Financier Warren Buffet said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it.” On social media, that has narrowed to five seconds. One moment of frustration or anger can go viral, reaching the world with no do-overs. It used to be that a momentary lapse, a joke told and later regretted, a word spoken privately in anger might be forgiven or discreetly forgotten. As we live out our lives increasingly on camera and captured by social media, that grace period is gone.
Your brand, reputation and influence are powerful and fragile. Powerful because built right and handled carefully, they can be your legacy, outliving you and changing the world one life at a time. Fragile, because one lapse, one misstep by you or your designated people can ruin what you’ve built in ways impossible to fix.
Brand
Your brand is a combination of tangible and intangible factors, some of which you can control to some degree (and some of which, admittedly, you can’t). Tangible branding includes your logo, tagline, product design, packaging, delivery method (in some cases), and pricing. Intangible branding includes the promise you implicitly make to your customers about the outcome your product will achieve for them, your reputation, customer satisfaction levels, market positioning, and what your brand represents in the world.
Every action you take online and offline either strengthens or weakens your brand. Do your best to assure that everything you post and tweet reinforces the image you want the world to have of you and your brand. Recognize that you ARE your brand. That doesn’t come with an off switch. It’s a 24/7 responsibility.
In today’s social media fishbowl, branding extends past the product to the distributors/customer-facing staff and those running the company. Get caught saying something derogatory or unkind, and you’ll see your mistake go viral, costing you customers. At best, your PR people will have to do damage control. At worst, a portion of customers will not believe your apologies and take business elsewhere.
Reputation
Both you and your company/product have a reputation. When both are in sync, life is good. When there’s a disconnect, problems happen.
Word of mouth has always been crucial to building and maintaining — and ruining — a reputation. In the old days, whispers and rumors got passed from on social circle to another. Now, thanks to the Internet and social media, those rumors reach the world in seconds. You’ll have to work to encourage satisfied customers to post to sites while upset clients are already motivated.
Influence
Influence flows from your brand, reputation, actions and connections. Influence is the weight your opinion holds to be able to sway the actions or opinions of others, as well as your ability to tap into a network of people who are willing to help you make something happen.
Your influence grows in direct relation to your ability to be of service to other people, to help them accomplish their goals. That’s why growing a large social media following, amassing a large newsletter subscriber base, gathering sizable crowds at your events or selling a lot of product matters. All of those elements provide you visibility and a voice whereby you can give a signal boost to other people and causes. Influence starts with what you can do for others, and pays you back in reciprocity.
Reciprocity is a key element of gaining and using influence, and in social media, it’s easier than ever before. Retweet, like, comment and share when someone mentions you, giving them a social thank-you that further raises their signal. Proactively boost the signal of people you admire in your industry — thought leaders, successful entrepreneurs, speakers, authors, etc. — by sharing and commenting on their links. Whenever you can connect people who share a common interest or mission, make the effort.
Branding, reputation and influence are intrinsically interconnected. Damage to any one piece ripples through the others. Strive first to earn and maintain an excellent reputation, and carry that into the branding for your product. Then give first when you connect with others and build your influence, which in turn burnishes your reputation and your branding.
Gail Z. Martin owns DreamSpinner Communications and consults with professionals and businesses in the U.S. and Canada on strategic social media. This article is adapted from her new book, “The Essential Social Media Marketing Handbook: A New Roadmap for Maximizing Your Brand, Influence and Credibility” (Career Press).
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