Online reputation management should be an important part of any business. After all, it would allow them to perceive how customers view them or think about the company. It can be argued that reputation management is important for businesses that obtain and manage their online reviews. In another sense, reputation management is important for anyone who is in the public eye.
Customer-focused businesses with an online presence need to care about what customers are saying about their business. Regardless of a company's target audience, online reputation management is an important part of it. A reputation can help a company acquire new customers.
It is true to say that a company's reputation is very important. As long as a company has a good reputation among its existing and potential customers, it can do business with peace of mind. In the age of digital media, it is important for a company to know what its customers are saying about it. Based on what customers are saying, a company must take steps to protect its reputation.
Table of Contents
{tocify} $title={Custom Titles}
What Does Online Reputation Mean?
Online reputation refers to the overall perception that others have of you, your company, or your products or services based on information they can search for and find on the Internet. This includes search results, images, videos, mentions on social media, and more.
What Is Online Reputation Management?
Online reputation management (ORM) is actively managing mentions of your brand on websites and social media to respond to any negative or false reviews.
Online reputation management primarily involves responding to negative reviews and responding to media posts that portray your company in a bad light.
Why Is It Important To Manage Your Online Reputation?
Most companies struggle to satisfy their customers. They constantly strive to develop new products and features to meet their needs and to engage with them in one-on-one conversations. But no matter how much companies invest in product development and customer service, their reputation is inevitably damaged from time to time. When a dissatisfied customer posts a negative review or viral comment on social media, online reputation management comes into play.
Online reputation management determines how others perceive your business when they search for it or encounter it online. In other words, managing your online reputation involves taking a proactive approach to the information people find casually on the internet. This is very important, as more than 87% of consumers trust online reviews from other shoppers as much as personal recommendations from friends and family. In addition, some 48% of consumers need at least a four-star rating before they will consider working with a particular company.
What factors influence your online reputation?
Your online reputation is affected by what you post online and what others say about you or your business online. The total amount and visibility of positive, negative, and neutral content when people search online for your name, company, brand, products, or services determine your online reputation.
Internet reputation
Internet reputation refers to how others may perceive you or your company based on the information they search for and find online. 63% of consumers surveyed said they would change their mind after reading 1 to 3 negative reviews of a product or service, and 81% of consumers and executives said online search results strongly influence their perception of a company.
How Does Online Reputation Management Work?
Online reputation management includes a combination of marketing, public relations, legal and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to promote, protect and defend your online presence or business reputation.
Google uses a complex algorithm to determine which search results appear on which page. High authority content is likely to appear among the top results for any search term, while low authority content may not appear at all. Online reputation management companies seek to influence search results by improving the authority and visibility of positive content to promote a company, product, or individual.
Reputation management best practices
While each reputation management campaign is unique, the best online reputation management companies typically use some of the following best practices:
- Monitoring online mentions of a person or brand and coordinating a quick and thoughtful response
- Publish professionally written content on trusted websites with strong search engine authority and maximum visibility
- Interlinking positive, high-impact web content
- Optimize existing websites and social media profiles to rank higher in search results for certain keywords.
- Contact the source to change or remove negative content
- File a formal complaint with the search engine or webmaster.
- Promote positive customer reviews
- Article and content marketing for blogs, news sites, and Web 2.0 sites
- Development of company profiles
- Social media profile optimization
- Distribution of press releases
- Contest and giveaway sponsorship
- Online reputation monitoring
Companies That Need Reputation Management
Everyone. Doctors, lawyers, small business owners, accountants, consultants, freelancers, and entrepreneurs need a positive online reputation. If you're looking for a job, applying to school, dating online, or looking for new clients, your first impression will be online. Every business knows that customers look for products and services online before they decide to buy. Brand management is more important than ever and a positive online reputation is your most valuable asset.
Why do you need reputation management?
According to a recent study, 79% of respondents said it was very important to research information about people and/or companies online before deciding to interact or do business with them and 73% would most likely refuse to interact or do business with a person or company if they found negative review and information about them online. Bad reviews, misleading news and blog posts, negative comments in forums, and online defamation by angry customers, former employees, or competitors can destroy your business and reputation.
The online world has allowed people to be more cruel and hurtful than they ever could have been offline.
Importance of Reputation Management
The Internet does not forgive. It does not forget. And its influence continues to grow. A negative online reputation has damaged relationships, devastated careers, and ruined businesses.
A positive online reputation is your most precious asset in today's digital world.
No one is safe from online attacks and reputation risk is a reality for every person and business. Large companies can manage the risk by hiring an expensive PR firm, but the efforts of a small local business are usually no match for the influence of TripAdvisor, Yelp, or Google My Business.
Your company works hard to satisfy its customers. But even with the best customer service, a company is bound to have its online reputation damaged from time to time.
By proactively managing your online reputation, you can minimize negative reviews and keep your online presence as positive as possible.
Every day, people rate companies by giving them 1-5 ratings, commenting, blogging, or posting on social media. Therefore, everything a person says about a business has value to the business as well as to potential customers. After all, bad reviews and ratings can ruin a business. Likewise, a potential customer may avoid the current business and go to a competitor's.
A customer posts a negative review that anyone can read on the Internet. That's where online reputation management comes in.
The importance of online reputation management is irrefutable. Here are a few reasons that make it clear why a company should take its online reputation seriously. These reasons are:
Higher search engine rankings
Online reviews can have a huge impact on search engine optimization. This is because search engine algorithms are well aware that customers place a lot of importance on a company's online reviews when making a decision. Therefore, a company that makes an effort to manage its online reputation is rewarded with increased visibility on search engines.
Increase customer trust and credibility
Online reviews are not just about satisfying the algorithm. It's also about how people identify a brand. Since customers trust online reviews, it is essential to gain customer trust. Everyone knows that a company's reputation is crucial to its survival. Once customer trust is earned, the existing customer will tell others about the company.
Higher revenues
When customers use a trust to differentiate a company from its competitors, it can effectively indicate that the brand is trustworthy. When a brand is considered trustworthy, it can help translate into sales.
Online reputation management is extremely crucial for a business. A study conducted by the Harvard Business School showed that companies with a better reputation saw an increase in revenue of about 6-9%.
Professional image
Having a successful professional image is a very important marketing tool for a business. It can take a long time for a company to convince potential customers to use its products or services.
Existing and potential customers will try to find out about a business separation by searching for its name on Google. Since potential customers do not have a better idea of a company, they will search for the information available online and then make a decision. Therefore, if potential customers find a negative reputation, they will not do business. Therefore, it would be better for the company to get rid of its negative reputation if any.
Many people are not aware of the fact that good reputation management can help a company improve its sales. Improved sales can significantly improve a company's brand image.
How Can I Monitor My Online Reputation?
You can use tools like Talkwalker, Google Alerts, SEMRush, and others to monitor your online reputation. Unlike reputation management, which focuses on what you want people to write and believe about your business, online reputation monitoring focuses on what people are saying about it. Monitoring your reputation involves keeping a constant eye on the platforms customers use to talk about your business with others, as well as the platforms they use to interact with your organization. This will allow you to make improvements to maintain a positive and truthful image of your organization and the services you provide.
