Your Brand Your Reputation

Remember those early days of colorful sticky notes placed strategically to a wall attempting to wean out every last bit of creativity and strategy you could muster to figure out which logo or color palette would be best to lead your company skyrocketing into the future? Or even earlier when you first thought up the vision for your business. It’s the time and effort you spent in the early years, that should remain constant throughout the maturation of your company, to ensure your brand doesn’t get out of touch with your target audience. 

As a recruiting firm, trust is everything with clients. When your company name is typed into Google, what comes up? Is your website outdated? Are your social profiles old or nonexistent altogether? 

Having an updated online presence helps to:

• Build trust
• Inform consumers more effectively
• Attract more clients
• Showcase your products and services more clearly 
• Increase ROI

If you looked back to what a company’s online presence encompassed ten, five, even two years ago, you’d see a drastic change in picture and overall user activity. This change stems from evolving technology, modifications in marketing strategy, societal viewpoints, and the way business is conducted.

To be a successful company, you must learn to adapt and adhere to the best practices available.  

After all the time spent figuring out exactly what color template your brand will be or the logo you finally decided on, isn’t it worthwhile to ensure you’re being represented in the best light possible?

Let’s look at some ways your brand translates directly to your reputation.

How to conquer your online presence

Whether you’ve taken years to get to where you are today, or just starting out, your brand, your reputation, should be represented the way you want it to be within your space. What is your space? Anything your brand touches; a website, signage, content marketing & social media, sales & customer service and advertising all encompass your brand. 

Your online presence should be: 

• Polished
• Up-to-date
• Informative
• Engaging
• Persuasive

Be the leader of your industry, not just another player. Show your authoritative side and expertise. If you want to display your company’s community engagement, find a way to highlight this online. 

When people search for your brand, your message should be clear, and imagery should be tight. Most company’s only get one first impression for potential clients. Make yours count. 

Brand Style Guide

To help translate your brand ideas professionally into an online message for users across multiple online platforms, a brand style guide is the way to do it. Brand style guides encompass your brand story, typography, visual content, missions/goals, your brand story, and the color palette. 

Adhering to a brand style guide will ensure consistency remains throughout all platforms your brand touches.

Website

Your website now acts as the storefront of a bygone era. It’s the first place customers, or prospective employees will go to research who you are and what you stand for. Personally, you know what you stand for. A hard work ethic, entrepreneurial mindset that relishes competition, delivers results in a timely fashion and always professional. 

Yet if your website is out of date or looks cheap, it’s going to send the wrong message to your potential clients. Are you a good brand or not? Can you be trusted? Will your company’s promise lead to a solution? Don’t leave it up for interpretation.

Social Platforms

Social platforms act as another branch to extend your brand reach. For example, over 75% of people that changed jobs used LinkedIn to inform of their career decision. Recruiters use LinkedIn daily to connect with new potential candidates as well as keeping up with old ones. 

This reach also extends to other platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Using your brand style guide will help your company look professional and consistent.

Tone & Messaging

Depending on what you want your company to encapsulate, will determine how your tone and messaging comes off. Are you a fun and relaxed company? Or are you more serious and results driven? You want your tone and messaging to match your company’s core values. 

Reputation is defined by Merriam-Webster as the overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general. Are you proud of your brand? Make sure you’re being represented in the way your brand deserves. 

Contact Parqa today to receive a free website analysis from Parqa Marketing.