Every day, businesses and organizations take a variety of approaches and implement several tactics to build, maintain, and improve their brand reputations. With the rapidly changing and increasingly ubiquitous role of the Internet in every aspect of our lives, most of these entities focus their branding efforts on an established social media strategy. In fact, Kip Becker, Helena Nobre, and Vijay Kanabar noted in their 2013 study that social networks have provided a medium for disgruntled customers and consumers with access to the attention of millions to voice their dissatisfaction loud and far. This relatively new way of interacting with brands coupled with an emerging business model shifting focus from individual to community concerns breeds an environment conducive to presentation use. Presentations allow for more customized messaging and creative narrative, as well as meaningful, personal interactions with consumers. Here are 5 ways you can further develop your brand reputation during a presentation:
1. Tell a story
According to a 2002 study, the decision a consumer makes to continue or discontinue loyalty to a brand is made emotionally or behaviorally – not factually. There is really no way around it. Even seasoned marketing strategist Billee Howard places storytelling at the forefront of the new business model. Why? Because stories make emotional connections and drastically increase audience retention rates.
2. Aim to inspire
Customers, consumers, and audiences look away in disdain if they feel like all a brand is trying to do is sell them on a product. They want to be inspired. To feel a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to feel like they are contributing to a greater good by investing in a brand. Craft your presentation with an emphasis on striking a motivational and inspirational tone. For example, ditch the third person pronouns and utilize the first person to help audience members envision themselves as a part of a unit. A part of your brand.
3. Promote open dialogue
Even though social media isn’t the only forum to maintain your company’s brand reputation, the way audiences interact with brands in this space translates similarly to the presentation world. In a 2010 Invoke Solutions study, 37% of respondents listed the inclusion and discussion of positive and negative comments as extremely important to the level of trust they held in a company or business’ social platform. You can integrate this strategy in a presentation easily by incorporating Q&A sessions or other discussion activities where members of the audience have the opportunity to reflect both positively and negatively on your topic, issue, or even brand. You will gain the audience’s trust not only in you, but also in your brand. In the “new customer generation,” as Billee refers to it, the ability to give feedback to a brand about their product or service is a huge plus.
4. Provide valuable information
A presentation is only worth giving if it disseminates quality content. The information doesn’t have to save the world from impending doom. But it does have to be capable of making some kind of a lasting impact. The “we” generation doesn’t just want to purchase a product or service that will benefit the individual, but the larger community. Ensure that every detail – from the text on the slides to the handouts you leave the audience with at the conclusion of your presentation – empowers audiences with knowledge and the ability to adopt a new skill set.
5. Demonstrate responsiveness
30% of respondents regarded responsiveness as extremely important to trusting a company or business, the Invoke Solutions study found. Within the context of a brand presentation, this suggestion can be applied in situations ranging from group and individual activities to cultivating contacts responding to the call to action and networking after the event. A company representative that is responsive to both current and potential customers who may be in the audience will only reflect positively on the brand in general.
Enhancing your company’s brand reputation in the “we” economy requires a tool that is tailored, inclusive, and inspirational. There is no better tool than a presentation to complement a company’s brand reputation social media strategy.