Define Your Identity

Brand identity includes a lot of distinct aspects. Along with the look of your marketing channels (including website, logo, and design of social media pages), it also includes core values, the history behind your business, and other characteristics that make your business unique. Playing up these unique aspects can help your business resonate with consumers online, which will then pique their interest.

Understand Your Target Audience

A target audience consists of those people most likely to support your brand by purchasing products or scheduling services. If you’re having trouble pinpointing your target audience, consider the following questions:

• What interests or hobbies do your audience have?
• Where do they work?
• Where do they live?
• What’s the economic status of your target audience?
• How old are these individuals?
• Which social media platforms do they use?
• What obstacles might they face?
• Who among your competitors appeals to your target audience the most?

By answering these questions, you’ll have a much clearer view of the type of consumer you’re pursuing with your branding.

Develop a Voice

Brand voice involves how you speak to your customers via your website and social media pages. Some brands take a casual, playful tone, while others are more serious. Identifying an appropriate brand voice is important for maintaining uniformity across marketing channels. Using the right brand voice also helps you engage with your audience on a deeper level.

Get Branding Advice From the Best in the Business

With decades of experience behind us, SonicSEO.com offers a wide range of online marketing services to our clients. We also provide guidance when it comes to online branding, including help with increasing loyalty among consumers. Contact us today to learn more or call (505) 821-2000 to schedule a consultation with our skilled team.

That’s where responsive design comes in. Responsive design refers to sites that offer a great appearance and optimum function, whether you’re viewing them on a laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, or other device.

Keep in mind that a glitchy or slow site can deter visitors from learning more about what you have to offer. It can also drive them directly to your competitors, thereby losing you revenue. If you’re still not convinced, here are a few of the many benefits responsive web design can afford your business.

Enhanced Conversion Rates

Conversion rates refer to the rate of visitors who become paying customers. Their first interaction is likely to be your business’s website, and they’re likely to use a mobile device during that interaction. If a user cannot find pertinent information, runs into roadblocks when using shopping carts, or experiences lags and delays, your conversion rate is naturally going to suffer.

On the other hand, if users are privy to a smooth and seamless experience, they are more likely to make a purchase. In this case, responsive design offers practical benefits since users will have the ability to find information to make purchases. They’ll also be able to complete purchases without any snags.

Improved Reputation

Your website doesn’t only offer an efficient way to purchase goods and schedule services. It also creates an impression of your brand and its reputation. A poor appearance or unsatisfactory performance can impact your reputation negatively, as visitors may assume you’re careless in other aspects.

A well-functioning website also boosts your authority when it comes to your business and the industry it operates in. There’s a very strong correlation between the function of a website and whether a business can be considered trustworthy, and trustworthiness is a major component of attracting consumers to your brand. Better function means better reputation, which means greater appeal to customers.

Greater User Satisfaction

Finally, a site that offers a quality experience across all channels also ensures users remain consistently satisfied. Websites are much like virtual storefronts these days, and like physical locations they must meet and exceed the expectations of your customers. If a customer has a quality experience at one location, but visits another and is dissatisfied, they’re likely to form a poor opinion of your business as a whole.

The same unfortunate outcome will occur if a customer has different experiences when viewing your site on different devices. Consistency is key when it comes to user satisfaction, and responsiveness ensures your brand remains consistently satisfying no matter how it’s interacted with.

Among the many other services we offer at SonicSEO.com, we also provide responsive website design to our clients. With our assistance, your site will enjoy a higher volume of visitors, as well as better engagement to help turn them into paying customers.

Good reviews are so valuable that some businesses go as far as faking them for their benefit. Review sites are well aware of this practice, and they’ve even developed strategies for dealing with them. Here is how two major online entities approach the subject of inauthentic online reviews.

How Yelp Deals with Fake Reviews

Yelp uses a combination of automated detection and content moderators to detect potentially false reviews. The automated detection system parses reviews to look for red flags, such as obvious bias against a competing business. User statistics are also considered, as new users with no other reviews on their profile are highly suspect. When the automated detection system flags a review, a human moderator will follow up.

If the review is deemed inauthentic, Yelp may issue a consumer alert informing users of the problem. They will also remove problematic reviews if they feel the action is warranted. Businesses can also receive a ranking penalty, which will drive down the visibility of a page.  

How Google Deals with Fake Reviews

Like Yelp, Google uses an automated detection system to search reviews for problematic or questionable content. Google uses machine-learning for efficient detection of possible red flags, such as odd user patterns or reviews generated by so-called click farms. Google also refers flagged reviews to human moderators, who ultimately decide whether they’re legitimate.

