To thrive as a corporation, you must know how to brand yourself appropriately. In the early stages of creating and maintaining a brand, it is imperative to present the qualities and goals of your business from the start. Having a strong foundation for your brand is a must. At the beginning, you have a blank slate. Beginning with core values and a powerful slogan will help you and your company build credibility. If there is one thing that the public loves and demands without fail, it’s authenticity. Being consistent with your motives and voice draws in more followers. Your potential audience likes to see a strong public figure that represents a brand well. They want to see a person that sticks up for the brand’s values and isn’t afraid of controversial topics. Riding the fence about topics only creates a blurry film cover over your brand’s image. So pick a side. Be for it or against it, or if you think your opinion will hurt the greater good of your company, don’t take a stance on it. By acknowledging it, at least your audience knows that you are aware of topics that are relevant to your market.

Not all publicity is good publicity. You may have heard this saying before, but it’s necessary to hear it again. Certain actions or words can do far more harm than good in the eyes of the public. Be aware that every action you take may bring feedback or criticism by your followers.

Social media plays an important role when it comes to branding. You can gain new fans and followers without ever meeting them in person. You can, however, just as easily lose followers if you change your message or make a mistake. Tweets, posts or pictures that are shared publicly can have a huge impact on your image. You MUST be careful of what you put out onto servers. All content should be proofread before posting to make sure that the message your company is trying to convey is clear and not offensive. Keep in mind that deleting posts doesn’t always exactly mean they’re gone forever. Someone taking a screenshot before a post is taken down has happened many times before and will happen again (hopefully not to you). Post efficiently but cautiously and make sure that everyone is on the same page with the company’s overall brand and mission.