Don't risk your long-term brand health for short-term gains. Check out a few time-tested tips from the one and only GaryVee!

Friday: Everson’s High-P Fridays FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: Long-term gains over short-term goals and shortsighted efforts. As an independent professional, this should always be your mantra when it comes to doing business. It doesn’t matter whether you see a lot of other businesses thriving and getting ahead in the short term. You’re not always supposed to keep up with their pace or be exactly like them. Just continue to do what you’re supposed to do diligently, and you’ll reap the long-term outcomes of all your hard work and efforts. Keep reading to know four things that you need to take note of to properly build your online branding and reputation in the long term. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

Don't risk your long-term brand health for short-term gains. Check out a few time-tested tips from the one and only GaryVee! In business and marketing, thinking long-term and building a good reputation always play out in your brand’s favor. However, one common issue is that some enterprises think getting ahead in the short term is the way to go, just because a lot of companies have been successful that way. As a result, these businesses are pressured to do things like the following: Prioritizing quick sales instead of establishing connections with consumers. Trying to convert prospects into customers at the first point of interaction instead of building trust. Getting money out of consumers instead of creating a positive experience. Reminder: Shortsighted efforts to get immediate results in the short term often come at the expense of long-term brand health. If you want your business to thrive in the long run, you should be careful not to fall into any of the traps stated above. Let’s see what this entrepreneur and digital marketer says about good branding and reputation… According to Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of the advertising agency VaynerMedia, “Your personal brand is your reputation.” In other words, your brand is what consumers feel or think about when they interact with you or your business. Vaynerchuk says the best companies in the world “don’t just sell―they brand.” For example: Apple doesn’t explicitly ask consumers to quickly convert into loyal customers or buy an iPhone. What it does is paint a picture of the iPhone experience and let consumers decide whether or not they’ll buy the product. We can see that in the company’s various marketing campaigns such as “Get a Mac” in 2006, “There’s an App for That” in 2009, “Shot on iPhone” in 2014, “Color Flood” in 2018, and many more. Look where these brand activations got Apple now―it’s one of the most successful and leading tech giants in the world! So… how can you bring this type of long-term branding and reputation building in the online world? Vaynerchuk lets you in on a few of his digital marketing secrets! Good intent wins in the social media world. As a business owner or marketer, you have to keep in mind that everything you post on social media has an impact on your brand. … and when we say “impact,” there are only two options: Positive or negative. Once you establish your brand’s presence on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms, whatever you publish online can either make or break your brand. This is why Vaynerchuk said that you can’t have multiple personalities. It’s not realistic to have a different persona for business, family, friends, etc. You have to be who you are while also considering how you want your brand to be seen online. By doing so, social media users will see your genuineness and commitment to serve them through your products or services. Who knows? This might also compel them to help spread the word about your business, thereby boosting your brand’s overall visibility!   Find a way to promote your brand through ads. Before establishing his own company, Vaynerchuk grew his father’s liquor business from USD 3 million to USD 60 million per year with the help of Google Adwords even though he spent very little money on it. According to him, if he had spent more money on the ad platform, he would have grown the business to hundreds of millions. That’s why every time Vaynerchuk would give advice to business owners and marketers, one of the things he’d mention is this: “Always find a way to promote your brand through ads.” It’s up to you on what you think is the best ad platform for your brand―Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Snapchat Ads, etc. With the right strategies to execute alongside these ads, it will be easier for your target market to FIND YOU online!   Be smart about how you distribute your brand’s content. Vaynerchuk has a strategy for distributing content and building his brand online. He calls it… The Content Pyramid! For Vaynerchuk, it’s not just enough to produce long-form content such as podcasts, Q&As, vlogs, and blogs. You also have to recreate these pieces into different types of short-form content that your target market will enjoy consuming and sharing. These include the following: Memes Quotes Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Stories Images GIFs … and many more! Once you’ve created both long-form and short-form content, distribute these strategically on relevant social media for optimum reach. By doing so, you’ll have more points of interaction with your target market and you’ll also gain more exposure for your brand!   Offer high-value content. In line with the previous point, another thing you have to take note of when it comes to content is value. It doesn’t matter whether you’re publishing one or 100 pieces of content each day. The bottomline is your brand has to offer something of value to your target market. So… how do you know what your customers want? One way is through social listening. According to Vaynerchuk, it is in listening that you’ll be able to pay attention to and provide what your target market wants and needs. When you skip this step, you end up deciding what type of content you’d like your target market to see, not what they actually want to see. In this case, you’re not providing value at all—you’re just giving what you want to give! If you want to increase your brand’s customer base and expand your reach in the online world, you have to know the importance of social listening and listening to your target market in general. This will not just help you provide value to your customers but will also enhance your business’ reputation in the online world. There are a lot of opportunities to establish your brand’s presence online. However, if your intentions are not aligned with your business’ goals and you’re not taking advantage of online ads and high-value content, those opportunities will pass you by. Don’t let that happen. Take Vaynerchuk’s branding tips seriously! As you apply these strategies in your online reputation building, you’ll see how technology, social media, and the Internet will help you grow your brand. You’ll also witness how more and more consumers will be able to find your brand online! Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Friday’s Everson’s High-P Fridays! “Thinking outside the box requires time away from the office cubicle…” Learn more about the importance of stepping away from your desk when searching for creativity on next week’s Everson’s High-P Fridays!