How to Reignite Your Business’ Online Image

Most business owners have experienced a “slump,” or when nothing seems to be working out for them and cash flow is at an all-time low. Whether this slump is caused by a natural disaster or daydreaming employee, the general mood of your office is pretty clear: Lethargic, unenthused and disappointed.

If that’s the atmosphere of your business, how do you think customers react when they consider whether or not to buy products?

A company’s negative (or positive) vibe can easily leech into its outward representative of itself, or image. To make sure this image isn’t destroyed by some sort of business crisis, there’s one rule companies need to follow: Never let the bad infect online marketing.

Online Marketing: 5 Ways it Saves Companies

If you’re ever in a circumstance where your business is struggling, the last thing you want to deal with is a negative rapport with customers, bad reviews and an all-around drop-off in online activity. Why the third? Because followers and web visitors are what make your online assets visible.

To make sure you’re always building up a solid image and stick to positive messaging, here are 5 guidelines for maintaining your online marketing campaign:

1. Scheduling: How far in advance to you plan out your public relations, social media, blogs, and other online publications? In the event of a crisis, these things may be the last thing on your mind which can lead to a downward shift in activity. The quick fix? Work a week or two ahead! Any marketer will tell you it is much easier to focus on creating awesome content when they have the time to work in advance.


2. Frequency: To follow up with scheduling content and posts, it’s important to follow through by interacting with followers, readers, likes, shares, and comments. Don’t let a slump distract you from what’s important (i.e. your customers).


3. Controlled Media: Businesses control their own social media and content marketing. What does this mean? They are in a perfect position to control news. (No – not like 1984.) This allows companies to explain the situation and positively brand themselves at the same time.


4. Long-Term Benefits: Social media and content marketing, especially, take a long time to build up. Why sacrifice weeks or even months of work if there is a business-related problem that’s out of your hands? Once your marketing is where you want it, it will be much easier to brand your company (see #3).


5. Continued Interaction: Nothing says “we messed up” like radio silence from a business undergoing a disaster. As always, the best approach is to connect with your audience and see how they feel about a situation. It’s always better to be transparent, something that is much easier to do if you have impactful online marketing strategies in place.

What do you think? How else does online marketing benefit businesses?

How to Reignite Your Business’ Online Image