While Google also removes fake reviews, they won’t verify whether they penalize a business’s rank as a result. They reserve the right to revoke ownership of an account if a business is found to be violating their terms of service. They may also suspend the account for a period of time until they deem it acceptable to continue.

Here at SonicSEO.com, we believe authenticity is the best approach for our clients. We can help you boost your brand identity by using proven, valid practices. If you’ve experience negative reviews in the past, we can help with reputation management. We also perform ranking repair to get you back on top again. Feel free to reach out to us today to discuss your online review strategy.

Understanding the People Also Ask Feature

Searches performed on Google not only return results based on the terms or phrase, they also help users find other related information. The People Also Ask (PAA) box is populated with additional questions related to the initial query. For example, searching for a company will populate related questions that other users have asked.

PAA boxes are most common in searches that include a question word, meaning where, what, why, when, and who. While it depends on the keywords being queried, PAA boxes have been known to populate in more than half of searches performed on mobile devices, and nearly half of search results performed on desktops.

How PAA Can Impact Your Brand Reputation

Given the ubiquity of PAA boxes in SERPs, it’s easy to understand how they can have an effect on brands. It largely depends on the questions populated. Some questions might focus on practical info, such as hours of operation or the location of a business. Others are slightly more impactful, and not in a good way.

For example, consider the impact a seemingly innocent query of “Is (company) legitimate?” or “Is (company) bad?” While there may be no basis for these queries, they can still have an effect on consumers. A person performs a search about your business, sees a questionable PAA box populated, and suddenly has misgivings. At this point, one can see how a consumer might choose to go with a competitor without any further research into the matter.

How You Can Improve the Reputation of Your Brand

Google and other search engines are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to SERPs and the criteria they use to rank sites or populate features like PAA boxes. However, there are some general ways you can boost the reputation of your brand and limit the impact of PAA queries:

• Use social media to solicit testimonials and reviews from happy customers.
• Expand the online presence of your business. Along with your website and social media, make sure you’re represented on Yelp, Google My Business, and the Better Business Bureau.
• Upload images of your business, staff, products, and more to establish legitimacy.
• When you receive complaints on social media, Google My Business, Yelp, and other platforms, respond graciously and quickly. Do what you can to publicly remedy the issue.

Your business’s brand identity is essential for lasting success. People will develop perceptions of your brand, both good and bad, which is why having the right support is so crucial. Our branding gurus at SonicSEO.com can help you identify the best marketing channels for your business while also designing an effective internet marketing strategy. Let’s talk about your brand today.

What Is Review Management?

Review management is simple, really—it’s just the practice of regularly reading and responding to reviews about your business wherever they may be posted, such as:

• Comments to your blog
• BBB reviews
• Ecommerce reviews
• Google reviews
• Yelp reviews
• Your social media channels

The first step to effective review management is to know where people can publicly talk about your business. Check in daily (or more frequently if necessary) to keep current on what people are saying about your products, services and user experiences.

Why Review Management Is Important

Review management is an essential part of brand management. More than 80% of consumers report trusting online reviews when making purchasing decisions. And, reviews are becoming increasingly important to search engine ranking.

Bottom line: if you want to control the reputation your company has online with past, current and potential customers, your voice needs to be heard in conversations about your offerings and customer experiences.

Tips for Effective Review Management

Effective review management requires genuine engagement with your prospective and existing customers, no matter if their feedback is positive or negative.

When you get positive reviews, thank the reviewer for taking the time to give you a shout-out. Some platforms have buttons that make your notice and appreciation of a positive review simple, such as: 

When you get negative reviews:

1. Ignoring a negative review does not make it go away. Instead, it just makes your company look like you don’t care about your customers’ experiences.

2. Respond positively and calmly. Nothing will invite negative feedback and social media backlashes like a defensive, snarky or rude response.

The key to creating a response with a positive attitude is to remember first and foremost that the person posting the review is a person. When you can get in touch with the feelings the reviewer is expressing—disappointment, disrespect or concerned for one’s or a loved one’s safety, for example—it will be easier to respond compassionately.

3. Carefully craft apologies (if applicable). Taking full responsibility for whatever may have happened with a product or service without knowing more could lead to liability issues down the road. However, sometimes an apology is appropriate. Best practice is to apologize for not meeting the customer’s expectations rather than for the specific incident, product failure, etc. Be careful, though. Savvy customers can sniff out a fake “We’re sorry to hear that, ma’am,” so be ready to follow up an apology with something more, such as a troubleshooting suggestion or other solution (see #4).

