Managing Brand Reputation: A Strategic Guide for Marketing Leaders

Melissa Glazar

Last updated on Jul 28, 2025

QUICK SUMMARY

A strategic guide to managing brand reputation featuring real-world examples and proven strategies.

TABLE OF CONTENTS What is Brand Reputation? Benefits Strategies The Role of AI Measuring Brand Reputation Tools

Your brand’s reputation isn’t just what you say about your company. It’s what everyone else is saying when you’re not in the room! And in today’s world, that “room” includes G2 reviews, LinkedIn threads, Slack groups, and search results.

Whether you’re a CMO at a scaling startup or leading demand gen at a mature SaaS org, reputation is something you can’t afford to ignore. It influences who clicks your ads, who answers your emails, and who signs your contracts.

This strategic guide breaks down what brand reputation means today, what happens when it goes right (or wrong), and the strategies marketing leaders are using to build trust that lasts.

What is Brand Reputation?

Brand reputation is the collective impression or opinion that various stakeholders including customers, staff, business partners, and the general public hold about a company or its products. A good reputation fosters greater confidence and loyalty, encouraging people to recommend and support the brand.

Many factors impact your brand reputation, including but not limited to:

Social media presence
Service and product utility
Customer interaction quality
Promoted values in messaging or actions
Crisis or mistake response
Employee public conduct
Workplace conditions
Creative marketing content
Collaborations with brands

Perceptions profoundly impact bottom lines. Don't believe me? Check out these stats:

About 75% of purchase decisions hinge on word-of-mouth (Ogilvy, Google, & TNS, 2014).
92% of B2B buyers consult reviews before closing the deal (G2 B2B Sales & Marketing Report, 2018).
A 5% increase in brand reputation can increase revenue by 2.5% for the average S&P 500 company (World Economics Journal, 2013).

Plus, candidates also now vet workplace culture, with most shunning companies with negative perceptions. The good news? Proactive reputation management allows you to steer the narrative.

Benefits of Managing Brand Reputation

Taking charge of your brand reputation pays off in several meaningful ways. When people think highly of your company, it creates a ripple effect that touches every part of your business.

Revenue, retention, and recruitment get a major boost

A strong reputation naturally attracts more customers who are willing to pay for what you offer. These customers also tend to stick around longer, reducing the costly cycle of constantly finding new ones. Plus, top talent wants to work for companies they respect, making it easier to recruit and keep great employees.

HubSpot is a great example of how to manage brand reputation. The business has built a broad range of owned media programs, positioning itself as an industry expert. This has led to hundreds of thousands of paying customers, millions of site visitors, and a consistent brand presence as the product has evolved. Here are some lessons we can take from HubSpot:

Diversify owned media for comprehensive brand presence.
Expert positioning fuels trust and conversions.
Consistent branding ensures long-term brand equity.

You're better protected against competitors and crises

A solid reputation acts like a shield during tough times. Whether you're facing a crisis or dealing with aggressive competitors, having goodwill built up with your audience means people are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt and stand by your brand.

Your business gains more leverage in the marketplace

When customers trust and value your brand, you can command higher prices without losing them to cheaper alternatives. This reputation also makes you a more attractive partner for other businesses, opening doors to valuable partnerships and opportunities.

10 Proven Brand Reputation Management Strategies

Building a strong brand reputation doesn't happen overnight, but with the right approach, you can create lasting positive impressions that protect and grow your business. Here are the key strategies that really make a difference:

Strategy #1: Start With a Clear Brand Identity

Angelic Vendette, CMO at Ave Advisory gives us this strategy, “Building a trustworthy brand begins with utmost clarity in terms of the values, reason for being and mission and purpose.”

How to achieve clarity in brand values

Have leadership reflect on their values: Begin by having leaders and key stakeholders reflect on their personal values and how these align with the business.
Gather stakeholder input: Collect input from employees, customers, and other stakeholders. Surveys, interviews, and focus groups can provide valuable insights into the values that are important to different groups.
Identify your core principles: Work to identify a set of core principles or beliefs that various stakeholders across the organization agree on. These could include integrity, innovation, customer focus, social responsibility, etc.
Create a values statement: Once the values are identified, create a clear and concise values statement. This statement should articulate the core principles that guide decision-making and behavior within the organization.
Run regular reviews: Periodically review and reassess the values to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with the evolving needs of the business and its stakeholders.

