Internet branding

Internet branding (also referred to as Online branding) is a Brand management technique that uses the World Wide Web as a medium for positioning a brand in the marketplace. Website creation and optimization, social media, blogs, online press releases, and video marketing are all methods used for online branding purposes.[1][2]

Online branding techniques

Some professionals believe that the goal of online branding is to have consumers continually recognize a brand.[3] Others focus on integrating online branding with the overall brand experience of customers in relation to a company, product, or other branded entity. From this perspective, brand recognition is viewed as one component among many, such as brand differentiation (from competitors) and the "Collaboration Age" brand dialog facilitated by Internet and mobile communications.[4][5] Website development is a key component of online branding as a website is used by companies and individuals to present products and services of a brand.[6] Focusing on a website's appearance, functions, and company message to provide a positive experience to visitors is all part of online branding.[6] Website development for online branding also includes utilizing a blog to generate content for readers interested in topics related to the brand. It has been both recommended and advised against to guest blog on other websites for the purpose of online branding.[7] In 2014, Matt Cutts, the head of Google's Spam team, stated that guest blogging has become more and more spammy and recommended against using guest posting for building incoming links to a website.[8]

Internet branding also involves social media interaction and integration. Display and content networks used with repetition are one method of integrating a brand with social media.[3] Behavioral targeting, re-messaging, and site specific targeting are used as a way to keep a brand in front of a target audience.[3] Branding through social media involves sharing knowledge about the brand and continuously interacting with customers.[9] Using sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube to share knowledge about a brand is a popular form of online branding through social media.[10]

Online reviews

Online brands are exposed to scrutiny from consumers through various review and complaint websites with fake reviews being used to damage brands. In 2014, a restaurant owner in Enid, Oklahoma refused to serve a patron in a wheelchair. In an interview, the owner stated that he does not server "freaks" and made prejudice remarks about homosexuality.[11] Within days of the interview, people left fake reviews on Yelp about the restaurant in what the media described as "online justice."[12] Social media is also used as a medium for people to leave fake reviews or defame brands.[13] A hotel owner in the United Kingdom won a defamation lawsuit in 2014 against a former employee who set up a Facebook page solely for the purpose of damaging the Inn's online brand.[14]

Companies have also manipulated brands by leaving positive online reviews. In September 2013, 19 New York businesses agreed to pay $350,000 in penalties and stop writing faking online reviews about their businesses in an agreement reached with the New York Attorney General.[15] The same year, Yelp sued a lawyer from San Diego for writing fake reviews about his solo practice on the site. Yelp has also posted messages on company pages within its site that have been caught paying for positive reviews. This was after the site conducted a sting operation on Craigslist to find companies paying for reviews.[16] It has been argued that companies posting fake online reviews about their own business violates false advertising laws.[15] United States law requires that people who receive compensation for endorsing a product endorse it.[17] Company Legacy Learning Systems was fined $250,000 in 2011 by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for paying people to post fake reviews based on generated sales.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Green, R. Kay (25 April 2013). "7 Highly-Effective Ways to Maximize Your Online Brand Presence". Huffington Post. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  2. ↑ Fallon, Nicole (10 December 2013). "7 Highly-Effective Ways to Maximize Your Online Brand Presence". Business News Daily. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wallace, Christopher (7 April 2010). "5 Key Strategies To Build Your Brand Online". Search Engine Land. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  4. ↑ Wilson, Chris (21 April 2009). "Interview with Brand Consultant and Author Marty Neumeier". Fresh Peel. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Branding Definition". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Williams, John (4 September 2005). "3 Steps to Branding Your Website". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Zac (22 January 2014). "Guest Blogging for SEO is Dead". Brand. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Cutts, Matt (20 January 2014). "The decay and fall of guest blogging for SEO". Mattcutts.com. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  9. ↑ Ali, Syed Noman (17 August 2013). "4 Steps to Building a Credible Online Brand". Social Media Today. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Gunelius, Susan (4 January 2011). "Building Your Brand with Social Media". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  11. ↑ Greig, Alex (8 February 2014). "Wheelchair-bound man banned from restaurant for being disabled by owner who refuses to serve freaks". Daily Mail (United Kingdom). Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  12. ↑ Chesky, Morgan (12 February 2014). "Enid Bar owner’s anti-gay comments met with online justice". KOCO Oklahoma. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Zac (19 February 2014). "Twitter Defamation – Could It Happen to You?". Brand. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  14. ↑ Bothwell, Ellie (17 February 2014). "Bell Inn owner wins damages after Facebook defamation case". Morning Advertiser (United Kingdom). Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Clark, Patrick (23 September 2014). "New York State Cracks Down on Fake Online Reviews". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  16. ↑ Nelson, Laura (19 October 2012). "Yelp cracks down on businesses that pay for good reviews". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Learmonth, Michael (30 October 2012). "As Fake Reviews Rise, Yelp, Others Crack Down on Fraudsters". Ad Age. Retrieved 21 February 2014.