Lisa Chang, Brand Awareness & Reputation

It's not just a saying.  Reputation on the internet is important to your brand's success.  Whether it is online reputation in general or email reputation which impacts your ROI on each delivery, reputation is one of the key currencies of improving your brand.

Also, the transparency of the internet has made it easier for people to evaluate the integrity or reputation of our brands.   Reputation is much easier to research and determine now than it has ever been before.  With the introduction of blogging or social media, online communications has become a big part of any brand.

For instance, the recent FTC investigation into the Ann Taylor blogging promotion is a prime example of how the Federal Trade Commission is supporting a consumer driven economy.  It's more signs that the power to buy social media awareness is continuing to remain as transparent as our traditional forms of media, marketing and advertising.

"Last year the agency began cracking down on bloggers, issuing new guidelines requiring bloggers to clearly disclose any "material connection" to an advertiser, including payments for an endorsement or free product."

from Advertising Age, "Ann Taylor Investigation Shows FTC Keeping Close Eye on Blogging"

It seems that socially, we seem to support this as well.  Only a few posts were ever made and each post clearly communicated the gift they received for the blog post to promote the event.  It would seem that as bloggers, it makes sense to us, as well, to support the brands we engage in as well. 

Social media is a realm where our conversations and communications is still a relatively level playing field.  Our blogs, tweets, emails or status updates still determine the level of brand awareness and engagement, not so much, our wallet necessarily.  Keep working on your social life and reputation.

This kind of reputation cannot be purchased.  At least, it can't be purchased without transparent disclosure of the material connection.