A brand that communicates its values and purpose with clarity distinguishes itself from competitors and establishes a lasting connection with its audience. This contributes to an enduring and positive brand identity.

Strategy #2: Establish a Strong Online Presence Consistently

Your digital footprint is often the first impression people get, so make it count. Keep your website updated, maintain active social media profiles, and ensure your online content reflects your brand values. As Ruth Ann of Rose Marketing explains, "Consistency with your target audiences is the key component of successful branding." This consistency not only reinforces the brand's image but also instills confidence and familiarity among target audiences.

How to keep brand communication consistent

Understand your target audience: Have a deep understanding of your target audience's preferences, values, and communication preferences. Tailor your messages to resonate with their interests and needs.
Define your brand personality: Clearly define your brand's personality traits. Is your brand playful, serious, professional, or friendly? Ensure that these traits are consistently reflected in all communications.

Create unified messaging: Ensure your brand messages are aligned across different channels. Whether it's your website, social media, advertisements, or customer support, the messaging should be cohesive and convey a unified brand story.
Develop a consistent customer experience: Align your brand marketing programs with the overall customer experience. The way customers interact with your brand, from the website to customer support, should reflect the same values and messaging. Use brand protection software to nip any knockoffs in the bud before they take root.

When a brand consistently aligns its messaging, values, and visual elements with the expectations of its audience, it creates a reliable and memorable identity.

This reliability, in turn, establishes a sense of trust, loyalty, and recognition, all vital elements in the construction of a robust and enduring brand identity.

Social listening is when you monitor social media for mentions of your brand, competitor brands, and related keywords. You're able to track sentiment in real-time, so you can know ASAP if there's a shift in how much people talk about you or the mood behind what they say.

It can also help you identify emerging trends and promptly address issues or concerns.

According to Statista, 36 percent of customers in the U.S. cite “great customer service” as a motivation to recommend a brand online. Making it 100% worth using social listening to see how your brand is perceived!

Set clear objectives: Define specific goals for your social listening efforts. Are you monitoring brand mentions, tracking industry trends, or understanding customer sentiment?
Choose the right tools: Use media monitoring software to monitor and analyze online conversations. Some popular tools include Hootsuite, Brandwatch, Mention, and Emplifi. These tools can help track brand mentions, keywords, and sentiment across various social media platforms.
Identify relevant keywords and hashtags: What keywords, hashtags, and phrases are relevant to your brand, products, and industry? These are the terms you'll monitor to gather insights from online conversations.
Monitor multiple platforms: Social listening isn't limited to one platform. Monitor conversations on major social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, as well as blogs, top articles, and review sites relevant to your industry.
Determine audience sentiment: Analyze the sentiment behind social media mentions. Are people expressing positive, negative, or neutral opinions? Understanding sentiment helps you gauge the overall perception of your brand.
Analyze and act on these insights: Regularly analyze the data gathered through social listening. Use these insights to inform marketing strategies, product development, customer service improvements, and other business decisions.
Measure and adjust: Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of your social listening efforts. Adjust your strategy based on the insights gained and the goals you've set.

By leveraging insights from social listening and social monitoring, businesses can adapt their strategies, engage with their audience effectively, and mitigate potential reputational risks. In essence, social listening serves as an indispensable tool for brands to actively shape and safeguard their reputation.

Strategy #4: Engage with Reviews to Build Trust

Your brand’s reputation lives far beyond your owned channels: G2, Capterra, Reddit, and the LinkedIn comments section. Whether you like it or not, customers are shaping your story in real time, and prospective buyers are watching closely.

It’s tempting to treat feedback as a CS issue. But in B2B SaaS, public reviews and candid commentary often shape perception more than polished case studies.

How to stay responsive and reputation-aware

Claim and monitor your third-party profiles: From software review sites to Glassdoor, make sure you’ve taken ownership. Set up alerts and make monitoring part of your brand workflow.
Encourage reviews at the right moments: Trigger review requests after major wins such as a successful implementation or NPS survey.
Respond to every review (even the ugly ones): Don’t ghost negative feedback. Respond with humility, context, and a solution. A well-handled complaint does more for your brand than a dozen glowing testimonials.
Use feedback to close loops publicly: If a user calls out a bug or broken workflow and you fix it, say so! Let others see that feedback fuels improvement.

The bonus? Every thoughtful response doubles as a subtle brand ad. It tells future buyers: We listen. We care. We don’t disappear when things go sideways.

