Reputation Management in the Digital Age

Online Reputation Management Specialists

As a business owner, you know how important a good reputation is. People talk and love to share their experiences with business and products, both good and bad – this is where brand monitoring and reputation management comes in.

Nowadays, people don’t just talk to their friends, families and colleagues. People talk to the world, online, through social media, blogs and reviews, and it can be hard to find these conversations unless you’re actively looking for them.

But your customers are searching for this information. When looking to try a new product or business, reviews and reputation are one of the first things potential customers look for.

Over 92 % of consumers regularly read online reviews to learn about a business.

Brand monitoring and reputation management covers the monitoring, identifying and influencing of your digital reputation and credibility.
It’s designed to catch those less-than-flattering reviews, try and remedy them and push the positive ones in the spotlight. It’s a mixture of great customer service and clever PR.

When done correctly, it can also offer new insights on increasing your brand awareness.

In these modern times, you need to protect your reputation beyond your local customer base, especially online.

Here’s why:

1. Increase sales with good brand monitoring

A lot of people are researching brands, services and products online before they make their final decisions. Do you know what your customers are searching for?

If your answer is no, you are already missing out on a potentially massive pool of customers.

How is your well-thought out marketing campaign (that has cost you money) going to work effectively if you don’t even know your audience properly?

Don’t wait until your sales slow down to market effectively. Stay ahead of the game with good brand monitoring strategies.

A Bright Local study carried out in 2016 found that over 84% of buyers will trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation or word of mouth.

2. Build trust and credibility with online reputation management

Anyone in business will know that trust from clients is important.

As mentioned before, customers talk and, with the internet, opinions and reviews can spread like wildfire.

You only have to look at Uber – a name that’s synonymous with bad PR. The company’s success means nothing if it can’t fix it’s terrible reputation.

Online, everyone is a citizen journalist and while this is great for exposing corruption in oppressive regimes, it can be problematic for businesses.

There is no one monitoring people to separate truth from fiction and if your company suffers a loss of confidence, there is a chance you could never gain it back – and to do so could be expensive.

Avoid the drama in the first place by keeping watch and responding to all negativity about your business appropriately.

3. Who else might be searching for your brand and reputation?

Clients are not the only people you have to think about in business. Potential investors and employees could be impacted by bad reviews and reputation.

You brand and reputation circles extend to a lot more than just your inner business circle.

You need to make sure that potential partnerships are not damaged by a bad online reputation. Don’t miss out on that star employee because of negative comments, or excited investors due to someone’s blog posts.

“ Online reputation management is not a simple buzz word. It’s a reality and if you are not serious about protecting your reputation online, why are you still in business?”

Recommended Reads:

Art of Reputation Management

7 Basic Digital Marketing Habits Your Business Needs to Adopt

How Social Media Is Changing the Digital Marketing Landscape

Helping Small Businesses Grow and Adapt with Marketing Automation