Start free trial Share this post What is Brand Management? The Ultimate Guide Home Blog Media Monitoring What is Brand Management? The Ultimate Guide Updated on July 30th 2024 Ryan Robinson | 16 min read Your brand is more than just a logo or a product — it’s the essence of who you are to your customers. Effective brand management shapes how others perceive and interact with your business. It helps your brand maintain a positive reputation, stay relevant, and remain memorable. By actively managing your brand, you safeguard its identity, build trust with your audience, and differentiate yourself from competitors in a competitive marketplace. Let’s take a closer look at what brand management is and why it matters. We’ll also cover some tools and channels brands use to manage their image — along with some brand management tips. Ready to learn more? Let’s get started. What Is Brand Management? Brand management means creating and maintaining a strong, positive brand image. It’s about making your brand recognizable, trustworthy, and desirable to your target market and audience. Let’s take a quick look at resources you can use to manage and enhance your brand’s presence and reputation. What Tools and Channels Can I Use for Brand Management? Here are some essential brand management tools: Social Media Platforms Use Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn to engage with your audience and build brand awareness. Post regularly, interact with followers, and use targeted ads to reach a broader audience. Source Content Management Systems Use platforms like WordPress to create and manage your website content. Maintain consistency in your brand messaging and a cohesive look and feel across all pages. Analytics Tools Leverage Google Analytics and Mention to gain insights into your brand’s performance and online reputation. Monitor key metrics and adjust your strategies based on data. Source Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems Manage customer interactions using tools like Salesforce and HubSpot. Track customer data, personalize communications, and improve customer loyalty with targeted campaigns. Email Marketing Software Try apps like Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign to communicate regularly with your audience. Send newsletters, promotional offers, and updates to keep your brand top of mind. Design Tools Design logos, social media graphics, and other digital marketing assets that align with your brand identity with tools like Canva and Adobe Creative Suite. Design tools let you create your brand assets and share your brand values. Surveys and Feedback Tools Use SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics to gather customer feedback. Conduct surveys to understand customer perceptions and make data-driven improvements to your brand strategy. Why Is Brand Management Important? Brand management is crucial for brand managers in building brand awareness and recognition. Source Brand marketing is the only way to get people to know and recognize your brand. Over time, investing in brand management helps you build brand equity — or value. This means your audience and customers perceive you as valuable. This encourages: A positive brand reputation Word-of-mouth marketing Customer loyalty Consistently managing your brand perception also helps you stay competitive. You can continue to adapt to market changes and preferences by tracking trends and competitive insights. The result? A healthy, long-lasting business. Principles and Measurements of Brand Management Let’s take a closer look at the core pillars of brand management. Brand Equity Brand equity influences audience behavior and can impact your company’s financial performance. As we mentioned above, it represents your brand’s value. Source You can measure brand equity by analyzing insights, such as: Brand associations Brand awareness Perceived quality Brand loyalty High brand equity means customers are more likely to choose your brand over competitors — even if your prices are higher. Strong brand equity also acts as a buffer during market fluctuations, ensuring steady revenue streams. Brand Recognition Brand recognition is when an audience can identify your brand by its attributes, such as logos, colors, and slogans. It plays a critical role in marketing by making your brand easily identifiable among competitors. Brand recognition differs from brand awareness. While awareness is about knowing your brand exists, recognition is about identifying and recalling it based on visual elements. Effective brand recognition influences consumer behavior and sales. It helps create positive associations, making it easier for people to remember and choose your products or services. Customer Loyalty Customer loyalty measures how consistently customers choose your brand over others. It’s closely related to brand loyalty and is calculated using metrics such as: Customer satisfaction surveys Net Promoter Score (NPS) Customer retention rate Repeat-purchase rate High customer loyalty creates strong emotional connections and trust. Loyal customers are more likely to advocate for your brand through word-of-mouth advertising. Customer Perception Customer perception is how consumers view your brand. It’s shaped by their experiences, beliefs, and opinions about your products or services. Methods to gather insights into customer perception include surveys, social media sentiment analysis, and online reviews. Aurit Center, offers services such as divorce mediation in AZ, meticulously crafted a strong and consistent brand that instills safety and security in clients facing the challenges of divorce mediation, child custody, and other family law matters. Their brand management strategy focuses on clear, empathetic communication and delivering valuable, relevant content that demystifies the legal process and empowers clients with knowledge. For instance, take a look at the review below for The Aurit Center: Source This review validates that customers perceive the firm as supportive and reliable. By prioritizing their clients’ well-being and focusing on compassionate, personalized service, the Aurit Center successfully creates an environment where clients feel safe, understood, and confident in the mediation process. You can also pull data from your call center software. Look for interactions that reveal customer perceptions and pain points, such as common praises and complaints. Integrating these real-time insights with other feedback methods gives you a comprehensive view of customer sentiment. Financial Performance Financial performance measures your company’s financial health. It includes metrics like revenue growth, profit margins, and return on investment (ROI). Your ROI helps you understand the financial benefits of your branding activities. Your profit margins measure the difference between your sales and costs. (Higher margins reflect successful brand management.) Revenue growth reveals whether your brand attracts more customers and sales over time. Reviewing these metrics lets you evaluate how well your brand and business strategies work. Use this information to make changes that can help increase profitability and growth. 