Being an industry leader means producing excellent online content on a consistent basis. It’s not just a matter of blogging, posting Facebook updates and Tweeting to your heart’s content. The process of brand recognition requires a well-considered effort with clearly marked objectives – objectives that are sure to firm up your online reputation.

Creating high-quality, relevant content doesn’t have to be labor-intensive and costly.

At times, it might seem overwhelming to knife through the clutter of the Internet and its numerous social-media channels. Most small businesses are simply too busy with their day-to-day operations to invest the necessary time and resources to creating consistently excellent content. In a recent survey, 75 percent of marketing professionals noted “creating original content,” as well as “no time to create original content” are their most challenging Google-PageRank-As-A-Measure-Of-A-Site-Authority?" rel="nofollow" class="articlelink">content marketing hurdles.

Even the best content can fall flat if you don’t reach your audience.

If you’re smart, you have a list of email members and blog readers, as well as a steady base of Twitter followers and Facebook fans. In order to extend your reach, you must employ other strategies. You need to continually feed the Internet with credible, authoritative content that will attach a positive reputation to your business or brand. Knowing your brand’s target demographic will help you in outreach efforts and during the content development phase. Each brand will have its own specific niche. Decide how you want to present your brand to the public – and then go full force.

Don’t just follow the crowd.

Understand what trends are taking place in your industry and keep them in mind while you’re posting content. It will make your brand engaging and relatable to old and new fans. The goal should be to interact with readers regularly, but be considerate of your network. Aim to distribute meaningful content that attracts a wide range of readers. Each piece of information you share with your audience has the potential to drive traffic to your business.

Placing content on all of your social-media channels can be easier than it sounds.

By adapting your statuses and graphics for Facebook, Twitter, etc., you can save time. If you’re engaging with customers through multiple social media channels, they should appear on the same plane so that your message is consistent. Having a thorough content strategy in place will strengthen your brand’s identity.

Don’t spend time on your Twitter, Facebook and YouTube just because it’s the hip new thing to do

After you’ve established your goal, decide what route you will take in order to achieve them. Create your own YouTube channel and then upload customer testimonials and demos of your services and products. In reality, YouTube is the second largest search engine, so post videos when you can. While it might true that text-heavy pages will be more prominent in Google search results, images and video are just as important for an online reputation management strategy.

Social media offers the convenience of interacting with both current and potential clients while reaching out to a global audience. Therefore, building your professional image through these tools is increasingly important. In today’s market, customers expect all businesses to have a social-media presence. If you don’t, their attention will stray elsewhere.

Bio: Blake Jonathan Boldt is a content strategist for Reputation Advocate. He provides writing, editing, social media and content strategy services for both domestic and international clients. His articles have been featured in numerous magazines, newspapers and digital media outlets.