If you were to type “social networking sites” into Google, you would
get about 65,400,000 results. For business owners seeking to make an
impact in the digital world, the strategies are seemingly endless. What
online communities are best for your brand? How can your brand engage
your customers within those communities? Is a company blog going to
establish your credibility?

To navigate the digital landscape, we have synthesized key elements to develop your online reputation:

Perception Development

Before developing your reputation strategy, create a compelling and unique brand identity. To start your thinking about how to develop your brand identity, consider these three questions:

• What are people going to rely on you for? This is your value proposition.
  What value are you consistently offering? Are you delivering
  high-quality marketing insights or are you positioning your client
  ahead of the curve?  Defining value proposition is important in
  understanding how to position your brand.
• What is your unique selling point? Figure out what makes
  coming to you a better experience than going to one of your many
  competitors or why your product is something entirely new.
• Developing your voice. Is your company going to fall in
  ranks with the status quo, or are you the innovative alternative?
  Imagine your brand as a person. How would they talk, act, and dress.
  For a more detailed guide to online branding, read Jack Yan’s Online
  branding: A definitive guide.

Developing Online Strategies to Meet Your Objectives

After refining your brand personality, identify your objectives and
prioritize your efforts. What do you seek to gain from building your
reputation online? Market leadership? Building meanginful
relationships? To start your thinking about potential online
objectives, here are common industry goals and strategies to meet them:

Credibility

Establishing credibility in your field is essential in building
meaningful relationships and elevating your online presence. Here are
some strategies to establishing credibility in the digital marketplace:

• Answer questions on LinkedIn or Yahoo Answers—These
  platforms will allow you to give free advice to people who are
  searching for it. As you answer more questions, naturally you will
  build relationships and authority in the field. Potentially, this could
  lead to new business.
• Blogging—You can also develop a blog to post market
  insights and comment on industry news. Additionally, you can use your
  blog as a vehicle to market your business via business
  (Entrepreneur.com, LinkedIn, etc) and social networks. Take example
  from...

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