4. Respond with a potential solution. You are not obligated to discount, refund or gift products or services, of course, although that may be the fastest way to change the reviewer’s tune. Other solutions may be an extended exchange window, credit or a private conversation with a representative.

5. Provide a direct line to a real person for further resolution. Sometimes, it’s not appropriate to handle an entire customer complaint online. The issue may involve private information or just be too complicated for a review platform. In such cases, provide the reviewer with contact information to a real, live person who will handle the situation. Provide adequate information, such as direct extensions and best times to reach out, to let the reviewer bypass an automated phone maze or avoid the need to leave voicemail.

If you’ve taken the time to understand a reviewer’s feelings and needs and offered a solution in a respectful exchange, you may have won them over. If so, you can request the reviewer to update their review or post a new one so that others can see how you demonstrated your commitment to customer satisfaction.

What If I Have No Time for Review Management?

Depending on the volume of online business you conduct and/or feedback you receive, review management may be quite a heavy load. If no one on your staff has the time or expertise to devote to review management, contact SonicSEO.com. Review management is part of our comprehensive online brand management services.

Social Media Done Wrong Hurts Your Reputation

It’s easy to see the numerous PR nightmares brands suffer when a viral video of poor customer service takes center stage; just look at what happened with United Airlines. While you cannot control what others post to their social media channels, you do have control over:

• Your customer service philosophy, training and execution
• Your response when your customer service expectations are not met by your team

While it is obviously better to have no customer service “snafus” to begin with, in the event of customer care missteps, little or no response on social media makes matters worse, potentially leading to costly reputation damage.

How to Do Social Media Right

There are endless approaches to building your brand and customer loyalty using social media, so there’s no formula or one-size-fits all strategy. However, in using social media to bolster your brand, you need to take the time to carefully craft the right foundation, message and team.

Do:

• Build a social care philosophy

Take the time to identify the values, practices and outcomes you want to deliver to your customer and how you will use your social media platforms to project that message and attitude. Make sure every one of your team members knows your social care philosophy and how to follow it.

• Hire the right team

A customer-oriented team is essential…and people who can follow a “I’m sorry to hear that” script are not enough.

• Integrate your customer care and social media practices into your core business

Customer care delivered over social media isn’t just a show you are putting on (or at least it shouldn’t be). How you respond to your customers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. should be a reflection of how customers can expect to be treated if they walk into a brick-and-mortar location or your administrative headquarters.

• Train professionals in how to act when things go wrong

When your company experiences a “customer service fail,” making it right isn’t about apologizing, denying the incident or ignoring it. There’s a sweet spot of responsibility-taking that does not present legal liability issues + genuine concern for your customer’s experience that you need to hit to remedy the situation, keep the customer and avoid future liabilities.

• Stay current and relevant to your community

Social media is not just an interactive billboard. Your customers expect you and your brand to contribute to their lives and their communities. Again, community involvement and real-life relevance is not just an act you put on. It’s got to be part of the way you do business.

When your company has a clear, executable customer care plan, when you financially contribute to local initiatives that matter to your customers, when your employees do something worth celebrating, use your social media and technology to showcase those events.

That’s how to use social media to build your brand and care for your customers.

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Mobile Advertising 101

Remember when mobile devices first became the “thing,” and Apple coined the phrase “There’s an app for that?” Apps are versions of proprietary web-based properties designed specifically for mobile use. In other words, they are like fully functioning websites that can be accessed without first going through the Internet. Think about it: on your mobile phone or tablet, you do not open your web browser (IE, Chrome or Safari) to check your email, your bank account or movie times. You go directly to the app. Boom! You’re there.

Because apps are independent of the Internet (you don’t have to go through a browser to use them), your Internet marketing is not appearing in them. However, apps provide another prime marketing opportunity. After all, millions of people are only using their mobile devices to access web-based content.

To get your ads to appear in mobile apps (i.e. in-app advertising), you need to go through an ad rep who works with app sponsors to secure marketing space. (Usually, this process actually entails multiple levels of reps, creating a complicated network between advertiser—you—and ad placement).

In-app advertising may be a very lucrative platform for your business, but the underdeveloped mobile advertising environment presents some challenges and risks to your business—such as brand safety.

What is Brand Safety

Simply put, brand safety refers to the safety of your brand reputation based on the context in which your ads appear. When your ads appear next to relevant, appropriate content, your brand is safe; you can expect your ads to make the impression they were intended to make because the stuff surrounding them supports your message.

