It’s hard to imagine a time when we had to commit to a product or service without first combing through reviews or comparative shopping online for hours. For the consumer, reading reviews before making purchases saves time, effort, and sometimes money. For brands, this means that a bad online reputation will usually result in a failed business.
With 89% of consumers reading reviews online before making a purchasing decision, it’s safe to say knowing what people are saying about you online and having a strategy for how you’ll interact is now imperative to a business’ success.
As the internet creates a more transparent and unfiltered world for both people and businesses, it is vital to understand the importance of maintaining a good online reputation. Here we’ll break down what it is and provide you with information to begin assessing yours.
So what exactly is online reputation management (ORM)?
Your online reputation is how you are viewed by consumers and it is affected by what you post, how you respond, and what others are saying about your business. At least 76% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Online reputation management improves your online image by using a combination of unique strategies to promote, defend, and protect your brand. Some of these strategies include: monitoring mentions/responses, promoting positive reviews, and search engine optimization (SEO).
Online reputation management can be beneficial to anyone trying to run a successful business including (but certainly not limited to) freelancers, lawyers, small business owners, doctors, or contractors. In the age of the internet, reputation management is more important than ever, because it is nearly impossible to sell a product or service if you are not trusted by the online community.
What can I do to improve my online reputation?
– Monitor and respond to all reviews
Whether negative or positive, it’s important to always respond to reviews in an appropriate and timely manner. Afterall, you are not only responding to the person leaving the review, but everyone else in your audience as well.
Positive reviews are one of the most important ways to gain visibility. Without them, it’s difficult to get your brand higher in SERPs (search engine results pages). Don’t be afraid to ask for good reviews from satisfied customers as many will be eager to assist, and responding to positive reviews shows your appreciation and further builds the relationship between the customer and your brand.
The way you handle negative reviews can also have a large impact on your reputation. You should never ignore any negative feedback as the lack of response could lead to a worse impression that the review itself. Many who leave a negative review are expressing genuine concern and just want to make sure their voices are heard.
– Beware of Trolls
One thing to be aware of is the online trolling community, or those determined to tarnish your online reputation for reasons unrelated to your company or services. If you feel a certain feedback is harmful or crossing into illegal territory, you should take action to moderate this content.
– Be empathetic
It is important to instill trust within your consumers, whether that be through content consistency or responding urgently and genuinely to customer concerns. Customers that view your brand as empathetic are able to create more authentic connections with you and therefore, less likely to tarnish your name with a bad review.
– Be intentional
It is important to ensure that your content is both representative of your audience and tailored to fit the image of what you want your brand to be perceived as. While online reputation management can help defend and protect your name, it is important to keep in mind that what is posted to the internet is forever.
It is always easier to prevent mistakes from happening than to backtrack and rebuild trust. Always be mindful of how others will digest the messages you put out.
– Utilize the tools out there
There are many tools that can be used for online reputation management. Google Alerts is a free tool used to alert you when new results for a topic are mentioned i.e new results for your business, name, or products.
Know when it’s time to consult a professional
Struggling with establishing a positive or repairing a negative online reputation? Hopscotch marketing has online reputation management professionals to help you create a trustworthy, respectable, and reliable name for yourself or your business. Schedule a discovery call with us today to see how we can assist!