Traditional branding strategies have become a distant memory as organizations clamor to take advantage of digital marketing. The Internet has become the battleground for many brands, and marketers have unleashed myriad online strategies aimed at targeting all who shop in cyberspace.
Many think about digital marketing as an avenue for advertising and promoting the purchasing of products and services. In large part this is true, given the billions of dollars being spent on consumer advertising on social media sites and websites around the world.
However, companies have realized that their corporate brands are also under scrutiny in cyberspace. So the need for managing online brand reputation has become extremely important.Â
Brand management and reputation has become a specialized field in the world of marketing. Companies of all sizes are closely watching their brands online, evaluating and assessing what everyone is saying about their brand and deciding what to do about it.
Corporate or individual consumers of products and services today care as much, if not more, about what the corporate brand symbolizes versus what the product brand promises.
There are many examples of corporate brands being born and meeting their fate on the web. The web is a magnifying glass for a corporate brand and depending on how the brand is managed, the end result can be a quick road to stardom or doom.
Marketing professionals today also need to recognize that they must “mix it up” with their consumers by jumping into web discussions about their brands. Some companies sit on the sidelines biting their proverbial fingernails and wincing at every shot their brands take in a wiki, blog or post.  They feel a hopeless loss of control.
But don’t be a victim!! Be an advocate for your brand!
The critical part of digital branding is not being afraid to join the fray. You have to be willing to take the good with the bad about your brand if you want to create credibility around it. In an age of “likes” and “stars,” your brand can be tagged and decided upon instantaneously by consumers on the web and the only difference between being a hero or a goat is getting real with people about what your organization is all about and showing the human side of your business.
Consumers today want to know that you have a realistic sense of your brand and that your brand is not infallible. Your corporate brand must take on humanistic qualities, such as integrity, honesty, loyalty, and learning from your mistakes, not covering them up.
If you want people to like your brand, then be upfront and sincere with your consumers. For many organizations, this is a scary and nightmarish thought filled with unknowns and uncontrollable uncertainties. However, for the organizations that have jumped into the deep end of the pool, their experience has been one of building stronger and closer bonds with their consumers.
So when you are at your next digital marketing meeting, ask yourself this one question: Am I marketing in the best interest of my organization or my consumers? A truthful answer maybe the one that opens a new road to enlightenment for your brand.