Why Online Reputation Management Is Essential for Businesses

It is said that your products are only as good as buyers believe they are.

A positive online reputation, therefore, is critical to building a trustworthy brand.

In this blog post, we look at why online reputation management is important and list tools and strategies you can use to build trust.

Let’s dive in!

The number of businesses competing online grows by the minute.

This is why it’s important to maintain a reputation that builds trust, increases brand reach, and improves profitability.

Here are 4 ways in which online reputation management helps you.

1. Build Credibility & Trust

A positive online reputation lets potential and existing buyers know that your business is reliable.

It shows that you deliver customer experiences that build loyalty and advocacy.

2. Manage Negative Feedback

Brands getting negative feedback lose their reputation, resulting in declining sales and profitability.

Online reputation management enables you to fix issues before they get out of hand.

This means making necessary adjustments to products and services and ensuring customer satisfaction.

3. Attract Talented Employees

People want to work for a company that has a strong brand presence and treats employees well.

A strong online reputation shows that your company is trusted and has a positive work culture.

4. Boost SEO Efforts

With an established online presence, customers can discover your brand easily.

Ranking on Google Search is one of the best rewards you can get for effective online reputation management.

This leads buyers, advertisers, and influencers to share your content and promote your brand.

How Reviews Affect Online Reputation Management

Reviews have emerged as an important aspect of online reputation management.

However, only 20% of B2B companies manage reviews as part of their marketing strategy.

This is a missed opportunity but doesn’t have to be. Businesses of all types, from B2C to B2B, need to engage with customer reviews.

Here are 3 ways in which reviews impact your online reputation:

1. Boost Online Traffic

Reviews improve website traffic since Google treats them as content similar to blog posts and videos.

While high-quality blog posts give you a higher ranking, positive reviews boost your SEO efforts.

Once your website gets to the top of Google, you’ll get increased traffic.

2. Improve Star Ratings

Did you know that 48% of customers won’t look twice at a business with less than 4 stars?

An improved star rating helps you earn trust, boost local search rankings, and increase conversions.

Audit your brand’s SERP placement and get stars with as many placements as possible.

3. Drive Business Opportunities

Once your website ranks high and traffic flows in, people will begin collaborating with your brand.

It all boils down to maintaining a positive online reputation so that customers leave positive reviews.

3 Online Reputation Management Strategies You Can Use

Trying to improve your online brand reputation without an actionable strategy is like shooting arrows in the dark.

Let’s look at 3 strategies to help you begin managing your brand’s online reputation:

1. Answer Promptly & With Empathy

When people ask you questions about your products or services, try to respond to them immediately.

This prevents frustrated customers from posting negative feedback about your brand.

Make sure you answer with empathy when replying promptly. This makes the customer feel that you value them and are ready to help them at all times.

Remember, it’s better not to have a social media presence than to have an inactive one.

2. Own Up to Mistakes

If you’re facing scrutiny for a mistake, it always helps to admit and apologize.

Address concerns raised by customers directly and describe what you are going to do to resolve the issue.

3. Automate Online Reputation Management

Instead of manually managing your online reputation, you can save time by automating it.

So if you have other more important tasks to attend to, consider outsourcing to a professional agency.

They will have quality resources to help you identify when your company is being mentioned and how to address the situation promptly.

Let’s now look at tools to help you effectively manage your online reputation.

81% of buyers rely on online research before making a purchase. You can use social media as a tool to maintain a healthy online reputation.

Here are 3 top tools to give you valuable customer insights and improve your reputation:

1. Brandwatch

This is a social listening and analytics tool that performs reputation analysis and creates data-rich reports of people talking about your brand.

Brandwatch has a tool called Vizia that lets you visualize data and combine it with insights from Google Analytics, BuzzSumo, and Hootsuite for a holistic analysis.

2. BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo gives you an idea of content that is gaining popularity.

It aids in identifying influencers who can share your content with your target audience and boost your online reputation.

A notification is sent every time your brand is mentioned, whether it is positive or negative. You can use this data to compare content performance with competitors.

3. Mention

Best for monitoring websites and social media, Mention notifies you every time someone mentions your name, uses certain keywords, and more.

It helps you understand how your brand is perceived online, and respond to crises before they get out of hand. You also get summarized ORM metrics on a daily basis.

Key Takeaway

Effective online reputation management will help you gain customer trust, as well as drive traffic and profitability.

And that’s a wrap on why online reputation management is essential for your business.

Outshine Your Competitors With Effective Online Reputation Management