Online Reputation Management Strategy

September 16, 2023

In today’s digital age, everyone can share their opinion about a company openly. In such a situation, maintaining a brand’s reputation is becoming extremely difficult for businesses. If customers are unhappy with a product or service, they can publicly express their dissatisfaction online for all to see.

To combat such situations and get the desired results, businesses need an online reputation management strategy. By managing the online reputation, one can keep an eye on brand mentions, find out how customers feel, and keep negative comments to a minimum, which is good for the image of the business. Hence, an effective online reputation management strategy is required to control the online reputation score.

A reputation management strategy is the process of managing a person’s, company’s, or brand’s online narrative. It is part of monitoring views and conversations, dealing with reputation threats, and proactively taking opportunities to improve brand image.

Reputation management necessitates more than merely responding to comments on websites and social media platforms. It’s essential to understand how people view a brand and plan future efforts to change that perception. Brand marketing agencies in Delhi or around the world are taking online reputation rather seriously and making sure they get it right. Online reputation management strategy revolves around the following two ideas:

Monitoring: Marketers need to keep an eye on the market to find out what consumers, opinion leaders, and rival businesses are saying about the brand.
Responding: React by doing something to change people’s perceptions of the owner and his brand.

Essentially, keeping the above two factors in mind, let us look at the following pointers to build a strategy that is beneficial for marketers.

Brand audit

A brand audit is a critical first step in an online reputation management strategy. Taking inventory and assessing the entire online presence, including website, blog, social media profiles, and third-party business profiles is a must. Additionally, marketers must not forget to scrutinize Google search results as well. This will be an eye-opener and also show brands the proper path to follow.

Monitor brand mentions

An effective way to manage a brand online is to actively monitor brand mentions on the web. This means setting up alerts for the brand name and related keywords, and then reacting quickly when any mention, either positive or negative is seen. This includes mentions on social media, as well as any mentions the brand receives in blog posts, forums, videos, etc. The faster the negative mentions are identified and contained, the better. Most people are willing to forgive honest mistakes if the company makes a good-faith effort to remedy the situation.

Respond to negative reviews

It can be tempting to not care about the whims and fancies of the customers, especially the negative comments and hope they go away. Unfortunately, in this case, time is not the best healer. Negative reviews are an opportunity for a brand to address problems head-on, demonstrate customer care, and form a more authentic connection with potential customers. Hence, the best way is to respond to all reviews, whether they’re positive or negative. Also, it is important to thank customers for their feedback, even if it’s critical and always offer real solutions to problems. For example, if a customer had a bad experience, they don’t want a coupon for 20% off their next purchase. With that approach, losing a customer is inevitable. It is always good to go above and beyond to show customers it can be trusted and will make things right.

Invest in SEO

SEO is an essential part of online reputation management, but the strategy is slightly different. Most commonly, marketers use SEO to rank many different pages on one website for a diverse set of search queries. However, in terms of ORM, the use of SEO is to rank many different websites for a few brand-focused queries. As a result, marketers will be able to push down negative search results and replace them with positive content. A branded SEO strategy should focus on optimizing as many controllable web pages as possible for brand-related keywords. This can be done by:

Creating valuable content on the website for reviews as well as leadership pages
Building backlinks to key pages you want to rank on Google page one
Earning positive brand mentions through digital PR, events, sponsorships, and influencer marketing
Being active on key social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram
Claiming and optimizing relevant third-party profiles, such as Google My Business, Yelp, Trustpilot, and business profiles where you control the content.

When it comes to SEO for reputation management, it is imperative to remember that Google almost always prioritizes authoritative, trustworthy sources. In light of this, it is best to focus on increasing the authority and trustworthiness of the brand’s own website, as well as optimizing the presence on authoritative third-party sites.

Leverage public relations

Good public relations can help improve the online reputation by generating positive press for the brand. This press can take many forms, such as:

Guest posts on high-quality websites
Interviews of company executives
Press releases
Branded events
Charitable events
Co-marketing with well-respected individuals or brands in the industry
Podcast appearances
Live Q&A sessions
Public statements addressing any significant mistakes made by the company

The goal of the public relations efforts in terms of online reputation management is to highlight the brand’s key values and establish trust and expertise.

Encourage customer reviews

One of the best online reputation management strategies is to encourage customers to leave reviews on sites like Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, Capterra, etc. That’s because positive reviews can occupy valuable real estate in Google’s search results and influence customer behaviour. There are a few things one can do to encourage customers to leave reviews:

Sending emails to the customers, directly asking them to leave reviews
Making it easy for them by providing clear instructions on where and how they can leave a review
Incentivizing them with discounts or other special offers for leaving a review
Responding to all reviews, both positive and negative, so that customers feel like their feedback genuinely matters

When it comes to online reputation management, customer reviews are one of the most valuable assets. Marketers must take advantage of this by encouraging customers to leave reviews on relevant, trustworthy review sites.

Promote positive content

Finally, the strategy should also include content that shines a positive light on the brand, such as:

Placing testimonials and reviews prominently on the brand’s website
Occasionally sharing positive reviews on social media, along with thanking the reviewer
Showcasing prominent third-party endorsements of your brand
Working with influencers to promote content you have created
Sharing content where you are favourably mentioned
Promoting any joint efforts done with individuals or brands

An online reputation management strategy is a crucial part of running a business. In today’s competitive marketplace, a well-rounded online reputation management plan helps ensure that businesses have a strong base from which they can grow and ultimately reach their full potential organically.