Online Reputation Management: What, When & Why
Online reputation management entails a mix of marketing, search engine and search result optimisation, and public relations strategies to promote and protect an online image. Online reputation management (ORM) has become an essential aspect for businesses to monitor and identify brands’ digital reputations.
How online reputation management works
It’s pretty natural for someone to judge you and your organization by what they find about you on Google. Most users read online reviews before visiting a business or purchasing a service or a product.
A negative review about your brand or product, irrespective of whether it is true or not, can seriously influence your own and your brand’s success.
Don’t simply believe what we say, have a look at these statistics by Brightlocal, and you’ll understand why reputation management is important.
● 3 out of 4 customers trust a company more if it has positive reviews.
● 49% of customers need at least a four-star rating before they decide to use a business.
● 92% of customers are less likely to visit a business after reading negative reviews.
● 94% of customer’s state that positive reviews make them more inclined to use a business.
Certainly, the numbers can be upsetting, however with a well laid-out online marketing strategy and adequate ORM practices; it is possible to shape an online reputation that conveys authority, sincerity, and reliability.
How Can you Know about Your Online Reputation?
Online reputation can be easily assessed by following these steps:
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Look at the first five listings when you perform a search for your company or person’s name.
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Verify that your brand or name appears in the top 5 search results by doing a name or brand search.
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You can check to see if reviews are positive or negative. Naturally, not every client would be content. But make an effort to make your Google profile’s first impression as favorable as you can.
How to deal with negative results on Google Search?
Negative search result on Google can be dealt by publishing more encouraging articles and reviews, as well as by removal of negative content which is done through contacting the website either directly or through the DMCA. In order for others to see your response, confront it with the correct response and counterproof. Staying silent on such matters can give the impression of not being bothered which does not sit well with customers or brand reputation, online and offline. SEO will eventually move it to the back of the search results thus protecting the brand image and trust.
Why is online reputation management important?
Online reputation management is essential as it allows businesses to monitor their online reputation regularly. Since online content continuously shifts, how people perceive a brand can also change drastically.
Businesses need to identify what is being said about them online and how they can improve if people perceive them negatively.
According to research, more than 40% of digital marketers monitor their company’s brand daily. Through regular monitoring of their online reputation, companies can avoid the potential loss of a significant amount of new business leads and sales.
Additionally, for businesses to avoid damaging their brand reputation, they must devote resources to online reputation management as part of their digital marketing strategy.
The benefits of using online reputation management services
Boosts sales
Consumers frequently conduct online research before making a purchase decision. And, before purchasing from a specific brand, they read online reviews to see what others have to say about the brand and its products and services. Businesses that have positive online reviews tend to attract more customers. Companies that are negatively perceived or have a high number of negative reviews miss out on significant profits and opportunities. That is why companies should strive for positive online reviews.
It helps to build a brand image
When negative information about a brand is spread on the internet, the brand’s customers’ loyalty is usually ruined. As a result, the business may suffer. The respect they have earned over the course of their operations can be lost in the blink of an eye. However, an effective online reputation management strategy can help businesses build their brand image. Companies can build the desired brand image by regularly monitoring responses on any of their communication channels.
Improves visibility
Visibility on the internet is critical, which can be achieved through a well-designed and content-rich website or through company blogs. These online channels are incorporated into social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. All of these platforms are fantastic marketing tools.
They do, however, require proper management to handle daily user activities. The best solution for managing these regular user activities is online reputation management solutions offered by Reptick.
Builds trust and credibility
The internet, particularly social media platforms, enables consumers to voice their opinions virtually on any topic. People prefer to buy from brands they recognize. Trust is essential in any business. This is why businesses must find ways to foster customer trust.
One of the most effective ways they can accomplish this is to avoid receiving negative feedback. No customer wants to be associated with a company that has a negative public perception.
Effective online reputation management ensures that only content that benefits the brand is published on social media and search engines.
Instead of leaving web content unattended, businesses can use reputation management services to decide what they want their audience to see. Furthermore, content uniformity must be practiced because different and inconsistent content on the internet may affect your credibility.
Produces sound business knowledge
An effective online reputation management plan can produce clever insights on how companies might raise brand recognition. Each review is important because, if directed toward the appropriate channel, it may be a great method to draw in new clients.
The reviews serve as feedback, which can help firms grow and even assist with long-term planning, particularly when they are introducing new goods or services. Even if a review is unfavorable, reputation managers at Reptick can handle it by taking care of the problems.
Once you go to work on it, you’ll see just how valuable online reputation management is.
What Online Reputation Management Typically Involves
Online reputation management merges marketing, public relations, SEO, and customer engagement. At a minimum, ORM entails monitoring one’s online presence and trying to exercise control over what appears in search results.
This can differ from a job candidate setting up a google alert for their name or altering their LinkedIn profiles to businesses running knowledgeable campaigns to generate reviews across several online platforms
Below are some examples of common online reputation management strategies:
EVALUATE YOUR CURRENT ONLINE REPUTATION
In order to manage or repair your online reputation, we can start by determining what the current position of your online reputation stands. Google yourself and look for any unsafe risks. Depending on the nature of your content for instance if you don’t have any negative context, it’s a promising start. However, it could be valuable to create positive content, if you are finding it difficult to come up with any results linked to your name.
SET UP GOOGLE ALERTS
A platform like internet is in a state of constant change, so the need to regularly update search results are important. You can do this by setting up Google Alert for your name, business name or relevant trademarks and keywords that others may associate with you. This would help in staying ahead of the curve and respond to changes in your online reputation as they occur.
ADJUST YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY SETTING
Regardless of you owning a business or not, you should keep your personal social media accounts private. As the content you post on social media can have significant effect on your personal and professional life, which can prove to be damaging to your reputation. We suggest you can avoid this by maximising social media privacy settings on all of your personal accounts if you are concerned about your online reputation.
