By Melanie Rembrandt, www.rembrandtwrites.com
When you conduct a Google search for your company name, products and services, what do you find?
Are you happy with the positive press or surprised at the results?
Today, positive results on the search engines involve all forms of social media, videos, comment forms, Web reviews, media mentions, and more.
And they can mean the difference between success and failure for your business. So, if you don’t like what you see, or if you just want to boost awareness for your brand, here are some valuable and cost-effective tips that can help you gain positive press fast…
Create an event that helps a charitable organization, brings attention to a worthwhile cause, improves the local community, and more. You can plan a contest, race, bake-off, beach-cleaning day, or some other activity relative to your business that will assist others in need and that your employees will enjoy doing.
To be successful, give your team enough time to organize all of the activities, marketing possibilities and responsibilities involved with the event. And be sure to call appropriate media-members and promote the event accordingly. You’ll want to create a press release, videos, photos, online content related to the event, e-mail notices, and more.
This way, you’ll create positive buzz about your business in the local community, online and with current and potential customers.
When was the last time you posted fresh and valuable content for your target market that was optimized for the search engines? “Content is King” for a reason!
Your business can provide unique information to your customers that will give you a competitive edge. If you haven’t done so already, create an editorial calendar and plan what you are going to write about and when.
What do your customers care about? Figure out how you can offer interesting blogs, tip sheets, videos, social-media posts, and more that fit their current needs and provide solutions. Then, have an SEO copywriter write your content so that it is optimized accordingly for the search engines, without being too sales-oriented or technical. If you hire a good copywriter, you will see a difference in site rankings and online visits.
And once your content goes live, track the results. You’ll discover what your target-market likes most and be able to provide more of the information they want, and when, where and how they want it!
Start an e-mail campaign where site visitors sign up to receive your newsletter and regular communications from your company. Then, give your subscribers free reports, articles, Infographics, coupons, and more (whatever you think would be valuable to them) without being a pest.
Provide high-quality information, discounts, contests, and other content that they will want to share with others. This way, you’ll create relationships with customers and company “ambassadors” who will provide positive, word-of-mouth marketing you simply can’t buy.
Whenever you communicate with current and potential customers, give them the best customer-service possible. Train your employees well so they know how to answer questions quickly and correctly in various situations.
Also, provide pleasant surprises. When you deliver products, include a freebie, discount, coupon code, or something else that is unexpected and desirable. Also, add a personal note to each purchase thanking customers for their support. A small surprise with a short message can go a long way to satisfy customers and keep them coming back for more!
Give current and potential customers the opportunity to contact you quickly and easily in different formats. Provide a free phone number, online chat, e-mail address, snail mail address, social-media contacts, online forms, and more. Then, respond quickly to all feedback, comments and suggestions.
By listening to customers, you can discover issues before they become major problems, develop new products and services to meet current and specific needs and really get to know who is buying your products and services and why. Plus, you may even stop some negative reviews from going viral!
To create a positive, online reputation, think about your customers, and give them what they want. Hold charitable events to help others and show that your business cares about more than just sales.
Develop unique content in various formats specifically for your target audience that provides value and is easy to share with others. And make service a priority. Give customers more than they expect, provide a personal touch and always be there to hear what they have to say.
This way, you’ll develop fans who will rave about your products and services, and tell their friends about you. And this is priceless marketing that creates a positive, online reputation… and more important, loyal customers for years to come!
What are you going to do today to improve your online reputation?
For help improving your online reputation, check out these articles, and feel free to contact me here.
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