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Six Tips for Building Your Company Brand Online

Using the Internet to Establish Your Business Image

Tony Baker

August 24, 2007

Are you projecting a consistent image to your potential customers? Do they even know your name? Wal-mart, Windows, Apple: each of those names conjures an image, a logo or a product line at just the mention of their name. 

You, too, want to get your name out there as a certified, reliable business. A cohesive identity allows people to associate your company with quality, speed, reliability, or your unique selling points. The Internet is a great place to get started.  New technologies and growing online audiences make online marketing a very effective way to reach your customers. Here are six ways to build a powerful image for your brand online and off.

1) Consider social media 

Sites like MySpace and Facebook are just two of the numerous social media sites out there. Starbucks has an excellent Myspace profile that represents their company well. Their site hosts photo contests of Starbucks locations or products, and offers an easy way to forward the site to other Myspace friends. These features encourage and reward audience participation, a key ingredient of social media.

Don't try to hit up all social media sites, though. The point of social media is to get involved in it. Don't just make a profile and throw up a couple of articles and hope for the best. Read and respond to other people's blog posts and articles. Start thought-provoking discussions in forums. Find a good niche and stick with it. Become a member of the community, and the community will see you that way. If people are intrigued by what you have to say, then they'll be searching your profile for more information. 

2) Give your company a voice and an image

Audio and video can become two of your best friends. With YouTube and podcasting, it’s become easier than ever to promote your company with multimedia. Don't splash them all over your site, but do some research into your target audience and find out what kind of audio and video performs well. Once you have an idea of what could work for you, start creating and distributing your own content. You'd be surprised at how a few entertaining videos on YouTube or another video-sharing site can boost your publicity. 

3) Stop the presses

You can draw traffic to your website with well-timed press releases and articles. Press releases can even show up in Google News or Yahoo News if you use the right distribution service. Contact local or industry reporters to expand the reach of your news through traditional and online media outlets as well. 

A well-written article can gain exposure for your website as well. You can include a link to your website in the author bio information to draw readers to your site when they finish the article. Directories like EzineArticles.com are always looking for new content. You can also contact online news websites and various online magazines and newsletters to see if they are interested in running your piece.

4) Put your website on all your marketing materials 

Your offline marketing efforts should include your website information. Every online profile, every brochure, every banner ad and every business card should have your website URL on it. URLs should be easy to remember and easy to visit. If somebody wants to get a better idea of what your company's about, they should be able to tell with a five-second visit to your site.

5) Keep your website updated 

If you want to build your brand online, you'll need to make sure your website is working for you. And that means keeping it updated regularly. Few things will kill your brand faster than having a website or blog that hasn't been updated in months. That gives the impression that your company and brand are tired, or old, or even out of business and nobody's told the guys running the site just yet.

6) Keep your message consistent 

Whether you're going online or offline for your marketing and advertising, the message you send should be consistent across all your materials. If you have mixed messages, you'll risk alienating the customers you have and won't be able to convert potential clients.

Online marketing is one of the best options for building a name for your business, and there are a number of ways to do it. Explore as many avenues as you can, and find the ones that have the best return for you. You may not be able to become the next Starbucks, but you can establish a trustworthy name for your business.

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