Brand safety is undermined when your ads appear next to irrelevant and/or inappropriate content (sometimes called toxic content). By no fault of your own, your ads make a poor impression because viewers associate your brand with the negative headlines and/or images that appear next to it, even if there is no logical connection between your product/service and the neighboring content.

Why Brand Safety Matters

When your ad appears next to inappropriate content, increased exposure kills the ad’s performance, and with it your ROI, maybe even your brand’s reputation. Brand safety matters because your bottom line is at stake.

Currently, there are no effective filters to prevent your in-app ads from appearing next to inappropriate content (there are on conventional web pages), so maintaining brand safety is all on you (and your mobile ad rep). Until in-app filter technology more reliably prevents ads from showing up next to toxic content, you simply need to be vigilant:

• Research the mobile advertising company you choose to make sure they have a reputation for protecting their clients’ online reputations
• Read the fine print in mobile web advertising agreements to find out what their policies are for filtering and for rectifying unsatisfactory placement or performance
• Check your ads on your mobile device and have your friends and family do the same

If you notice your ads posted on a page next to content that makes a questionable impression, contact your mobile ad rep immediately to start working to take the ad down.

If mobile app advertising is a marketing platform you’d like to explore, contact SonicSEO.com. We provide online marketing consultation to help you determine if in-app advertising is a sound investment for your business. We can also provide advice for choosing a mobile ad rep to make sure your business is well served.

This tweet, initially a joke between her and her ~65 followers, was spotted by Governor Brownback’s office who then contacted the Youth in Government program. Sullivan was admonished for her disparaging tweet by her principal and told to write an apology to the governor. She refused.

News agencies around the country quickly picked on up this story launching the 18-year-old student into the national spotlight, championing the right to freedom of speech, and garnering the teen more than 4,000 followers on Twitter!

Regardless of varying opinions on the matter, there is an important lesson to be learned here about managing your reputation online: don’t overreact to online criticism. You can make a small matter that no one would have noticed a large matter that damages your reputation far beyond anything the original comment could have done on its own.

Below are just a couple things to keep in mind when deciding how (or if) to respond to a tweet (or any negative review for that matter):

Don’t Give Negative Reviewers Power

As a business, it can be tempting to defend yourself every time someone leaves a negative comment about you. But being defensive gives your negative reviewers power. It gives them power to continue their negative barrage…and perhaps gain more attention as your engagement actually spurs the conversation further out of your control.

Of course, there are legitimate reasons to respond to negative reviews, and good responses can provide the opportunity to show how great your business really is. The main thing to remember is that no business is perfect. Employees are going to make mistakes, things aren’t going to go as expected and consumers are going to get upset. That’s okay. When it happens, extend empathy and grace to those with legitimate concerns and weigh the pros and cons of engaging with the disparaging.

Consider the Reach of the Reviewer

Just as important as considering the nature of the review is considering the reach of the reviewer. In the example above, Emma Sullivan had a very limited reach when she first tweeted her opinion of Governor Brownback—less than 100 people (the majority of whom were probably other teens). By making a mountain out of a molehill, the Governor’s office effectively brought negative attention to the Governor—on a national scale—causing the Governor to have to respond to another, bigger, problem.

Face it: negative reviews about your business are bound to show up periodically. And it’s okay. It shows consumers that your business is real. And it also provides you the opportunity to show just how good your customer service is by how you respond. Learn to look at negative reviews as opportunities to demonstrate your business’ strength… and don’t fall prey to defensive or inappropriate responses that expose your weakness.

Forbes Insights surveyed some senior-level executives in October 2010 and found that 82% of them used smartphones. And, among those 82%, two-thirds of those smartphone users are willing to make work-related purchases by using their mobile web.

If yours is a B2B company, you can see the importance of having a strong web and mobile web presence. If a busy executive wants to make a large purchase quickly during his cab ride between meetings, he has to find your site fast. And, once he gets there, it has to be easy for him to make that purchase immediately. Otherwise, he reaches his next meeting, puts it off until later, and you may have lost that sale.

Why Just Having a Good Website Can’t Cut it Anymore

Believe it or not, there are ways to design a page that can make it easily readable and navigated on mobile devices. However, if your website is only set up to be viewed from a computer, that doesn’t mean it is user-friendly and easily viewable on a mobile device. Your company needs to be accessible online, and if your website doesn’t fully function on a mobile device, you could lose business.

If you’ve hired a good internet marketing service, they should understand your unique marketing objectives and be able to help you design an effective campaign for traditional and mobile Web viewing devices.