Brand Reputation Is Your Brilliant Edge by Simon T. Bailey

In this era, a brand is more than the product or services that are provided to your customers. A brand is an emotional connection, perception, and memory of your company. Every interaction that a customer, prospective customer, or supplier has with an employee, product, or service reinforces trust in your reputation. As a business leader, everything that you and your staff do is a touchpoint that leaves an imprint on the heads, hearts, and hands of your customers. 

Are there opportunities to sharpen your approach and fiercely protect your brand reputation? According to The Conference Board, after surveying over 1,000 CEOs, one of the top five challenges they face is brand reputation. They’re scrambling to establish trust, differentiate their brand, position their brand in the marketplace, and engage multiple audiences. 

Your company, product, or service is up against these same challenges. 

Here are a few tips to consider on this road to creating an edge through your brand reputation: 

1. Be a strategic storyteller. 
   Recently, Microsoft transferred Steve Clayton from the office in Liverpool to Redmond, WA, and gave him the title “Chief Storyteller.” His sole responsibility is to capture internal stories about how Microsoft is changing the world. These stories are published via an interactive online experience. One of the feature stories that went viral is about the 88 acres Microsoft used to create the city of the future. They are not leaving their brand to chance or to what outsiders have to say; they are recapturing the narrative and shaping internal thinking, which will have a direct impact on how an external audience perceives Microsoft. 

2. Create your own CNN (Constant Nice News). 
   Livestream your content from any of your annual meetings or conferences. You can create ongoing webinars and capture content that can be chunked down to three- to five-minute snippets of your company’s or brand’s thought leaders (and if you’re an entrepreneur, this could just be you!), groundbreaking research, and/or political updates that impact your members. It’s accessible every day, every way—mobile, tablet, laptop, etc.—and everywhere people want to view. You can then explore content monetization with the repository of invaluable information that shapes the reputation of your brand. 

3. Establish a social media Navy SEAL team. 
   This is a carefully selected group of savvy members in your company who know how to effectively use key social media channels. Any time a crisis or news-jacking opportunity arises, they are ready to work behind the scenes with the main purpose of generating positive content that shapes the narrative of how the organization wants its brand reputation to be perceived by the general public and, most importantly, its members. They can be your Always On-Brand Editorial Team. 

I believe that these efforts will enable your company, product, or service to protect its brand reputation and give it the edge needed to stay relevant. 

The original post appeared here on Simon T. Bailey’s website and has been slightly modified for republication. For more inspiration from the author, pick up a copy of his books Shift Your Brilliance: Harnessing the Power of You, Inc. and Brilliant Living: 31 Insights to Creating an Awesome Life