How to Craft an Effective Online Reputation Management Strategy for Your Brand

 

What’s the first thing that you do when you hear about a new product or service that you’re interested in?

Nowadays, many of us always have technology at our fingertips. Thus, the next logical step that we take is searching the product or service on a search engine like Google.

And what happens if we see results that claim negative performance? Or shady business practices from the brand in question? Or anything else that isn’t indicative of a good reputation?

We choose a competitor.

This exact scenario is why online reputation management strategy should be one of the top priorities of your marketing team. If you aren’t able to control your Internet reputation and have it be as positive as possible, then you could very easily find yourself losing customers.

In this article, we’ll teach you the basic tenets of crafting an online reputation management strategy for your brand.

Constantly Check for New Brand-Related Content

One of the most important and foundational elements of a reputation management strategy is simply being aware of all brand-related content that is put out. This includes online customer reviews. It includes blog posts that mention your product or service. it includes tweets, Instagram posts, and Facebook shares.

There are several ways that you can ensure that you receive notification about the publication of such content. Use a tool like Google Alerts to automatically monitor results in search engines. Most social media tools will also allow you to subscribe to specific hashtags and topics relevant to your brand and industry.

Respond to All Brand-Related Content You Didn’t Publish

The next step in reputation management strategy is reacting to all of the above types of content that we just discussed (i.e. content about your brand that was not published by your team). Note how you should react to all brand-related content, not just the negative stuff.

 

 

The negative stuff should take top priority though. Offer to fix the problem if the customer in question actually had a poor experience, or give everyone the real facts if the scenario is being twisted.

With the positive content, you should simply reinforce your positive image with a simple thank you. That will ensure that you earn die-hard, loyal customers for life.

Build Credible Social Media Profiles

Your reputation management strategy should also include proactive elements. One way you can be proactive is by building credible social media profiles on all the major platforms. Focus on collecting a large following. These folks will be fans of your brand. If you interact with them the right way, they will often be ready to defend your brand from criticism.

Social media marketing is a crucial part of any digital marketing strategy, so if you’re not already on the major platforms then you’re missing out.

Building an Online Reputation Management Strategy, Made Simple

There you have it — by implementing these simple tactics, you’ll be well on your way towards building a rock-solid online reputation management strategy that you can use to keep tabs on how your business is perceived in its industry.

For more business advice, be sure to check out the rest of the articles on the website!