Online Reputation: A Definitive Brief
Online reputation refers to the online presence and the public perception of a business, brand or individual. It is what people think about you when they don’t know who you are. The online reputation of a business or individual can be shaped by many different factors such as social media posts, ratings and reviews on various online platforms such as social media sites, photos, videos and blog posts. Reputation management refers to the process of managing an organization’s online reputation. It involves monitoring and responding to consumers across the web in order to reduce any negative perception.
What is online reputation?
Your positive online reputation precedes you and to create and maintain that reputation in order to distinguish yourself from your competitors is important. It’s a measure of your online credibility. It can be your name or brand, the things people say about you online, or how others perceive you through social media. Online reputation management is the process of helping your company improve its online reputation. The tools used in this process include content marketing, social media monitoring and engagement, SEO and web analytics to name just a few. This has become an important part of any companies digital marketing strategy as it helps build trust with potential customers by showing them that the company cares about their customer experience. ORM also helps repair the damage done by negative comments on social media, review sites and search engines therefore aiding to produce a positive perception among the overall public towards themselves, their product and services or their organisation as a whole. Reptick offers bespoke solutions for individuals, VIPs and Enterprises.
Why is it important?
Online reputation is highly important because in today’s world Consumers are progressively turning towards the internet before creating any product or providing any service. Online reputation management is essential as it allows businesses to monitor their online reputation regularly. Since online content is continuously changing, how people perceive a brand can also change drastically over time if left unchecked. The key to managing a good online reputation is by being active in controlling what information is shared about your company and ensuring that it is always accurate. Like any other business strategy, reputation management requires a clear understanding of the goals and objectives of your organization. What are you trying to achieve? Are you looking for more customers or just making sure existing ones are happy with your products or services? Once these questions have been answered, then you can begin to develop strategies on how to improve your reputation on the internet. Reputation specialists at Reptick can help you compile award winning strategies.
Factors affecting your online reputation
Social media are one of the biggest tools to manage your online reputation. How you leverage your social media presence for online visibility is what determines whether you or your organisation will be successful. Reviews play a huge role in influencing your online reputation. Everybody prefers to know whether the product or service has been tested before purchasing it. Reviews help create a trusting image for your brand. In addition to this responding to the reviews you receive is vital in order to create an interactive space whilst also dealing with negative reviews in a manner that it doesn’t offend your consumers.
Moreover search engine results are highly effective in determining your consumers to have a decent image of you, on forums such as google, yahoo and amazon. Visibility through Wikipedia is another factor which contributes to your success and viewership. Wikipedia is globally trusted as an authentic source of information. It is shown on the top results of your search engine hence influencing your online reputation positively. Businesses know the importance reputation has on a company or an individual. Firms with a positive reputation will attract more consumers increasing value which can be later monetised. Their employees are happier because they work for a company that they believe in, and their customers are more satisfied because the firm has proven itself worthy of trust. But how do you measure reputation? What does it mean to have a good or bad one? More importantly, how can executives improve their company’s standing with consumers, employees and investors? The answer is by conducting activities that reflect positively on your firm and keep stakeholders informed about what you are doing for them – even when nothing is being said. To protect your name from being at reputational risk you must have strategies in order such as eliminating any weak links that may impact your online reputation. In situations like pending lawsuits, they must be dealt with beforehand or if your name is exposed, a proper explanation for your consumers is vital to prevent any further harm. Additionally, having a contingency plan if all else fails is another way you can avert risking your image which is done with the help of ORM specialists or agencies.
Surveilling your online presence
Monitoring your online presence can be a daunting task. There are so many different tools and websites out there how do you know which ones are worth your time? Social Mention is one of the best forums when it comes to online monitoring tools because of its extensive social media search capabilities and real-time Twitter streaming. With this tool you can search blogs, forums, newsgroups and many more. By using online monitoring tools, you can review key aspects that are essential to maintain online reputation. The main benefit of online monitoring tools is that they provide real-time data in order for brands or companies to take the necessary actions as soon as possible when needed. This helps avoid negative impacts on reputation and sales numbers due to bad reviews or comments from unsatisfied customers/ users.
Online monitoring tools can be used by different teams within an organization such as marketing, customer support and public relations. Bad public relations worsen brand image which can be difficult to sort therefore forming strategies such as collaboration with other brands or individuals can help get in a good word about your company. This can only be done if brand owners strictly monitor their business and form an interactive relationship with their consumers however having a plan of action is necessary since the internet can surprise you often.
Search Engine optimisation
In a nutshell, search engine optimisation is the process of improving your website in order to increase its visibility in organic search results. An effective SEO strategy can accomplish areas such as, creating a content marketing strategy that extends the reach of your website and its products. Develop an online marketing plan with measurable goals and objectives. Conduct research into trends and statistics, as well as the competition, to identify where improvements can be made.
As per Moz SEO is one of the most important elements in any online business strategy. It’s also one of the hardest things to do right. The truth is, SEO takes time and effort – sometimes a lot of both. But once you have a solid SEO it will influence search engines to generate positive content while simultaneously pushing negative content down in the search results which could have a detrimental effect regarding the brand’s reputation.