Strategy #5: Improve Customer Service at Every Touchpoint

Spotify's strategic use of Twitter exemplifies the significance of responsiveness in cultivating a strong brand identity.

By dedicating an entire Twitter presence to customer engagement through the handle @SpotifyCares, the music streaming giant demonstrates a commitment to actively addressing user inquiries and concerns. Beyond mere issue resolution, Spotify takes the initiative to share daily tips, tricks, and feature updates, showcasing a proactive approach to user interaction.

How can your business improve customer experience?

Implement multi-channel support: Offer customer support through various channels such as email, live chat, phone, and social media. Provide options that align with your customers' preferences, allowing them to choose the most convenient communication method.
Use automation responsibly: Use automation tools like email marketing automation for routine tasks and responses, but ensure they are complemented with a human touch. Automation can streamline processes, but personalized interactions are crucial for building a connection with customers.
Train customer support teams: Invest in training for your customer support teams. Ensure they have the necessary product knowledge, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities to handle a variety of customer inquiries effectively.

Implement customer feedback loops: Establish mechanisms for collecting and analyzing customer feedback. Use surveys, reviews, and social media comments to understand customer sentiments, identify pain points, and make necessary improvements.
Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems: Implement CRM systems to keep track of customer interactions and preferences. This allows your team to provide more personalized and context-aware responses.
Regularly review and update policies: Periodically review and update customer service policies to adapt to changing customer needs and industry trends. Flexibility is key to remaining responsive to evolving expectations.

This sort of consistent engagement enhances customer satisfaction and fosters a sense of community and loyalty among its followers.

In the digital age, where consumer interactions unfold in real-time across various platforms, examples such as Spotify's attentive and informative X (formerly Twitter) presence contributes significantly to shaping a positive and approachable brand identity, solidifying its position as a customer-centric and technologically savvy brand.

Strategy #6: Invest in Building Great Company Culture That Shows

In the age of Glassdoor reviews, LinkedIn rants, and viral “day in the life” posts, how you treat employees doesn’t stay behind closed doors. Culture has become a core component of brand reputation. It signals to prospective customers, candidates, partners, and even investors what your company really stands for.

When your people are engaged, aligned, and proud, they become your most credible brand ambassadors.

Here’s how to turn internal culture into an external brand asset

Treat Employee Experience (EX) like Customer Experience (CX): What’s the onboarding experience for new hires? Are there friction points in internal communication? Your team’s perception of your brand starts here.
Audit your employer brand—don’t just outsource it to HR: Marketing leaders should partner with People Ops to ensure Glassdoor, LinkedIn Life pages, and job postings reflect reality and aspiration.
Encourage employee advocacy (authentically): Support employee posts on LinkedIn. Feature real voices, not stock photo testimonials.
Operationalize your values: If “transparency” or “customer-centricity” is on the wall, it better show up in 1:1s, performance reviews, and company rituals. Otherwise, it’s a liability.
Highlight internal wins publicly: Celebrate promotions, anniversaries, and cultural milestones as brand moments. Show, don’t tell, what makes your workplace special.

Your external brand reputation is only as strong as your internal reality. Get that right, and your culture becomes a trust signal you don’t even have to advertise.

Strategy #7: Create a Comprehensive Brand Style Guide

Create a comprehensive brand style guide that outlines guidelines for logo usage, color schemes, typography, tone of voice, and other visual and verbal elements. This document serves as a reference for everyone involved in creating content and can include templates for newsletters, social media posts, or press releases. There are various marketing resources for learning how to put together a brand style guide.

Here’s what a comprehensive brand style guide should include

Visual identity: Logos, color palette, typography, iconography, photography style. Bonus points for accessibility guidance (contrast ratios, alt text rules).
Voice and tone: What does your brand sound like in product copy vs. thought leadership? When do you use humor? When do you not? Include example sentences and unacceptable ones.
Messaging hierarchy: Your value prop. Your elevator pitch. Core messaging pillars. Positioning statements for different ICPs. This is where brand meets GTM strategy.
Do’s and don’ts: Show real-world applications like bad pitch decks, off-brand social posts, and outdated logos alongside correct usage.
Templates and assets: Make it easy for teams to stay on brand. Provide editable slide decks, social templates, press release formats, and email signatures.

And most importantly:

Keep it alive: Your style guide isn’t a PDF you send once and forget. Host it on a dynamic platform (like Notion or Frontify), assign ownership, and update it quarterly.

