SEO – Brave Publicity Ink!

Appraisal is a very important phase for strategy improvement and implementation in the field of corporate communication and public relations.

It helps publicists and communications specialists define accurately action steps and improvement opportunities required for a brand or business to achieve certain milestones or success.

In light of the present-day communication assets and innovations, a number of things define brand appraisal for Corporate Communications and Public Relations.

Present-day Communication Assets Utilized.
Growth Strategies and Impact of Communication Assets.
Relevance of Communication Assets and sustainability.
Ranking and Search Engine (Optimization and Marketing).
Brand Name, Brand Positioning, and Impression.

Let’s explore some more, these five (5) areas:

Present Day Communication Assets Utilized.

One of the first steps for towards “Brand Appraisal” is identifying the current communication assets being utilized by the brand. You’re most likely to find the following:

Zero utilization of present day communication asset. This is so, for those who just love to do things the old fashioned way and are averse to change, new methods and trying new things. Such brands most likely have a physical outlet and marketing is done through word of mouth and physical exchange of products or services.
Some utilization of present day communication assets. This is so for some brands who have some level of exposure to the importance of establishing some communication assets such as an official email, an online presence for the brand or a simple website.
Full utilization of the present day communication assets. This is the case for brands that recognize the importance of establishing communication assets and strongly utilizing them.

The appraisal here means determining for each of these three categories, if the chosen communication assets are suitable and relevant for the brand. As this affects greatly the growth and impact of the brand, leading us to the next point.

Growth Strategies and Impact of Communication Assets.

The second step towards “Brand Appraisal” is assessment for growth and impact.
In terms of communication and public relations, one needs to determine how strong an online presence is and how visible the brand is to the public.

Things like the online presence across key communication assets, the follower count, the visibility of the brand, and the level of engagement for created content etc. All are important aspects to consider.
Rich engagements ultimately determine the reach for brand awareness and potential of great content going viral.

In terms of communication, this determines if a brand is doing well enough to reach the target audience.

So you need to ask growth and impact questions like:

How strong is the brand’s online presence?
Is the brand well represented across the relevant and key communication channels?
Is there more awareness of the brand presence, growing across the key communication assets?
What’s the follower count across the key communication assets, in relation to the time of brand takeoff?
What’s the level of engagement by people across the key communication assets? Inquiries, Collaborations, Comments, Shares, Saves etc.
What percentage of sales can be attributed to communication, advertising and marketing efforts across the communication assets?

Relevance of Communication Assets and Sustainability.

The third step towards “Brand Appraisal” is assessment for relevance of the selected communication assets. This is based on the brand focus, the uniqueness of each communication asset and it’s use by the brand.

Case Study: A Fashion Brand

Take for instance, a fashion brand, a great communication asset for great publicity would be one that aids visualization and ease of purchase. Some options for communication assets that would be a good fit for such a brand should be one that enhances clarity, simplicity and aesthetics.

A good match would be a website and social media platforms like Instagram for great images/ videos and TikTok for videos which showcases the variety of fashion items.
The choice of content presentation would often vary for fashion brands.

A brand’s budget often determines the approach. Sometimes, brands operating on a cost effective budget may rely on great “Design” (graphics, animation and videos) and “Marketing” using actual products and mockup designs of same. Another popular option with a wider budget for marketing and advertising is the engagement of influencers and models who showcase such fashion pieces or items.
So the Short videos on Instagram, Longer Videos on IGTV, Instagram reels and TikTok videos become instrumental for content creation in this regard.

Of course, other communication assets such as Facebook and Twitter and other internal communication platforms for email conversations and email marketing may be useful in the long run, however prioritization should be for the most relevant asset that aids publicity and gives the fashion brand better awareness that ultimately drives growth and sales.

This also implies that relevance and choice of communication asset for brands across different sectors will vary. This is a choice that needs to be carefully decided when prioritizing the relevance of a communication asset for a brand.

Ranking and Search Engine (Optimization and Marketing).

The fourth step towards “Brand Appraisal” is assessment for ranking and search engine optimization for the brand. How often does the brand show up on the web while surfing the web for key things pertaining to the brand’s industry, niche or area of focus?

To address this, it’s important to ask the following questions:

How optimized is the brand’s website?
Can the brand be easily found when searched for on the web?
Is the website adapted for both mobile and web, thus aiding the user experience?
Is the brand’s web content crafted to include relevant keywords for its line of business, including Broad Match keywords, Phrase Match keywords and Exact Match keywords that ultimately aids search for the brand’s industry?
How often do Search Engines recognize that the website has relevant content for search?
How high up in terms of ranking, does the brand’s website appear in search?
Does the brand need to drive some search engine marketing efforts for better visibility?
Are there any local listings that aid search for the brand’s visibility?

These are questions that need to be answered in view of appraisal for Ranking and Search for the brand.

When a brand/business is willing to set aside a budget for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) / Advertisement efforts, then visibility for search can be worked upon.
What ultimately drives the success of visibility for search is the “Bid” (maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay for a click on an ad) for SEM efforts and the “Quality” of content on websites.
So, search engines look at these two things before prioritizing content they show to users; those they think are most relevant to the search in question by users.

Optimization efforts and local listings on platforms like “Google My Business” can also be very useful for small businesses/ brands that can’t afford a budget for SEM efforts and advertisements to aid search.

However, it’s very possible to achieve great visibility with Search Engines over time for a niche, an industry or a line of business. This is achievable when relevant content/details are shared often and consistently regarding the area a brand intends to dominate or become relevant.

Brand Name, Brand Positioning, and Impression.

