Managing your brand online is different to managing your brand offline. Say goodbye to control and hello to embracing the voice of your customers.

In most cases, your online brand is an extension of your offline brand – from tone to visual branding and your story – but that’s where the similarities end.

Managing your brand online is interactive. These days, your online brand presence is no longer confined to your website (and if it is, it shouldn’t be).

Whether you like it or not, your customers are talking about your brand and products or services in public. Online, they’re doing it on a larger scale on places like Twitter and Facebook. Most of the time they control the conversation because they own it.

If you want to be part of the conversation and interact with your customers on their terms, on their platform of choice, you have to shake off the business mindset.

I know. It’s counter intuitive.

How can I possibly say: you’ve got to shake off the business mindset to successfully connect your business to people?

Trust me, it works. If you want to connect to people you have to act like a person, not a brand.

The businesses creating trusted brands online are jumping on social networking platforms and chatting about their interests with their markets. They’re not boring everyone with their elevator pitches or ‘hottest deals’.

They’re creating blog content shaped around their markets’ interests, not just around their companies’ products and services. They are encouraging participation from their website visitors through blog comments and giving them the tools to leave ratings and reviews on products and services.
“Uh oh,” I hear you say. “What if customers write negative reviews? Won’t that turn away potential customers faster than anything else?”

Surprisingly, negative reviews can present very positive opportunities for your business.

Recently, I heard an interview about leveraging customers to drive online sales. The head of a US company that works with major brands on their social media strategy explained that out of the millions of reviews under their management the average rating is 4.3 out of 5 and results are consistent through Australasia.

He explained that negative reviews are a great gift. They allow businesses to improve merchandising and identify the reasons why some products are performing badly. Instead of trying to control the conversation with spin, the negative reviews helped customers view the positive reviews as more genuine.

A 2009 Nielsen survey found the most effective form of advertising based on trust was other people’s recommendations.

Give your visitors the tools to not only review and rate your products but also to share their thoughts with their social networks. By sharing your business details they are essentially endorsing your brand.

Don’t stop there.

Use your customer’s reviews and ratings in your marketing to shape your brand. Create ‘top rated product’ lists on your website and feature them in your email marketing.

And, if you’re smart, you’ll continue using your customer’s voice from your online branding in your offline branding and marketing also.