Ever wondered what matters more to a business than keeping the cash flowing? With the rise of online reviews and social media, businesses need to put their best foot forward. Reports reveal that 9 in 10 shoppers consider reviews when making a purchase decision. This emphasizes the increasing importance of online reputation management (ORM).
Success is synonymous with reputation in today’s business landscape. You may get some negative reviews that can hurt your ratings and reputation. Luckily, you can run a digital reputation management campaign to keep negative things aside.
Ready to improve your online sales and attract more customers to your business? In this blog post, we’ll explore some key strategies to help you master your reputation management efforts. Let’s dive in!
What is Online Reputation Management?
Online reputation is the overall public perception of your brand. ORM is a strategy to influence, track, and manage this perception. This strategy depends on various factors, such as the quality of products/services, customer experiences, online reviews, and more. A powerful personal reputation management strategy has two main goals:
- Protect your brand reputation: It includes monitoring what customers are saying about your business and addressing their feedback professionally.
- Improve your brand reputation: A robust ORM strategy aims at building trust and credibility by encouraging positive reviews, creating quality content, and engaging with your audience on social media.
Take Starbucks, for instance. They have created one of the best online reputation management campaigns to safeguard their online reputation. Whenever a consumer complains about a late serving time, Starbucks automatically provides them with a free drink voucher. This ultimately brings a smile to their customer’s face.
5 Powerful Strategies for Online Reputation Management
With the increasing competition and changing customer preferences, building and maintaining a positive online presence can be challenging for businesses in 2024 and beyond. So, it is better to have solid strategies in place to ensure success. Here are some key strategies suggested by an experienced ORM social media agency:
Monitor Your Current Reputation
Before putting an ORM campaign into place, conduct a full reputation audit. Start with a simple Google search to understand what your audience finds when they search for your business.
Assess your online presence on various platforms where customers leave reviews and ratings, such as social media platforms and Google Business Profile listings. Here are some key things to consider:
- Utilize tools like Sprout Social to track brand mentions across various social media channels.
- Set up search engine alerts or Google Alerts to notify you whenever your business name is mentioned online.
- Check review sites like Google My Business to identify customer feedback.
Pay attention to the search engine rankings, comments, mentions, reviews, and ratings of your business. This provides valuable insights into your customers’ perceptions of you. Understanding the current reputation of your brand will help identify areas for improvement and address any negative feedback.
Encourage Positive Reviews
One of the best ways to boost your online presence is with positive customer reviews. Encouraging happy customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google and social media not only boosts your online reputation, but also attracts new customers who rely on online reviews.
77% of buyers use at least two review platforms in their research. So, target multiple platforms when encouraging customer reviews. This strategy also helps improve the visibility of your business in search results. What approaches can be used to encourage customers to leave positive reviews?
- Reward programs
- Customer incentives
- Freebies or giveaways
- Friendly reminders through email
Respond to Negative Reviews
Whether you own a small family restaurant or a chain of coffee shops, your customers are likely to look for you online. Customer reviews are one of the first things they look for. In fact, 98% of shoppers believe reviews are key when making buying decisions.
It is no secret that businesses often receive negative reviews. But what matters most is to respond promptly and professionally to these reviews. Address their concerns and offer a practical solution to resolve the issue.
This sense of acknowledgment shows you care about customer feedback and are committed to providing excellent customer service. Don’t forget to thank customers for their valuable feedback.
Create and Post Engaging Content
Customers across industries use online content to research and make their purchasing decisions. High-quality, informative content works when it comes to positioning your brand as an authority in your industry. It drives SEO performance by pushing your business website to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).
Create videos that showcase your brand values, mission, and goals. These videos can be anything from customer testimonials and educational content to behind-the-scenes footage and contest programs.
Make sure your content consists of consistent brand messaging, tone, and voice across search engines, social media channels, and online review platforms. Here are some crucial tips to follow:
- Create informative blog posts, articles, or infographics.
- Share industry insights and thought leadership pieces.
- Ensure the content addresses your audience’s pain points.
- Follow a consistent posting schedule to keep the audience engaged.
Utilize Social Media Strategy
Social media can make or break your online reputation management game. So, it is better to regularly post positive content, engage with followers, and address concerns promptly. This will help you create a positive online image.
You can use Instagram or Facebook to showcase customer testimonials, behind-the-scenes, and community involvement. Be sure to monitor brand mentions on social media. Use a social media listening tool like Mention to track mentions of your brand name, products, and relevant keywords.
Consider hiring a social media marketer to monitor all your social accounts. Allow them to check your direct messages and comments on your social media to address questions, concerns, or feedback in a timely manner. Other critical social media tasks you need to manage include:
- Tracking social media metrics to measure the performance of your online reputation management efforts
- Creating and publishing content that actively engages your audience
- Monitoring your competitors’ social media activities and content
To Sum UpWhether you choose to invest in professional online reputation management companies or have your own DIY strategies, ORM is vital, especially for small and medium businesses with a limited marketing budget and customer base. Furthermore, leverage analytics, follow the latest trends, and use ORM tools to ensure that the digital portrayal of your brand aligns. We hope you found this post helpful!