You believe that your customers will feel the same about your brand as you do. As your brand is friendly, trustworthy, and decent.
So, you might be asking yourself why you should build an online reputation. And how to build a positive online reputation.
If people are happy with your brand and your company, others will know. In the same way, when they're not happy with your brand, others will know that as well.
A bad online reputation in today's market could harm your company. Online reviews have an impact 67.7% on purchasing decisions.
Big businesses invest a lot when it comes to online reputation management. According to Forbes, Businesses risk losing 22% of business when potential customers find one negative article on the first page of their search results.
Online reputation is how your business and products are perceived on digital platforms. In today's digital age, online reputation is crucial in building success of your business.
If you want your company to be successful, you cannot neglect the online reputation.
Online reputation management is protection against negative online reviews that affect any business.
A positive online reputation will have a valuable outcome on your business goals. Your reputation precedes you. This saying is current in the internet era and online businesses.
In the Internet era, the consumer reviews the business before using the product. This happens even when he is going to buy it offline. He doesn't only ask for a product, but he also likes to hear the thoughts of other customers.
Building a positive online reputation is a long process. You won’t see the effects of your actions overnight, but the rewards are worth the effort!
How to build a positive online reputation?
In this blog post, we have combined the 5 most helpful ways to build your online reputation. You should customize them so that the strategies are best matched to your business needs.
1. Begin with your website
2. Communicate through a blog
3. Be active on social media.
4. Respond to comments, reviews, and mentions.
5. Share your achievement and awards
1. Begin with your website
Online brand management starts with your website. The first place many customers visit when looking for information about your company. They will look at what you offer and what differentiates you from your competitor.
To make a good first impression on customers takes time to build a professional site. People prefer using the internet over their phone so the website has to be mobile-friendly.
Websites with the business name or domain rank first when someone searches for the name.
Present your genuine information and contact details legibly. You have to share about the business that would encourage your audience to trust you.
Ensure all the web pages on the website are structured and simple to access. You don't have to make the web pages busy and complicated, since this could get people off the website.
2. Communicate through a blog
Start your blog, as around 81% of people read and trust blogs. Running a blog popular in your industry can help in building a positive online presence.
When creating a website for your business blogs is an effective way to push your website. Blogs can take your website to the top of the search engine. that will strengthen your reputation, and helping to boost your social accounts.
Writing a blog will help you raise brand recognition. The more people know about your brand, the more likely you are to sell your goods. A blog will help you build your business as a leader in the industry.
You need to write well-researched papers, share insights on your blog. Also, share bad and positive encounters and expose some secrets behind the business. This is going to help you become a reputable brand within your industry. For example you sell facial cosmetics. You can write a blog on how the product works for different skin type. You can also create a guide book on the right time to apply and how to use them.
Building a brand reputation would have a positive impact, and help you meet your company goals.
A blog is an ideal place to share the ideals of your business and goods, and to build an impression of an expert. Avoid language errors, jargon, and enrich your posts with infographics and pictures.
3. Active on social media
You need to have social media accounts if you need people to find your brand information. People do not only seek for information on a search engine only, they look up for social media. This doesn’t mean create a whole lot of random social profiles that you may never touch again.
The presence in social media channels will help your company build an online reputation. You can inform your clients of the newest products or links to your blog post on your website.
If you are searching for an audience in the same industry, you can build a company account on LinkedIn. LinkedIn brings together experts. Businesses like architecture, fashion, decorations can use Pinterest as a source of inspiration.
In all social media that you have an account, respond to people's comments, questions and reactions. Also, encourage them by reposting the post related to your brand. That’s how you can build your relationship with audience.
The best social media to use, and maintain that rank well in search results include the following.
- YouTube
In each social account using your business name as the username of your profile. This would be most important in deciding what the profile will rank for.
There is a lot of social networks out there. Try to find the best one that suits your business, and upload your work daily to keep your audience engaged.
Note: Not all social media strategies work. You need to have a creative team to create content, drive engagement that builds a reputation.
4. Respond to comments, reviews, and other mentions
After establishing your website, writing a blog and you need to set up an alert for notification. You have to react to what is written on your platforms.
More than four negative reviews about a company or product may decrease sales by 70%.
Answer all the questions and comments on the reviews, whether they are positive or negative.
When you receive a negative comment seek to change the situation fast so it does not appear in the future.
Bad comments will also give you a chance to check and correct on your brand activities.
Here are a few tips for reacting to bad reviews:
Respond Quick
One of the issues facing businesses, is the inability to respond fast enough to a negative review. And it's understandable.
You've got a whole company to manage. You've got workers that get sick. Also about a million more flames need to be discharged every day.
As soon as you are aware of the negative review, set aside 5 minutes to fix it.
If you put it off for too long, your ultimate apology will come off as insincere. Because most online reviews are date stamped, consumers will see how long it took to get back to them.
Time is key when responding to negative comments.
Be personal
Add a personal aspect to the response. This can be calling the client by name or including detailed specifics of the event. Customers are writing critical feedback and they want to be heard. If you don't take the time to be intimate, it's almost not worth answering.
People will tell you when you answer with a canned response. Since bad feedback may have a real effect on your market, you can take the time to make them personal to the reviewer.
The purpose is to humanize this relationship as much as possible.
Respond Private
Some issues are better dealt with outside. This offers you the ability to fix the problem and to mend the relationship with your client.
You are in a position to make changes for the client. You may ask them to change their review to match the current situation.
It’s important to respond online so that other people can see that you care and take the time to reply to customers. Yet, your entire exchange doesn’t need to be public.
5. Share your achievements and awards
Do rewards add meaning to the bottom line of a company?
According to the University of Western Ontario, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Cooperate, award winners, have a 37 percent rise in revenue. also, 44 percent higher return on stock prices than their peers.
People are searching for businesses that they can trust, before taking a decision. Awards can;
Build Credibility
Being placed on "Top 10 Best Places to Work", or " 10 Largest companies" would allow potential buyers to take you. As they dig deeper into your company's history.
Get up the Edge
Awards increase visibility, third-party validation, and industry-leading. The marketing team will use awards as a promotional tactic.
Boost Morale
Employees like to feel part of a recognized organization. Being recognized by outside media, such as a business group or a reputable newspaper. As this would have a much greater impact than internal recognition.
Free Advertising
Industry awards can be beneficial to the marketing strategy. Free publicity as an award-winning business will result in more business and new partnerships. This will help to justify what the company does and improve your exposure in the marketplace.
People trust award-winning businesses. They want to see such very good accomplishments. They hope for the same results in the case of their projects.
Maintaining a good image may seem like a lot of work (and it does!). if you have a plan in place, it will become a natural part of your routine. These steps are jump-off point and reputation work isn't that simple.
Your offline reputation also affects your online reputation. Concentrate in building the online reputation by creating a website, writing a blog and all the points above will not help if your offline reputation isn’t good.
The brand experience you sell online should match up with the one which you give consumers in real life. A brilliant website, entertaining Facebook Page, or a content-rich blog can only lead to disappointment, if someone visits your company, and discover out you don’t live to what you say.
About Author
A content writer filled with a desire to create engaging online content for innovative brands.
