Content marketing may be the buzzword for the moment but online reputation can make or break a brand or business. Online reputation is extremely important given the ease by which people can post good or bad reviews about products, services, brands or businesses. However this is not a situation that cannot be managed. We have 5 tips to help manage your online reputation and content marketing strategy. (Image credit: Flickr)
5 Best Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation
You may think that online reputation management isn’t something you ought concern yourself with. I would implore you to reconsider!
According to eMarketer 83% of consumers state that online reviews influence their opinions about a particular company, and 8 of 10 of these people added that a unfavorable entry online is responsible for them changing their mind regarding that company. Even one negative review, whether justified or not, can negate all your finest efforts if you haven’t thought out an online reputation strategy to handle it. So to help out with that I’d like to present five strategies your business, and your brand, can use to monitor and maintain your online reputation.
- Monitor your business and personal names – Keeping an eye on what’s being said about you and your business is of paramount importance. Thankfully, there are several free tools to aid in this regard, like Google Alerts, Hootsuite, Social Mention and others.
- Claim all of your relevant social properties – Unused social media sites can be used by your rivals to pull you down, and spread negativity. Be sure you claim all social sites that matter for your brand.
- Dominate page one of Google for your brand name – A great way to make sure what people see and read about you when they Google you is to own all the virtual real estate! If all they find when they Google you is great stuff about you and your brand, you’ll not really be affected by the occasional attack.
- Ask for customer reviews – Customer reviews aren’t just going to magically appear: you must actively court them. Make a point of asking your customers to write reviews, and do everything you can so that it’s easy for them: links to review sites, examples from other customers, etc. Of course, if you offer incentives, let them know that you’re not attempting to bribe them or influence their review!
- Engage with your people – Interacting with those writing comments, Facebook posts and tweets is a great technique to head off any harm from the get-go. Don’t participate in mud-slinging however, regardless of how justified you feel! Thank them for their contribution to the discussion, and politely disagree, standing up for yourself. (If they’re not right, of course!)
Online reputation management is incredibly important today, when customers can tweet, post or video form wherever they are. Don’t forget this one!
To find out more and how we can help educate your staff and use your online reputation to drive more business contact us.
