How to Build Your Brand’s Reputation

At Sunwest, we talk A LOT about how your brand can respond to a crisis once it’s already happening. 

But what about before a crisis strikes? Should you build your brand’s reputation when times are good?

The short and obvious answer is: Yes.

Here’s the three-step Sunwest PRscription to build your brand’s reputation before a crisis happens:

-Be Authentic

-Be Genuine

-Start Telling Your Story Now

Sounds easy – right? Well, each of these steps need to happen over a period of time, so you need to start to build your brand’s reputation now. Read how below.

Be Authentic. When you look for opportunities to give back and “do good,” it simply has to be authentic to your brand and your overall mission. For example, if your company sells groceries, giving to a local foodbank would be extremely relevant. However you choose to give back, just make sure it’s not a “one-and-done” circumstance. It must be part of an overall corporate social responsibility plan.

Second, when your brand tells its story – whether on your own social media or other internal platforms – it should never appear self-serving. Strive to sound genuine – especially if you plan to get traditional media coverage. If the media senses that your efforts appear too self-serving, they’re never going to cover your story – and media coverage can go a long way to build your brand’s reputation.

Third – and perhaps most importantly – is if you don’t tell your story somebody else will do it for you. So start now while times are good. Using your owned channels, tell your audience how your company is positively contributing to your community. This is a great way to build your brand’s reputation while building goodwill in the bank of public trust.

Bottom line: If you wait for a crisis to happen to give back or start talking about your corporate social responsibility activities, you’re already too late. It’s so much harder to win back brand loyalty and trust than if you have already worked to build your brand’s reputation. If you start telling your story now, your key stakeholders will be more likely to stand by your brand’s side during difficult times.