10 Online Tools to Control Your Company Brand

The Internet is chock full of tools to make our lives as Internet Marketers easier. When it comes to branding, there’s 10 sites and tools that can help you promote and control your company brand…

Twitter

Twitter has created an easy way to keep your customers updated with what’s going on with your product. You can keep in touch with customers, create a relationship, and make life-long buyers. On top of the connection created, every time you send a Tweet your company logo and name are shown too. Twitter is also a great service for public relations and social networking.

MySpace

Social networking allows you to let your customers feel connected with you. By “friending” them online, they become friends with your products or company. Myspace is the premier site for networking with musicians, and teens. Offer them free products, updates, and news, and many will friend you.

Facebook

If you’re trying to connect with college students and young adults, Facebook is the site you should be using. Much like Myspace, Facebook is a social networking site. However, unlike Myspace, Facebook offers many addons like pages, groups, and Facebook programs. Pages allow Facebook users to become fans of your product, while groups allow them to create mock networking sites themselves.

LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals and companies. You would use it in the same way you would use either Myspace or Facebook, with one exception. LinkedIn allows for others to leave “testimonials” and recommend you to others.

Blogging

Using your company blog is one of the most fundamental ways to control your brand. You’re able to post press releases, white papers, and responses to others. A company blog can outline your expertise, and make you stand out from the rest. It’s also a great place for people to find out more about your business. If you’re unsure about how to get started, you can read my guide.

Podcasting

Similar to blogging, podcasting allows you to control your brand. Podcasting, though, can be more engaging especially if you use a video podcast. Releasing a weekly or monthly podcast can keep your customers updated on new products or services you’re creating.

YouTube

If an audio and video podcast can be engaging, releasing how-to videos, or interviews on YouTube can really make you stand out. When customers can put a face to a company, they feel a connection, and can build a fanbase. Imagine Apple without Steve Jobs, or Digg without Kevin Rose. Similar to how they’re personality built their products’ brands, you can use Youtube to do the same.

Yahoo Pipes

What good is a social media campaign if you can’t track what people are saying. Yahoo Pipes is a great visual way to track what people are saying about you. You can play around with it and create mashups of RSS feeds and filter what you want and don’t want.

Google Alerts

Similar to Yahoo Pipes, Google Alerts can be used to track what people are saying about you. I use Google Alerts to email me, daily, every time something that refers to me or my company is indexed by Google. I like Google Alerts because it’s easy and hands free.

BrandTags

Ever wonder what people think about your brand? BrandTags is an experiment where a brand is shown and users are asked to tag it with words they think relate to the brand. To be included in the experiment simply send them an email and they’ll add your brand to its list. The only other way to keep track of peoples demeanor towards your brand is through expensive surveys and polls.

Now that you know how to take control of your brand, how many of these sites do you use in your social media campaign? Did I leave one out?