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Build Your Online Brand in 7 Easy Steps

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Ignoring or not actively managing your brand online doesn’t mean you won’t have one. It’s worse – it means that your brand will be defined by others. You may not like the results!
Here are the steps to take to actively manage your brand online:

Google yourself.

Find out where you are online and assess what your brand looks like already. What do you like? What needs to be changed? Make an assessment of the current landscape so you can factor your research in as you move forward.

Define your goal.

What do you want to achieve? How do you want to be perceived? Take time to answer these questions before you proceed.

Flesh out your brand.

Write about who you are and what you do. Note what makes you different from others in the same field or industry. Define the things that people want to know about you.

Make your website a worthy home base.

Create a website or edit your current site to reflect your brand. Pay attention to words and images. Have others look at your website and tell you who you are and what differentiates you. If the responses match the brand you have defined, great! If not, work on your website some more.

Expand your brand.

Optimize your social media profiles and other profiles online so they are consistent with your brand and goals. Use consistent words and images. Make it easy for people to connect the dots from one online location to another. Your consistent brand across multiple locations strengthens your brand and your visibility online.

Connect with your target audience.

Once you have a solid foundation for your brand online, you are ready to start connecting with others. Create and post content. Invite people to follow you. Follow people who matter to you. Comment on posts from people and about subjects that are relevant to your goals and brand.

Tell your brand story.

You are never done telling your brand story. Tell it in posts, in images, in videos. Share your story many ways and on many platforms. Whether you have connected with someone long ago or just now, no one has your brand memorized. Make it easy for them to know you and what you do. Stay relevant.

This effort isn’t done when you get to step 7. Your brand needs constant tending. You are only relevant online if you keep everything fresh and current.

Pace yourself. Develop a plan of activities that you can live with for the long-term. Success is found over months and years of consistent presentation of your brand. You are worth the investment.

How to Use Social Media in Online Marketing

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Is social media part of your online marketing for your brand? There are many reasons it should be. Here is an an outline on how to use social media in online marketing.

Most Americans use one or more social channels, so it is a great way to connect with your audience.

Many small businesses struggle to achieve marketing success on social media. You need an intentional strategy that follows best practices.

Have a Social Media Marketing Plan

Define your goals and the platforms that are best suited to help you achieve them. Further, define exactly what you need to do on each channel you select.

Pick the Best Social Media Channels

You do not need to be everywhere on social media. I repeat, don’t sign up for every channel you hear about. Use only the channels that your target customer uses.

Look online at the data about who uses each platform. You can also ask customers and others who represent your target audience what they use.

Focus on Building the Right Social Communities

Don’t focus on amassing the most followers, focus on connecting with the right followers. You want to use social media to connect with your target audience. Know who your target is and focus on making those connections. Quality trumps quantity every time.

Pay Attention to the Competition

Watching what your competitors do on social media isn’t unethical. It’s smart. Pay attention to what works and what doesn’t.

Listen as Much (or More) than You “Talk”

Social media should be, well, social! That means a two way interaction. Your posts are the equivalent to your part of the conversation. Engagement from your community in the forms of comments, posts, and reactions are their part.

Make sure you invite a balance! No one likes people (or brands) who only talk about themselves and don’t let others share. Engage in serious social media listening.

Measure Social Media Marketing Often

Take time to measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts. Your great ideas may be getting you to your goal or they may be falling flat. You won’t know unless you take time to assess.

Pay attention to short term data, like the interactions on your most recent post, as well as longer term trends. Don’t be afraid to change your plan to make the most of what’s working!

Is Instagram Right for Your Brand?

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Instagram is a social media platform with a strong focus on sharing visual content. It is used by over a billion users worldwide. Is the platform a good place to market your business?

Instagram by the Numbers

While Instagram continues to rise in popularity, its daily login is still second to Facebook. 63% of Instagram users login at least daily, while 74% of Facebook users login at least daily.

According to Statista, demographics break down as follows:

  • 43% of women, 31% men
  • 75%  age18–24
  • 57% age 25–30
  • 47% age 30–49
  • 23% age 50–64
  • 8% age 65+

Is Instagram the platform for you?

Instagram is generally considered to be a great platform for:

  • Businesses that have great photography to share
  • Businesses that sell physical products
  • Businesses that are community-oriented or that have an informal approach to their marketing

Instagram is an informal platform with a strong focus on visual content. To succeed you need to have original visual content to share.

Setting up Instagram for Your Business

  1. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play.
  2. Open the app and click on ‘Sign up’ to enter your information.
  3. To let Instagram know that this account is for your business, go to Settings in the app. (Find Settings under the icon shaped like a person in the bottom right corner of your screen.) Click on the hamburger menu in the top right corner. In Settings, go to Account and click ‘Switch to Professional account.’
  4. When you’ve switched to a business account, make sure to add information about your business to your account.

Getting Started

The best way to engage on Instagram is to start posting. Try different ideas and see what connects you with your target audience.

A great source of ideas is to look at the feed of similar businesses to see what they’re posting. You can also research best practices in your industry or field.

Let people know that you have a new account on Instagram. Add a link to your website and email signature. Mention it on your other social channels. Follow customers and people in your target audience for the hope of getting a follow in return.

Content Tips

Take some time to define the story you want to tell. Can you photograph people using or wearing your product? Can you use your posts to introduce the people working at your business? This is a great platform to help people see inside your business and to get to know you and your mission better.

Be consistent in how much you post and the overall look and tone of your posts. People who connect with you will expect consistency.

Research and use relevant hashtags. Adding the right hashtags will help people see your post. Research to discover the hashtags you can use to reach the right people. Use the hashtags that are most relevant to each post.