Why Managing Your Online Reputation Is Crucial for Your Success

Why Managing Your Online Reputation Is Crucial for Your Success

Companies of all sizes and who operate in any industry can benefit from understanding the importance of online reputation management. In today’s competitive online business climate, it’s crucial that your brand maintains a good reputation. In 2018, online business has changed from a passive operation to one in which customers can interact with brands on a personal level. Also, customers can make their voices heard across numerous channels. If your business starts garnering negative reviews, it can hurt your reputation on Google and across the different social media channels if you don’t address them appropriately. Today, we’ll discuss how you can better manage your online reputation, and why it’s crucial for your success.

What does it mean to manage your online reputation?

A lot of companies mistakenly believe that managing your online reputation refers to just social media monitoring. Yet others think it is another arm of public relations. Online reputation management is really a combination of both of these things.

It used to be that a brand’s website was static, and was designed like a brochure. This is what everyone was doing and what consumers expected at the time. But today, consumer expectations have radically changed. Also, with more and more businesses entering the online world, the competition to differentiate has gotten fiercer. Websites nowadays must include content that is user-generated. They need to present regular content that has value to their target customer. Also, frequent interactions with fans and followers on social media is a must-have for businesses of all sizes.

It doesn’t matter what your industry is or how big your company is. Prospects, customers, and current and past clients are all potentially talking about you online. They could be commenting on your latest blog article or sharing one of your Facebook posts. They might even be tweeting about your newest product or service. It’s inevitable that your customers will talk about their experience with your company online. For your business success in 2018 and beyond, it’s crucial that you are taking into account your client’s opinions and reviews.

Of course, you’ll want to garner mostly positive attention. But sometimes, you’ll get a negative review or feedback. It’s understandable that you might panic when this happens, but you can look at it as an opportunity to further enhance your online reputation. Below, we’ll get into the different ways you can manage your online reputation, protect it from negative reviews, and what you can to do to turn a negative reaction into a positive one.

What are the best ways to manage and enhance your online reputation?

1. Always Operate with Transparency

Even the most successful companies face negative feedback from fans from time to time. Most people’s natural reaction is to run and hide, but embracing negative feedback with your disgruntled customers can be good for your reputation. You’ll want to conduct yourself transparently when this happens.

• Talk about your products and services openly
• Ask for feedback
• Don’t hide from criticism, but instead, address it publicly
• Establish a place where clients can speak to you or a company representative one-on-one

2. React Quickly and with Composure

If you get a customer complaint on your social media channels, or as a highly visible comment on a blog post, address it fast, and in public. Also be sure to respond politely and never lose your cool online visibly.

3. Address Criticism with Understanding

On the surface, criticism may seem awful. But criticism gives you a chance to grow and learn from your mistakes. It also gives you an opportunity to learn more from your detractors. Sometimes the people criticizing you aren’t competitors, but your customer base. If that happens, it’s important to address any criticism with understanding. It’s possible that your newest, trendy advertising campaign offended a core part of your customer base, and you need to switch tactics.

Managing your online reputation should be an essential part of your marketing efforts. It’s vital that you differentiate your brand from your competitors by addressing your customer base and giving the necessary weight to their opinions and feedback. But managing your online reputation can be time-consuming and sometimes overwhelming. Fortunately, there are dozens of reputable online reputation management companies that can help you.