BLOGS
The Importance of Having a Reputable Online Image
What does it mean if your reputation precedes you? For every firm to prosper and for experts in any industry, reputation is essential. Affluent investors and discerning customers are prone to dealing solely with people and businesses they are comfortable with. This is particularly true in the luxury real estate sector, where properties valued in the millions are at risk (such as luxury condos or luxury house and lot properties for sale). And given that purchasing luxury homes and land online is now commonplace following the pandemic, real estate firms must establish a solid online reputation in the internet market.
After all, a good reputation and a positive online presence are the determining factors of brand credibility. A high-quality content strategy precedes a good brand image. Content, in this context, refers to more than just free stock images from free stock photo websites. Read on to find out why it’s important for business success to have a good online reputation.
This article will also demonstrate the importance of high-quality images, videos, and overall content in creating a positive brand image and how to gain client loyalty in today’s competitive digital market.
The Key Benefits of a Reputable Online Image
A brand’s reputation can be defined as the collective, public impression a brand or a professional in the field makes through past performance and interaction. In other words, it is how past clients, potential customers, business partners, and employees see your brand. A reputable online image is a strong marketing asset because having your company viewed as reliable and trustworthy is a powerful competitive advantage. Here’s why:
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First, a positive online image earns customer trust.
A good online reputation creates a ripple of positive word of mouth for a business. This is important because word-of-mouth recommendations influence most clients’ buying decisions. If you have zero to no negative reviews online, clients are more inclined to trust your company. After all, online client reviews and testimonials are also word of mouth—only in digital format.
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Second, a positive online image opens the door for business opportunities.
A solid social media presence is a huge indicator of a high-value company, making you seen as an authority in the field.
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Third, a positive online image drives sales.
Profitability almost always comes naturally if a company has a reputable online image. Attracting customers who trust you, paired with building and retaining a strong workforce, is a solid formula for conversion.
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Determining Your Current Corporate Online Image
Having a reputable online image certainly comes with perks. But how do you know if you actually have a good brand image online? Generally speaking, everything can affect a brand’s reputation. These include the quality of products and services offered, the competency of its employees and customer service, the owner’s reputation, and even the images and aesthetics used to present the brand.
But if you are tasked with managing a company’s brand image online, or you want to boost your online image as a luxury real estate professional with Brittany Corporation, you are probably wondering where to begin. The first step is determining your current online presence. Nearly all property seekers, either for residential or commercial purposes, do their research online before making a purchase. You would want to begin with what is appearing in their search results. Take note of the following:
- What comes up when you look up your name or the name of your company online?
- Is there any damaging content or negative reviews? How about the positive ones?
- What types of pictures, videos, and content are associated with the brand? Are they high-quality, authentic photos or free stock photos from stock photo sites?
- Is the company using the right images that represent its core brand message?
Answering these key questions can guide your first foundational steps in building a reputable online image. Say, your social media presence lacks positive reviews from clients. One of the best options you can do is to solicit positive testimonials and honest feedback from satisfied clients. The same applies if your brand is struggling with negative testimonials.
If your brand lacks content and engagement, then, optimize your social media and websites for search by creating helpful and attractive content to increase your visibility. For instance, instead of posting free stock photos or royalty-free images from free stock photo sites to present the brand, resort to more authentic content. Post actual high-resolution photos of products and services offered, interactive virtual tours, home decorating guides, and more.
How Digital Content Contributes to a Positive Online Image
As mentioned above, a reputable online image is a combination of several factors—and of these is the brand’s digital content. What follows is a short rundown of why your brand credibility and brand image online are highly influenced by content, particularly high-quality images.
Scrolling through social media is a tough battle. The flood of fresh content online, plus the short attention span of people, make it challenging for brands to stand out and leave a good impression. That said, imagery is very crucial to engage with people and control how they see you. Here’s how high-quality content does that:
It Builds Brand Awareness and Recognition
Good content paired with consistency builds brand recognition. The saturated world of social media makes it challenging for brands to stand out. Posting beautiful photos, unique images, occasional stock images from a free stock photo site, and useful content is what draws people in. Publishing such content consistently, on the other hand, is what holds that attention. After all, online posts that include great imagery receive more engagement from users than those without one.
Over time, having a consistent aesthetic builds your brand identity. People will start to think of your brand when they see certain colors, pictures, grandeur, or appeal. Done right, this constant exposure and increasing recognition will keep you on consumers’ “top of mind awareness.” For example, when it comes to sophisticated appeal and luxury house and lot for sale, many discerning buyers will immediately think of Brittany Corporation.
High-quality photos and videos show your product in action
One of the biggest goals of content marketing is allowing buyers to visualize how a certain product will improve their life. This applies well in luxury real estate listings, where buyers are most attentive to images when browsing hundreds of options online.
You want users to easily see the key selling points and imagine their lives in the photos by posting actual, high-quality photos of the property, instead of stock images from stock photo sites. Authenticity builds trust and misleading clients with generic stock images is one the fastest ways to dent your reputable online image.
Brittany Corporation, for instance, stays true to its sophisticated brand identity by investing in top-notch real estate photography and video marketing. The images below highlight the world-class house and lot for sale on Promenade and Augusta, inside the exclusive community of Brittany Sta. Rosa.
The Lawrence Mansion in Promenade, Brittany Sta. Rosa
The Eliot Luxury Home in Promenade, Brittany Sta. Rosa
The Audrey Luxury House Model in Augusta, Brittany Sta. Rosa
Take note that content marketing is not limited to posting high-quality images or royalty-free images from free stock photo sites. Even though high-resolution images of the luxury house and lot properties or copyright-free images of beautiful homes are the go-to content for luxury real estate, you can explore your options around other forms of content. These include virtual home or luxury condo tours and other interactive forms of content.
It Widens Your Audience’s Reach and Fosters Loyalty
Successfully combining all the factors mentioned above gives a brand a large following online. The larger the audience you build, the more potential leads you have to have onboard. In addition, online popularity could be interpreted as a sign that the products and services you offer are worth every penny. This easily leads to positive reviews and testimonials about the brand. Loyal clients acting as your unofficial brand advocates gives you more credibility.
After all, a large number of people and followers talking about your brand in online reviews, mentioning you on different social media channels, or simply liking and commenting on your new photos and content reflects that consumers trust your brand. It is also a good metric to check if your online image needs any improvement.
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The Big Picture: A Reputable Brand Image is More than Just High-Resolution Images and Aesthetics
In a nutshell, a reputable online image matters — and it can make or break your career and business. Done right, the combination of these factors positions a brand as a leader in its field. Building a reputable online image, especially through savvy content marketing campaigns and high-quality photos and video materials, is a tried-and-tested formula to build brand credibility while providing value and solidifying customer loyalty.
Your content is much more than just a slew of stock images from free stock image sites that users scroll through on social media. It is a powerful tool that keeps a brand on top — for all the right reasons.