as this will generate little interest, spend time ensuring that your content is user-friendly.  Break up dense articles into smaller sections, and format your content so information appears in bullets rather than in blocks of text.
• Wasting Time Responding to all Comments.  It’s easy to become distracted on social media, especially if your audience is fully engaged.  However, keep in mind you don’t need to respond to every comment posted if you have other pressing projects on hand.  Respond to important remarks, and make sure that your comments are relevant.  Otherwise you can spend days on social media without accomplishing anything else.
• Staying Blind to Impact.  Do you know which leads and opportunities are coming from your social media marketing?  Find a way to measure social media’s impact on your business, whether by using online tools to measure page views or by asking people how they learned about your company.  Measuring social media’s impact will allow you to adjust the amount of energy you spend on social media marketing.

Companies that make these mistakes waste time and fail to fully engage an audience, while companies that avoid them see a higher return on influence in social media.  Want to learn more about successful business marketing strategies?   Contact us with any questions.