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Jul 10 2019

How Brand Image Can Make or Break Your Business According to a Leading PR Agency

According to every PR agency operating in the 21st century, brand image is everything. Maybe you think that a brand is simply identified by a logo or name, but this isn’t the case at all. A brand is known best by the image that it puts forth, and that image relates back to several unique factors. Part of the image comes from the company’s overall performance and part of it comes from its ability to do good in the world.

Just as each individual person has an image or you might call it a reputation to uphold, so does a company. In fact, it is even more important for a company to keep a solid reputation than it is for an individual since business success depends on it. When a company isn’t focused on its image, this is when failure is imminent. One of the top PR firms of our age, Interdependence, discusses how the brand image can make or break your business.

It allows you to make a splash

The first thing you need to focus on in relation to your image is getting the attention of your targeted audience. In today’s world, adults are much more likely to experience ADHD symptoms, partly because there are so many things vying for our attention. It is up to you to get the attention of the audience you’re targeting.

There are plenty of ways to do this, but whichever method you use always try to paint yourself in a positive image. Use digital marketing strategies like search engine optimization, social media marketing, or video blogging to make the splash that’s needed to get the ball rolling.

It allows you to build trust early on

If the consumer doesn’t trust you, how can you expect to make the sale? Of course, a big aspect of trust has to do with the product you’re delivering and if it seems like a quality one. But another important trust factor is the image that your company puts across. Do you seem credible? Loyal? One way to build trust through brand image is by delivering on your promises. This can best be accomplished through a solid customer service team.

It shows that you’ve got your s*** together

A major aspect of brand recognition is showing that your company is as legit as they come. You can start by registering your business. You’ll also need a legit website, not one that looks homemade. Advertising and marketing yourself on social media will also help.

There’s nothing that’s a bigger turnoff to a potential customer than a company that lacks legitimacy. Part of this legitimacy will have to be developed over time, like obtaining customer reviews, but do what you can early on.

It makes your company more recognizable

The two-arcs that make up the McDonald’s “M”…this is a recognizable brand logo that anyone from around the world could pinpoint. Your goal for your brand is to become just as recognizable, at least within the audience you’re trying to relate to. It is important to have a logo or slogan that sets you apart – and ahead – of the competition.

Jul 10 2019

Reputation Management Tips and Tricks for Small Businesses

If you’re running a small business or just starting one from the ground up, you might not think it’s necessary to invest time and/or money into reputation management. What you’re failing to see is that reputation management is even more crucial for small businesses and brand new startups.

Maybe you’re wondering, “But how is this possible if we have yet to establish our reputation?” That’s just it… you have no reputation, which is just as harmful as having a bad reputation. You need to put some serious effort into building your reputation so that your target audience actually knows you exist on planet Earth.

Hiring a service to help out with this task is never a bad idea, but not many small business owners have room for this in the company budget. If this is the case, there are plenty of ways to start working on building your brand reputation from scratch.

Before Anything Else, Google Yourself

In order to get a better idea of what your reputation actually is, there’s a simple way to find out: Google yourself. Just type your full company name into the search engine and let it rip. Check out the first 2 pages of results to see what comes up – anything after that is not extremely relevant since studies show that internet users stop after the first 2 pages.

This is a great way to get insight on how people perceive you, and if they do at all. If you don’t even show up on these results, you have an even bigger problem than if you have negative feedback. At least with negative feedback, people know you exist. With no results whatsoever, you won’t be getting much business from Google searches (which is the number resource for consumers).

Start Monitoring by Setting Alerts

There’s an easy way to keep tabs on your company – just set alerts to that you’ll be notified when anything is said about you and your company. Literally anything. It doesn’t matter if it’s something as big as a New York Times article mentioning your name or something as small as a customer review, you’ll be notified. Most alerts will be in regards to reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp, so if you get any negative feedback you’ll be able to act on it ASAP.

Positivity is Key

If there’s not a negative word said about you, that’s great and all, but it means nothing if there is also no positivity pointing in your direction. It is up to you to create positive content relating to your brand. This won’t just paint a picture of positivity for your potential customers, it will also help you to rank higher on search engines. The more that is said about you (hopefully positive things) the better Google will like you, ultimately resulting in better search results.

If You Can’t Remove the Negative, Make it Irrelevant

Some things just can’t be removed from the internet. This doesn’t mean you’re s*** outta luck, though. You can still do your best to get those negative articles, reviews, and feedback pushed further down on Google, which essentially deems them nonexistent.

Jul 10 2019

Is it Possible to Build Your Own Loft Ladder? Absolutely, Here’s How to Do It in 5 Steps

If you have a loft space within your home, it is time to put it to good use. Lofts are often small and dimly lit, so these spaces tend to go underestimated. Try not to let the fact that your loft space is minimal or the lack of natural light stop you from using your loft to its fullest potential.

Utilizing your loft as storage space is an amazing idea, or perhaps you could turn it into your own personal oasis away from the craziness experienced by the rest of the house. First thing’s first though, you must first invest in a safe, durable, and aesthetically pleasing loft ladder.

When shopping around for loft ladders, you’ll see tons of options all ranging in materials used, price, size, and overall look. If nothing suits your fancy, it is entirely possible to build a loft ladder all on your own. Here you can read up on the steps involved in building your very own wooden loft ladder so that you can start using that loft space that has been ignored up until now.

Step 1: Take measurements

Before you can even start thinking about building your wooden loft ladder, you’ll need to take some measurements. Use a measuring tape to determine the distance from the floor to the top of the loft. Add one foot on top of this measurement so that the ladder extends 12” past the loft floor. Then acquire two 2×4’s of this length.

Step 2: Angle the bottom legs of the ladder

You’ll need a radial-arm saw to trim down one side of each of the 2×4 pieces of wood. Hunker says that you’ll need to “swing the blade of a radial-arm saw to the right side and lock it down at 15 degrees.” The trimmed ends will serve as the bottom of the ladder.

Step 3: Make holes for the ladder rungs

Each rung of your ladder should be 12” from the next, but you’ll also need to take into account the thickness of each rung (1.5”). This means that each rung will actually be spaced 10.5” apart from the top of the rung to the bottom of the next one. You’ll then cut the notches for the rungs using a dado blade. Do this on each 2×4.

Step 4: Create the rungs

With another 2×4, cut 18” segments for the number of rungs you’ll need. Then, with one 2×4 ladder leg laying on its side, start placing each rung within a notch. You’ll first need to apply glue to the notches so that the rungs stay in place.

Step 5: Secure everything with screws

Once the rungs have been placed in the appropriate notches with the help of glue, you’ll need to do the final securing. You’ll want a drill for this as well as 3” screws. Each rung should receive a screw on both sides of the ladder. It is an even better ideal to use 2 screws per side, so 4 screws in total for each ladder rung.