3 Ways of Preserving Success in Brand Management Speaking of brand management success, here are three ways to encourage a consistent and positive brand image. 1. Brand Consistency Keep a cohesive brand personality across all customer touchpoints — from your website and social media to packaging and customer service. Give your team clear brand guidelines that outline your visual and messaging standards. Examples include using the same logo, color scheme, and tone of voice in all communications. Consistency helps brand recognition and recall, making it easier for your audience to connect with and remember your brand. 2. Brand Exposure in Social Media Drum up exposure for your brand using social media strategies. Test a mix of the following: Consistent Posting Schedule Maintain a regular posting schedule to keep your audience engaged. Consistency helps build brand recognition and loyalty. User-Generated Content (UGC) Encourage your audience to create and share content about your brand. Repost their content to build community and trust. Source For instance, Cruise America, a company offering RV rentals in Florida, encourages customers to share UGC using its hashtag #betherenow on Instagram. Customers post travel stories and experiences and tag the brand in their posts. Cruise America then reshares them on its IG page and embeds the feed as social proof on its website. Social Media Ads Invest in targeted ads to reach a broader audience. Use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for precise targeting. Authoritative Content Share expert insights, how-tos, and industry news. Establish your brand as a thought leader in your niche. Interactive Content Engage your audience using polls, quizzes, contests, and interactive stories. This boosts interaction and keeps your brand top-of-mind. Source For example, Chime, an online bank known for its cashback reward card, uses high-quality imagery, videos, and contests to inspire high engagement. Its contest post above, for example, has over 36,000 likes and counting. Influencer Partnerships Collaborate with influencers to expand your reach. Their endorsement can lend credibility and attract new followers. Live Videos Host live sessions for Q&A, product launches, or events. Live videos foster real-time engagement and create a sense of urgency. Behind-the-Scenes Content Show the human side of your brand with behind-the-scenes posts. This builds authenticity and a deeper emotional connection with your audience. Source For instance, Blink, an employee communication app, runs a series on its LinkedIn page called “Life at Blink.” These team spotlights give its audience an inside look at the faces behind the brand and influence their perception. Story Highlights Use Instagram and Facebook story highlights to keep important content accessible. This helps new followers catch up with your brand’s key messages. Engage with Followers Respond to comments and messages promptly. Engaging with your audience fosters community and enhances your brand’s reputation. 3. Keep Up with the Latest Trends in Marketing, PR, and Tech Consistently educate yourself on the latest marketing, PR, and tech trends. This is key to keeping up with evolving content marketing best practices so you can stay relevant. *Pro-Tip: Use “The Brand Grader” by Mention to look at any brand’s online reputation. This includes competitors, industry voices, or specific products a more prominent brand owns. Learn what’s working well for them, and consider testing their practices with your audience. Additional Options to Boost Your Brand Image Here are some bonus ways you can boost your brand image. Partner With A Brand Management Agency Use a brand management agency specializing in building, maintaining, and managing a company’s brand. For instance, agencies like Clay leverage branding to create a strong brand identity and deliver consistent customer messages. Here’s a case study that breaks down the agency’s process and how it helped transform a brand’s reputation. Use Mention For Brand Management Get started with a brand management toolkit like Mention. How Mention Can Boost Your Branding Here’s how Mention can help you manage your brand identity: Manage Your Brand’s Online Reputation. Address negative feedback and highlight positive mentions to build trust. Social Media Monitoring. Track brand mentions across social media platforms. Monitor your brand’s sentiment, influence, and related topics with specialized reports and analytics. With Mention, streamline your branding efforts and enhance your brand’s visibility and online reputation. Start for free now. Build Quality Backlinks Secure links from trusted sources to position your brand as a leader in your industry. Backlinks can help you… 1. Establish Authority. When reputable sites link to yours, others trust your content. This builds authority in your industry and boosts credibility. 2. Expand Your Reach. Backlinks help you reach a wider audience. When your content appears on other sites, you attract new visitors interested in your niche. 3. Build Relationships. Getting backlinks often involves networking with influencers and industry leaders. These connections can create positive brand associations and lead to collaborations that further enhance your brand’s reputation. 4. Improve Brand Perception. Being linked from respected sources positively impacts how people view your brand. It associates your brand with quality and reliability. 5. Long-Term SEO Benefits: Quality backlinks improve your search engine rankings, driving consistent organic traffic to your site over time. Leverage earned media Use earned media to build credibility and trust with new audiences. When your brand gets featured in articles or shared by influential people, it reaches new audiences you might not reach through paid ads. This exposure increases awareness and brand recognition. Being featured positively in the media also enhances how people perceive your brand. Whether it’s a glowing review or a feature in a respected publication, it can build a strong, positive image over time. Key Takeaways Having solid brand management strategies is critical to building your brand assets and a positive reputation. Keeping your brand consistent across all platforms — your website, social media, or customer interactions — strengthens your identity and helps people recognize your brand. Engaging in social media strategies boosts visibility and builds meaningful relationships with your audience. Staying updated with industry trends allows your brand to innovate and stay relevant. By focusing on strategic brand management, you’re investing in your brand’s long-term health and growth, ensuring it remains trusted and influential in your customers’ minds. Need a hand getting there? Mention can help. Sign up for a free trial now. Or book a demo. Here’s to your success! Ryan Robinson I'm a blogger, podcaster and (recovering) side project addict that teaches 500,000 monthly readers how to start a blog and grow a profitable side business at ryrob.com. Blogger @Ryrob