What’s Your Reputation Worth?

by Steve Fodor

When you get right down to it, all you have in life are your word and your reputation. Hopefully, both are seen in a positive light by people you associate with.

With all the Wall Street distrust and fallout, Tiger Woods and Toyota publicity in recent months, company reputation has become a popular topic in corporate boardrooms. I read recently that The Reputation Institute, a private consulting firm, conducted nearly 25,000 online interviews asking people their perceptions regarding the reputations of the nation’s largest (by revenue) 150 companies. The survey measured factors such as products and services, innovation, corporate citizenship and leadership. Respondents were asked to provide rankings on a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest or best score.

To be honest, the results were not too surprising to me. Brands like Johnson & Johnson, Walt Disney, UPS and Kraft Foods were at the top of the list. I’m not surprised because these are brands that invest heavily in promoting their brand image. I’ve also always had great experiences with these top brands. Also of little surprise, financial institutions and large banks were scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of perceived reputation.

What I did find interesting, though, was a statistic put forth by The Reputation Institute regarding their study. “When reputations improve by five points, consumer recommendations hike by 6.5 percent,” according to The Reputation Institute. “Get more people talking about your products and company, and you can bet you’ll improve your bottom line.”

I’ve always believed in the value of brand investment, public relations, and developing strategies to improve how your brand is perceived versus only focusing on selling products and services at a price. And when combined with a social media marketing program, consumer recommendations that promote your company’s reputation can add even more to your bottom line. I’m just glad that The Reputation Institute did this study and put some quantitative support to what good marketers have always known to be true.

Flickr Photo Credit: Rob Young

Old Media Marketing for New Media

by Steve Fodor

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Media in any form is just a tool to deliver a message. Audiences, regardless of the medium, will not be persuaded unless your message is motivating in some way. New social mediums have such tremendous applications. But, I still think the marketing messages in these new mediums could learn some tricks from the “old dogs” like print.

Before you jump to the allure of a social media strategy, think about how you need to craft your message. Here are some thought starters:

Put a face on your brand – People do not relate to faceless bureaucracies. People relate to people with likable personalities. That’s how people relate to brands, too. Testimonials from customers or from employees can bring your brand to life in social media video applications and give your brand a unique appeal.

Demonstrations sell – If your product has some unique functionality or features, social media video applications can be almost like a trade show demonstration, 24/7. Think about production values, music, lighting and how to tell your story with words, pictures and entertainment. It’s usually difficult to hold a viewer’s attention for very long, so think about telling your story with multiple, segmented videos that are singular in focus.

Brand empathy – Brand loyalty comes from a demonstration of understanding. When a brand demonstrates that “it knows what you’re going through,” you’re more inclined to see that brand in a more credible light. This is especially true for B2B marketers, where selling propositions need to be framed into a business case. White papers on your Web site and blogs are great ways to provide branded content, demonstrate a focused customer understanding and add credibility to your brand proposition.

Promise a reward – Sweepstakes, trial offers, contests, free trials. All are great techniques for generating leads. Not only do these sorts of things promote sales, they provide ways to measure online banner advertising, Twitter and Facebook campaigns so you can learn and adjust your message and media over time.

For many, the allure of social media is that the media is “free.” That’s especially appealing in today’s economy. But “free” doesn’t mean that you can skip the thought process and generate messages without a strategic foundation or a brand vision. If you don’t give thought to your message strategy in the so-called “free” social media space, you’ll get just what you paid for.

Flickr Photo Credits: me'nthedogs