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What should you avoid when building online brand credibility?

Building online brand credibility aims to retain customers and this is a challenge on online platforms as there is a wide range of competition. Online brand credibility is a factor that stimulates a consumer to buy, maintain engagement, and revisit your website or online platforms. Building online brand credibility takes time and planning, so posting a well-designed logo or posting a social media post occasionally is not enough. You need to research your industry and competitors, formulate marketing plans, and put the consumer first. To avoid making preventable mistakes, these are the things you should avoid when building online brand credibility:

  • Exaggerations and half-truths
    Exaggerating or telling half-truths to persuade consumers is a big mistake as it lowers online brand credibility. Credibility is built by being honest with your audience, communicating regularly, and providing what is promised on your online platforms. This also applies to being deliberately vague to avoid certain information. Not communicating effectively and fully is sure to damage your online brand credibility.You should also avoid posting content that does not relate to your brand. If consumers are on your online platform looking for a product, service, or information and click on links that lead them to irrelevant information, they will not trust your brand.To please your desired consumers and build online brand credibility you need to ensure that everything they need and would want is available to them. This will ensure that they trust your brand and that your brand stands out from the crowd.
    Exaggerations and half-truths
  • Don’t showboat
    Promoting your brand and content online is an important marketing move, but if it is done incorrectly, it could damage your online brand credibility. If you over-promote your content and brand, consumers may be deterred due to the promotion coming across as spam or over-compensation.To avoid this mistake, your website and other online platforms need to be clear, informative, and easy to navigate. Not only easy to navigate on a computer or laptop, but also on a mobile device. Using pop-ups, slide-ins, and video clips can be a good marketing tool but if it is overused, or if it appears without the user’s instruction, it may be seen as spam.The overuse of promotional content may also convey the message that what is being seen and promoted is too good to be true. This is sure to damage your online brand credibility, so be sure to avoid overuse or promotional content at all times.
  •  Association with untrustworthy sources
    Having your brand’s name in online publications is sure to build online brand credibility. When consumers see your brand’s name in trusted publications, they are sure to remember it and revisit your online platform when it’s needed. But having your brand’s name on just any publication may lead to damaging your online brand credibility.Many brands choose to hire the services of a marketing agency to create content and have them published in online publications. This may work, but not all agencies use reputable publications and may use disreputable publications to save money.The saying “any press is good press” does not apply to this situation. If you do choose to hire a marketing agency to spread the word about your brand, make sure to research the agency to ensure they can meet your needs and not damage your online brand credibility.

    Association with untrustworthy sources

  • Hopping on trends
    Using the latest trends in marketing strategies can work out to be profitable if done correctly. But the issue with trends is that they don’t last, and if a brand focuses on using trends, they are likely to fade as fast as the trend fades. This is sure to damage your online brand credibility.If you would like to use a trend in your marketing strategy on occasion, you need to ensure that you stick to your marketing strategy. By stopping what works well for your brand for a trend, your online brand credibility will be damaged. Choosing the trend to hop on is also extremely important. Even if the chosen trend is wildly popular, it may damage your brand if it’s off-target.

Brand owners need to ensure that nothing worthwhile is achieved after a quick fix. Online brand credibility needs time, planning, and effort to be built to last. Using a marketing strategy that works is always your best bet. Once you’ve figured out what works, you can test new techniques and see if they can be added to the marketing strategy.