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Your brand is only as good as its reputation. As a business owner, it’s crucial that you work to improve and protect that reputation. One of the most important factors for business growth is having a great web prominence, but the same goes for your online reputation, as most people in today’s digital business lifestyle go online when they have a problem or need information regarding a specific product or service.
According to a survey by BrightLocal, 88% of consumers surveyed said they read online reviews in order to determine the quality of a local business. If your online reputation is negative, will these people looking for products or service turn to you? At the end of the day, a bad online reputation could have a devastating effect on your business objectives.
Having a well designed website full of great content is old news for businesses willing to maintain a high level web prominence. With the rise of social media, businesses and professionals alike must hold accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+. However, having all of these new platforms to your business requires a whole new list of responsibilities which need to be professionally maintained if you wish to keep and increase your company’s brand power and reputation.
Here, in Bulgaria, 55% of people have Internet connection. Two of the mobile operators in the country: Telenor and Max Telecom are already offering 4G services, and until the end of the year the two others will be offering the fourth-generation mobile technology. This will increase even more the importance of online reputation management.
There are many other reasons why it’s important to have an online reputation management process in place to help you with your social media and other digital marketing campaigns, but here are just a couple of reasons to consider getting one or improving your current.
Better trust and credibility
Having the trust of your clients is a vital component of success. Your clients discuss their purchases with friends and when they have a problem they will most likely spread the word about their negative experience. Digital age is that it has become easy for individuals to share instantly their thoughts and opinions with others online and everyone is like an online journalist. This can mean great exposure for businesses when happy customers leave glorying reviews or share their positive brand experiences with their friends on social media. While positive comments are great for every company, negative ones are like an online tornado. If your company suffers a loss of confidence in the public, you will need weeks, maybe months to recover your reputation level, if you are ever able to do it and the cost will be much higher in comparison with having a process in place that could have prevented it.
A must rule: Regularly Google Your Business
Like, at least once a week. Gaining a top 5 position in the search engines is a great way to increase the online visibility of your company. Most consumers looking for a specific business don’t make it past the first page of the search engine results, so having your business in one of the top 5 positions is a great tool for getting new clients.
Online reputation management means keeping your eye on online reviews everywhere. Know what’s being said about you in places like Yelp, YouTube, blogs, forums, and other places. And if something unflattering appears, you have the opportunity to do something about it before the situation gets out of hand. The rule here is “the sooner, the better”. Which means the sooner you respond to the issue adequately, the better will be the outcome.
Have an active social media account
In addition to allowing you to address any negativity as it comes to you, having an active Twitter, Facebook, Google+ Page, and LinkedIn page helps you rise in Google’s rankings. When someone looks for your company online, they’ll first see your active social networks, which means they’re far likely to look for more information elsewhere. The key is to be active (which means with at least one post per week).
According to a survey by Edison Research, when contacting a company for support through social media, 42% of consumers expect a response within one hour. The fast-paced and public nature of social media requires companies not only to respond quickly, but also to resolve the customer’s concerns effectively. Word travels quickly on social media, and monitoring your reputation online is essential to maintaining positive brand image.
Don’t worry too much. Everyone gets bad reviews.
Bad reviews, mean tweets, and other negative social posts are inevitable, no matter how good your organization is at what it does. What matters is that the good heavily outweighs the bad, and valid criticism is being addressed quickly, with sympathy and sincerity.
For a great “Online reputation” course, where you will get advanced theoretical knowledge how to create a successful online reputation and much more, visit here.