Finally, the fifth step towards “Brand Appraisal” is an assessment for brand’s name, brand positioning and impression.

Some questions to ask for this include:

Is the brand name reflective of what they do (the core area of focus, niche or industry)?
Is it memorable and easy to pronounce and recognizable amongst other brands?
Does it stand out from similar brands?
What do we (brand owners/ strategists/ publicists) want people to know this brand for (for new brands)?
What have people come to know this brand for, or what area, industry or niche do people associate this brand with?
Are people’s interpretation of what the brand stands for accurate?
Are those impressions positive?
What are people saying about the brand?
What does analytics for the existing communication assets say about the brand?
How can we work on the improvement opportunities based on the data obtained from these assessments or analytics?

These are some of the questions that can be addressed to decipher if a brand has the right name, impression and is positioned accurately in the market place.

Remember, data driven decisions are always relevant for growth and improvement for brands, and when one is willing to listen and learn from the information obtained from the appraisal of brands, then a great strategy can be drafted; aimed towards growth, development, brand visibility, brand reach, engagement, impact and ultimately sales.

Thank you for reading.

Article by Opeolu Adeyemi.
Corporate Communications and Public Relations Consultant
Founder, Brave Publicity Ink!

In a highly competitive environment, where bigger and more popular brands dominate various industries.
Such brands combine both SEO and SEM strategies, making the market and playing field for smaller brands a difficult place to penetrate.

However, all hope is not lost and SMEs can still harness the many available opportunities by understanding and using SEO strategies to move ahead and make consistent progress.

SEO and SEM

The term SEO stands for the acronym -Search Engine Optimization, while the term SEM stands for the acronym- Search Engine Marketing.

SEO and SEM help search engines understand better what a person or business represented online via the various online platforms (websites, blogs, social media etc.) has to offer, when someone searches using words or phrases related to such a business or brand.

For examples, when an online user searches using the phrase “Photography studios in Lagos” or “Lagos Photographers”.
Relevant brands are likely to appear in their search results based on some factors that will be highlighted below.

When a search engine returns results, some of them are paid advert and the rest are unpaid results that search engines believe are relevant to the phrase entered into the search box.

These unpaid results are referred to as “Organic” results, while the sponsored or paid advert results are referred to as “Inorganic” results, because they are paid for.

The ability of an SME to harness SEO opportunities will determine if it is able to yield great organic results when there is a search for anything related to its brand.

The Search Engine Algorithms

Search engines have formulations or algorithms that help them order the list of results.
The search engines constantly scour the web for new content and try to make sense of it.
Where your website, blog or communication platforms appears in these results is affected majorly by the words (keywords) you use on your site; as well as other factors such as how many websites link to yours etc.

Search engines look out for the best possible results using some of the following:

1) Popularity: They look at how popular and active a site or communication platform is.
This is why a good following and active communication platform is very important. A dormant website or communication platform will often experience a decline in popularity.

2) Engagement: What other people or sites are saying about them.
A communication platform that is active and has lots of engagements (likes, comments and shares of its content) is likely to rank higher than one with little or no engagements.
This is why regularly putting up engaging blog posts, articles and generally relevant content on your communication platform remains essential and redirecting traffic using links is important.

3) Keywords: They might also consider words on the web pages/ blogs or keywords in the code of a page to better understand the topic or search phrase or word.
When crafting content for your communication platforms, it is important to ensure that relevant keywords that describe your SME or brand, what it offers as a business and what it stands for should be infused and incorporated into your content.

This ensures that your page is recommended to the right demographic and audience when there is a search.A keyword search needs to be performed to ensure you have relevant and treading keywords that can give your communication platform a boost and an opportunity to be ranked higher by search engines.
Some tools you can use to conduct a keyword search include: Google Adwords- keyword planner, SEM rush, KW finder, Keyword tools, Moz’s Keyword Explorer etc.

4) Location: The searcher’s geographical location.
Indicating your SME’s location on your various communication platform remains critical and helps Search engines recommend your pages to people who might find your brand and service offerings relevant to their needs in proximity to the location or address they indicate in their search.

The use of google listings using “Google my Business” is a good place to start, asides the listed location information on your various communication platforms.

5) Device: The devices used by searchers so that they match searchers with the best possible results.
Yes, search engines also consider devices.
In an era, where most people now communicate and work on the go using mostly mobile devices, then it is important that your communication platforms, especially your website or blog remains navigable and mobile friendly.

This is because, when a mobile user finds your page but experiences difficulty in navigation, such a user is most likely to leave your page and move on to one that has better navigation and clarity. Even when you may have the exact services they may need.

All of these components help search engines find the best match for a search by an online user.
It is true that even though bigger brands already take into consideration all these factors to optimize their online presence, as an SME or Small business owner, you can ensure that you also tap into these SEO opportunities and not lag behind.

Applying SEO strategies as an SME may not be the fastest way to grow, but pays off in the long run with organically generated results. It only requires some level of patience and a lot of consistency, even as you continue to adapt and apply the changes that occur in the world of search.

This is because the work of SEO is never done.

Key Highlights

Grow actively and steadily your communication platform with relevant information that keeps your audience engaged. This can be done organically without sponsored content. A slow approach, but one that is achievable.

Encourage the engagement and participation of your audience on your communication platforms.
Sharing insightful information, trivia, giveaways and sometimes, fun activities that help with great engagement.

Use relevant keywords, as well as trending keywords or phrases that are related to your field, what your SME or brand represents and stands for.

Be listed online and include details of your location on your website and communication platforms for identification and recommendations by search engines to an online user during a search.

Ensure your website and communication platforms are navigable and mobile friendly.