Strategy #8: Have a Dedicated Public Relations Strategy

In today’s digital ecosystem, your brand’s reputation is significantly influenced by how you show up in the press. PR also acts as a credibility engine. In fact, 92% of consumers trust earned media such as editorial coverage and interviews more than any form of advertising (Flair, 2024). That trust translates into impact: 71% of consumers say favorable media coverage improves their opinion of a brand (Worldmetrics, 2025). And when things go sideways, having a crisis communication plan in place can reduce damage to your brand’s reputation by up to 70%.

How you can build a dedicated public relations strategy

Create a targeted media outreach plan: Identify and connect with key publications, journalists, and influencers who cover your industry. Develop newsworthy stories about your company's achievements, innovations, and milestones that these contacts would find valuable to share with their audiences.
Leverage thought leadership: Help your executives become recognized experts by securing opportunities for guest articles, conference speaking slots, and media interviews. This builds credibility for your entire organization while keeping your brand visible in important industry conversations.
Align PR with your broader marketing efforts: Make sure your public relations activities support and amplify your overall marketing message.

Pro tip: Press releases with multimedia elements get picked up by media outlets more often and generate better engagement when they're published. So be sure to include visual elements like photos, infographics, or videos.

Sharing user-generated content is instrumental in cultivating a robust brand identity as it fosters a sense of community, authenticity, and trust. When a brand showcases content created by its users, it demonstrates a genuine connection with its audience and acknowledges their contributions.

Sugar Factory is a brand that does this and has since become known as one of the most Instagrammed restaurants in America! Sugar Factory’s partner Tom Recine explains, “Pretty much every single table will have their camera out because they see something they think is fantastic.” User-generated content serves as social proof, illustrating real experiences and positive interactions with the brand.

Obtain permission: Always obtain explicit permission from the content creator before sharing their UGC. This can be done through direct messages, comments, or a dedicated platform where users submit content. Don’t forget to clearly communicate the terms under which users' content may be shared and always give credit to the original creator.
Create a hashtag campaign: Encourage users to share content with a branded hashtag. This not only makes it easier for you to find UGC but also allows users to see their content alongside others who have shared similar experiences.
Curate and moderate content: Curate the UGC to ensure it aligns with your brand image and values. Moderate the content to filter out anything inappropriate or off-brand. Highlight content that reflects positively on your brand and resonates with your audience.
Share across platforms: Share UGC across various platforms to maximize its reach. Repurpose content for different channels, such as on social media, in your email marketing newsletters, or on your website, ensuring it's adapted for each platform's format.
Promote diversity and inclusivity: Ensure that the UGC you share reflects diversity and inclusivity. Showcase a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences to create a more inclusive and representative brand image.
Monitor and analyze performance: Track the performance of shared UGC by analyzing metrics such as engagement, reach, and conversions. Use insights to refine your UGC strategy and identify what resonates most with your audience.

This builds trust among potential customers who may be influenced by the authentic perspectives of their peers. This approach helps in creating a relatable brand identity that resonates with a broader audience, ultimately strengthening the brand's presence and loyalty.

Strategy #10: Lighten the mood!

Bri Reynolds, a Social Media Manager at Lyft thinks brands can lighten up and be funny! “If Google can meme, so can your brand. Humor personifies a brand, makes your audience feel seen, and is (most of the time) more memorable than other emotions you try to hit with traditional advertising. Funny connects with all ages.”

Humor has the power to humanize a brand, making it more approachable and fostering a connection with the audience.

In the cluttered landscape of advertising, a touch of humor can set a brand apart, capturing attention and leaving a lasting impression. Additionally, humor is a universal language that transcends demographics, allowing brands to appeal to a broad and diverse audience.

How can your brand use humor?

Know your audience: Understand your target audience's preferences, values, and sense of humor. What may be funny to one demographic might not resonate with another. Tailor your humor to your specific audience and make sure it aligns with your brand values and identity.
Leverage pop culture: Incorporate references to current events, pop culture, or trending topics when relevant. This shows that your brand is current and engaged with the world around it.
Be authentic: Embrace authenticity, avoiding forced jokes or humor styles that feel unnatural for your brand. Authenticity builds trust with your audience.
Leverage visual and interactive elements: Use visual elements like memes and GIFs to capture attention, and consider interactive campaigns that encourage audience participation with a touch of humor.
Learn and adapt: Analyze both successful and unsuccessful attempts at humor, learning from audience reactions. Regularly reassess your strategies and adapt your approach based on feedback to maintain a positive brand image.

