By: Mr. Subhashis K Chakraborty, Founder & Managing Director, Value4brand
Michael Fertik, renowned entrepreneur and one of the pioneers of the online reputation management (ORM) industry once aptly remarked – “Reputation is currency. It’s as valuable as your corporate balance sheet.” Indeed, in today’s hyper-connected digital world, a brand’s digital/online reputation can make or break its success prospects. The good news? A strong, well-managed online reputation attracts loyal customers, drives business growth, and establishes credibility in the highly competitive marketplace. That’s why ORM is no longer optional but has emerged as an imperative for today’s companies.
In this article, we will explore some of the most-effective ORM strategies that have been proven to help brands build, maintain and protect a positive image.
Monitor Your Brand’s Online Reputation Round-the-Clock
Reputation management starts with awareness and monitoring – and when it come to the Internet, it needs to be a 24x7x365 days’ endeavor. The Internet world is always abuzz – and a single unfavorable review, social media controversy or PR crisis can spread like wildfire, adversely affecting consumer confidence and perception. Leverage sophisticated software and tools such as Google Alerts, Sprout Social, Brand watch, Buzz Sumo, Mention, Meltwater, etc. for monitoring brand mentions, reviews and social media chatter in real-time, so that you can address and/or resolve potential issues before they become serious, and parallelly strengthen the positive narrative for your brand.
Answer Online Reviews Politely and Thoughtfully
Good or bad, online reviews shape public opinion. According to a survey, 98% of consumers think reading up reviews are a vital resource in making purchase decisions. Thank and respond gratefully to positive feedback – that’s a no-brainer. But when your product/service/offering gets a negative review, don’t panic – instead reply in a professional and solution-oriented manner — own your mistake(s) and apologize wherever appropriate, correct misunderstandings and provide solutions. The ultimate goal is to reassure people that your business is worth their money and time, and to restore trust.
Create and Distribute High-Quality Content Regularly
Content forms the foundation for your brand’s digital reputation. Publish informative blogs, case studies, and social media updates that demonstrate your expertise and success stories. More importantly, demonstrate thought-leadership through your content, and also provide useful solution-oriented content to solve pain-points of your target audience – even if it’s not directly related to your product or service. A thoughtfully crafted online content strategy not only enhances credibility but also pushes negative content out of search engine rankings.
Search Engine Optimization to Shape Reputation
A good SEO plan, implemented in alignment with your business’ ORM strategy, ensures positive content about your brand dominates the search results. Optimize your website, social media accounts and primary business listings with keywords and authoritative links – these are the basics, while a lot more needs to be done. Remember SEO is always a long-term game, but it’s worth it – and optimizing not just for search engines but also for building trust amongst humans is the way forward. By dominating Google for positive content, you can be in control of the narrative about your brand.
Have a Crisis Management Plan (and Implement it When Necessary)
Be it a PR disaster, a slip-of-tongue on a podcast or a piece of fake news going viral on the internet – a reputation crisis can arrive just about any time. Which is why, it is prudent to be prepared for it with an effective crisis management plan, which should consist of pre-established response protocols, pre-authorized spokespeople and an escalation matrix aimed to fend off attacks on your brand’s online reputation swiftly and efficiently, and without causing a dent on your brand image.
Utilize Social Listening for Proactive Brand Management
91% people believe companies should fuel innovation by listening to customers. While ‘Social listening’ essentially refers to monitoring and analyzing conversations about your brand on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and others, it involves a structured process of tracking and collective relevant content, and thereafter using it to decode audience sentiment, identify trends, and gain insights. By making use of tools such as Sprout Social and Hootsuite for social listening, businesses can proactively address concerns, refine marketing strategies and engage with their customers. A strong social listening strategy also helps brands anticipate potential risks and turn them into opportunities for positive engagement.
Encourage and Showcase Testimonials
Happy customers are, no doubt, your biggest marketers and brand advocates. Request all of your satisfied clients or customers to leave reviews on platforms such as Google My Business, Trustpilot, etc. Also, it’s a must to showcase testimonials and success stories on your website and social media to establish credibility and attract new business. Whether you’re a startup, a growing business or a well-established enterprise, adopting the aforementioned proactive measures will ensure your online reputation remains a valuable asset.
Final Thoughts
With ORM now getting more crucial than ever, businesses that embrace ORM as a continuous process – not just a crisis management tool, will be ahead of the curve and shall be able to generate maximum brand equity in today’s digital economy. And to that end, working with a specialist ORM service provider can act as the flight tickets to your destination, accelerating amplification of visibility and credibility for your brand.
