Managing your Online Reputation in the New Year
Well, 2023 is here, along with those New Year Resolutions. For our first blog of the new year, we want to cover what should be one of your company’s top priorities – and probably one of your resolutions for this year – effectively managing your online reputation.
With the rise of social media and user-generated content, managing your online reputation is now more critical than ever. Your online presence can make or break your brand. Remember that people are talking about you, and what they say about your brand in digital spaces matters. So, how do you manage your online reputation in the new year?
What Is Online Reputation Management?
Let’s start by breaking down what makes up your online reputation because it casts a wide net. Online reputation is described as how a company, person, or business is seen on digital platforms.
Reputation management is all about knowing and guiding users’ public reviews about your brand while creating the best impression on all digital platforms. This includes:
- Monitoring all places where people might be talking about your brand online
- Making sure you relay accurate and up-to-date information
- Receiving and professionally responding to customer requests and reviews on time
- Positively positioning your brand across websites
- Eliminating brand ambiguity from Google search results
- Building trust and credibility through online relationships
Why Should Your Brand Care About Managing Your Online Reputation in the New Year?
According to Forbes, brands with a negative article on the first page of Google are more likely to lose over 22% of revenue. This percentage increases with the increase in negative articles on search results. Other research shows that 84% of consumers consider online reviews before making a purchase, 68% trust a business because of positive reviews, and 85% hesitate to buy from a business with negative reviews.
From the above statistics, it’s evident that online reputation management is crucial for any business with an online presence. Complaints, bad reviews, and other forms of online criticism can swiftly destroy your brand image, while positive reviews can improve a company’s bottom line.
How to Manage Your Online Reputation in the New Year
There are many ways to manage your online reputation across all digital platforms. Some of these include:
1. Provide Genuine Social Media Engagement
Engagement is one of the easiest ways to manage your online reputation. Ask yourself: Does your content allow customer interaction? Do you talk to your audience? If your answer is no, then you need to add a personalized touch to your brand content to encourage interaction. Monitor the number of followers, reactions, comments, and shares on all your online platforms and respond appropriately.
2. Leverage Smart Tools for Reputation Monitoring and Tracking
Technology has brought with it the development of digital reputation management. These software programs help businesses to monitor online reviews and offer means for brands to interpret their online reputation. What’s more, this software can generate reports based on the state of the brand’s reputation and provide a platform to gather more positive online reviews.
3. Provide Exceptional Customer Service
The nature of the internet allows people from all walks of life to interact. This means customers have different experiences and expectations. Therefore, there should be ultimate empathy when communicating with customers. Put yourself in their shoes to adhere and provide what they need. This will make you the best provider and listener for your audience.
4. Ask for Google and Yelp Reviews
Online reviews help to attract customers in the initial buying stages. If you are certain that your clients are content, ask them to post reviews on Google, Yelp, and other review websites. If you have many customers, creating an email marketing campaign would be the best action to encourage customers to leave reviews.
Let Pink Dog Digital Manage Your Online Reputation
Looking for reputation management in Maryland? Let Pink Dog Digital help you take the stress of a bad review away from you. We help you respond to poor reviews and bring your site’s ranking back up. Our team will regularly monitor your social channels and review profiles to help you with online reputation management services by increasing your brand image.
Get in touch with us today through the contact form on our website, email us at pinkdogdigital@gmail.com, or give us a call at (410) 696-3305. We are happy to help you.