AI’s Rising Role in Brand Reputation Management

The role of Artificial Intelligence in brand reputation management is both transformational and multifaceted.

AI-driven marketing is set to drive 45% of the total global economy by 2030. AI technologies provide brands with powerful tools for monitoring and analyzing vast amounts of data in real-time.

Sentiment analysis algorithms, for instance, enable companies to gauge public perception swiftly and efficiently across various online platforms. Additionally, AI-driven chatbots enhance customer interactions, addressing queries and concerns promptly, thus contributing to positive brand experiences.

If mishandled, AI can pose a risk to brand reputation. According to a Gartner report, by 2023, 75% of large companies will retain specialists in AI forensics, privacy and customer trust specialists in a bid to stave off brand and reputation risk.

Automated systems may misinterpret sentiments or respond inadequately to nuanced situations, potentially leading to public backlash.

The use of AI in personalized marketing and data analysis also raises concerns about privacy. Successful brand reputation management in the age of AI involves a balanced integration of technology with human oversight, ensuring ethical and accurate deployment to enhance, rather than jeopardize, a brand's standing in the eyes of consumers.

Looking to learn more about expert-backed tactics to managing brand reputation challenges? Check out our list of branding books to get you started.

Measuring and Monitoring the Impact of Your Brand Reputation Programs

Measuring and monitoring brand reputation means paying close attention to what customers are saying about you. And that means putting social listening and brand monitoring tools to work for you.

Tools for Measuring and Monitoring Brand Reputation

Hootsuite Streams allows you to track your brand mentions, keywords and hashtags on multiple platforms, conveniently in one place.
Salesforce can create Brand perception surveys to study your target audience, including customers, employees, stakeholders, or even the public. You’ll learn how they view your brand image or reputation, and feedback on how you handle customer experiences.
Reputation is your business’ eyes and ears in the spaces where customers talk, post, review, and recommend. It analyzes vast amounts of public and private feedback data to uncover predictive insights you may not have seen before.
BrandWatch is a social media monitoring software gathers insights from various social channels & analyzes trends, sentiment, and conversations about your brand.
Meltwater media monitoring software helps track brand awareness via the volume of mentions - monitoring news coverage, curates online news, blogs, social media, forums and review sites.
Google Alerts - just pick your keywords and get email alerts whenever it’s used somewhere on the web. That’s it! This doesn’t give you as detailed analysis as previous tools, but it may be worth using for keeping up to date on breaking news or articles mentioning your brand.

Key Metrics for Measuring Brand Reputation

While different firms and consultants may prioritize specific metrics based on specific industry needs, these are the brand reputation metrics to pay attention to across the board to.

Brand sentiment: Measures the overall tone and feelings associated with the brand by looking across social media and news postings. Positive sentiment is crucial for maintaining a favorable reputation.
Online reviews and ratings: Reflects customer satisfaction and perception. Positive reviews and high ratings contribute to a positive brand image.
Social media mentions and engagement: Indicates the brand's visibility, popularity, and how actively the audience engages with the brand on social platforms.
Earned media coverage: Evaluates the quantity and quality of media coverage. Positive coverage enhances credibility and can positively impact brand reputation.
Customer satisfaction scores (CSAT): Quantifies customer satisfaction levels, offering a direct measure of how well the brand meets customer expectations.
Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures customer loyalty and willingness to recommend the brand, providing insights into overall customer advocacy.
Share of Voice (SOV): Compares a brand's visibility to that of its competitors, indicating its prominence within the market.
Employee satisfaction and advocacy: Happy employees are more likely to represent the brand positively, impacting external perceptions.
Brand loyalty and retention rates: Indicates the level of customer loyalty and the brand's ability to retain customers over time.
Influencer impact: Evaluates the impact of influencers on the brand's reputation and the effectiveness of influencer marketing strategies.
Customer feedback and surveys: Directly gathers insights from customers, helping to identify areas for improvement and measure brand perception.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

Bottom line, from commonly faced challenges to reputation management tools and metrics to look out for, this guide elevates your brand reputation strategies and take your company to the next level.

By embracing these tacticss and using the power of a strong brand reputation to your advantage, you'll not only stay ahead of the competition but strengthen your connection with your customers.

If you'd like to dig in futher, we've got a great list of reputation management courses that provide you with all the templates, strategies, and frameworks you need to protect your brand.

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