Online reputation is a vital part of any business, as it affects your credibility and visibility, as well as people’s trust in you and your company. This includes everything from your website, social media and blogs to news or press coverage, business or personal directory listings and reviews and comments.
The first step in online reputation management is to set up alerts for your brand name, products and services and anything else that may be a potential threat. This means that you can see what’s being said about you or your business in real-time. It could be a negative customer complaint, a disparaging competitor or a scathing blog post.
Once you’ve identified the threats, you need to develop a strategy that will keep your business in tip-top shape. That means using the right tools and strategies that will help you create, promote and share positive content online.
1. Know what you’re tracking
The best place to start is with an online monitoring tool, such as SentiOne. This allows you to monitor a huge variety of different sources including blogs, forums and portals in real-time.
2. Monitor online conversations consistently and proactively
As mentioned earlier, monitoring your online reputation should be a top priority for any business. To do this, you need to ensure that someone from your team is constantly researching and tracking the various conversations online about your brand. It doesn’t have to be a full-time job, but it should be an essential part of your overall brand strategy.
3. Make sure you have a plan to respond quickly and professionally whenever there’s a negative mention.
In the age of social media, customers are more than ever before able to speak up about your business and their experiences with it. So, it’s crucial that your team has a plan to respond quickly and professionally to any negative mentions about your brand.
4. Ensure you have the right resources to manage your online reputation effectively
The right tools can help you track and control your reputation online, as well as automate responses and troll-deterrent strategies. The right solutions can also help you identify new customers and manage your customer journey across platforms, identifying opportunities for growth and engagement.
5. React promptly and politely to comments, reviews and mentions (both positive and negative)
Responses to any kind of criticism or feedback are important for building trust with your consumers. They show that you care about what your customers have to say and that they aren’t just another number.
6. Respond to reviews and queries immediately
Many times, a negative review or feedback can ruin your business if you don’t respond in a timely manner. This is especially true if the review is about a recent purchase, as you’ll want to ensure that you’re able to offer a prompt reply.
7. Collaborate with team members in real-time to handle customer queries
If you want to improve your online reputation, you need to make sure that your entire team is equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to do so. This means that you need to invest in training for those on your team who deal with customer inquiries and feedback daily.