Managing your online reputation is a critical part of your digital marketing strategy. The approach monitors and manages a company’s reputation across multiple websites and social media platforms. Online Reputation Management builds trustworthiness among potential customers, converting them into long-term buyers. Due to this reason, 63% of businesses associate the company’s total market value with their brand reputation.
However, businesses aren’t the only ones focusing on a brand’s digital reputation. More than 70% of online buyers check customer reviews before making a purchase. Therefore, you must improve your brand’s online reputation to optimize your sales.
What Is Online Reputation Management?
Online reputation management is used to regulate all activities concerning a brand. The marketing strategy involves monitoring the brand’s mentions on websites and social media to address positive and negative comments. ORM’s main goal is to minimize negative publicity by resolving issues, replying to negative comments, and removing false posts about the brand. However, it also reacts to positive posts and stories to build better customer connections. These strategies paint a good brand image, showing customers you care about them and their shopping experience.
Why Is Online Reputation Management Important for Your Digital Brand Profile?
Online reputation monitoring and management are one of the supporting pillars of your company. Even small businesses can build a strong digital footprint and expand their customer reach by using ORM service. A good online reputation is achievable by promoting positive customer reviews.
Your potential customers can see the good experience of other customers and feel safe buying from your brand. This provides you with a free and honest advertisement that creates effective results.
Benefits of Having a Crisis Management Strategy Team
Your brand mentions are public property, and people will use them to build a perception of your service quality. Therefore, you need an online reputation marketing team to monitor and resolve the negative spread of information and create an excellent brand image.
Improved SEO Ranking
Search engines promote highly reputed businesses to improve the buying experience. If your brand mostly has bad reviews and low ratings, search engines will automatically reduce its SERP ranking. A crisis management team will deal with false comments to ensure loyal and potential customers are not influenced by misleading information.
Build Trust and Credibility
People check reviews on social media before purchasing any item. They do this to avoid getting scammed or buying low-quality products. Your online reputation will build brand credibility and trustworthiness, leading to better conversion rates.
Attract New Talent
People prefer to work in companies that promote a good work culture and career growth. If your brand mentions revolve around negative content, talented candidates will not want to join your work team. However, you will attract new talent if you protect your reputation online by showing you care about your customers and employees.
Can ORM Help in Reputation Repair?
As a business owner, your primary concern is to reach your target audience and generate high revenue rates. A good reputation will help you achieve this goal more easily. For example, an ORM team will monitor your social media accounts and regularly post engaging content. Moreover, it will share your customer reviews and ask people to share their feedback in the comments. This technique will show that you are a trustworthy brand and allow people to directly talk to your brand representative. By using online reputation strategies, you can repair your online reputation and build a strong relationship with your clientele.
How to Manage Your Reputation Online?
You either need an in-house ORM team or excellent online reputation management services to take care of your online reputation. However, if you are on a low budget or want to manage your brand’s online image by yourself, follow these steps.
1. Monitor Your Online Footprint
Currently, Instagram is one of the most business-savvy platforms around the world. But limiting your focus to only one social media platform is wrong. You need to regularly search your brand and product/service names to check what people share about you. This will help you respond to negative comments and resolve customers’ complaints on time.
2. Respond Promptly
Once you find the posts and comments about your company, respond to them and solve issues immediately because 49% of online buyers expect businesses to reply within 4 hours.
3. Ask for Reviews
Whenever someone purchases an item from your brand, ask them to leave a review on social media, Yelp, and Google Reviews. If they forget to follow through, you should send a reminder email. This will increase your online ratings and encourage users to use your brand instead of your competitors.
4. Be Transparent
Customers expect transparency from brands as it helps them make informed buying decisions. 89% of online shoppers will buy again from a company if it admits a mistake and resolves the issue.
An Example of Smart Business Reputation Management
Let’s see the case study of Fillmore Hospitality company to observe the power of online reputation management.
Company Introduction
Fillmore Hospitality is a hotel ownership, and management company operating in several cities, including Chicago, San Jose, San Francisco, New Orleans, etc. It has developed six properties by collaborating with the Cambria Suites brand, expanding its properties on top city coasts.
Problem
After a couple of years of thriving in the industry, Fillmore wanted to improve its connection with customers and gain feedback to improve its services. Therefore, the company focused on hiring an ORM team.
Strategy
The ORM service pinpointed the weak points to work on. It created a plan to follow trends that gives Fillmore an edge over its competitors. It also noticed that people were sharing complaints about the bed quality on online forums.
Execution
Fillmore replaced their beds and posted about this refurnishing. The ORM service conducted surveys to gather feedback, which helped Fillmore further improve its services and gain its customers’ trust.
Who Needs Online Reputation Management in 2023?
The following industries can highly benefit from ORM in 2023:
Professionals who need Online Reputation Management
Professionals and entrepreneurs can drive more web traffic through ORM. Online reputation services are applicable for the professionals & individuals listed below:
- Thought Leaders: Gain the trust of customers, employees, and investors
- CEOs: Manage bad PR, solve social media crises, and resolve rumors. CEOs can also become thought leaders by managing their online reputation and showcasing their authority in a particular field.
- Doctors: Learn more about patients’ checkup experience levels
- Business Owners: Boost sales and attract more customers, improve networking and build new connections, and have a positive online reputation
- Celebrities: Maintain a good public image or restore one damaged by fake news
- Influencers: Encourage engagement with their profiles and increase followers
- Politicians: Monitor what media and people are currently saying about them and manage all negative PR
- Litigators: Gain visibility and improve reputation to retain old clients and attract new ones
- Coaches: Connect with more trainees by showing their expertise
- Other White-Collar Workers: Enjoy better interactions with their customers & boost their career opportunities
Business Industries that need Online Reputation Management
Business industry managers can engage a wider customer base and build a good online brand image by using online reputation management. These businesses can benefit from ORM services:
- Beauty: Boost positive reviews to build good web traffic and increase sales
- Apparel: Take control of the online conversations about their products
- Skincare: Build trust with customers on product quality
- Transport & Delivery: Reach a bigger target audience
- Food & Beverage: Highlight the brand products’ flavor, variety, and hygiene practices along with customer experience
- Banks & Finance: Track customer experience and analyze them to create effective solutions
- Corporations: Gain insight into customers’ expectations of their company and products/services
- Hospitality: Grow business by increasing brand visibility
- Credit Unions: Improve the quantity and quality of online reviews
- Real Estate: Remove misleading information and align brand goals with its digital presence
- Medical Institutions: Learn about patients’ needs and share health-related information
- Investment Firms: Ensure all listings are correct and direct customers to the company’s website
Final Thoughts
Online reputation monitoring and management help you share the real brand image and values with your customer. Your online reputation is one of the primary reasons why people use your services or purchase products from your brand. Having a negative online presence in the long term can even shut down your business.
Therefore, you need to monitor brand mentions across various social media platforms or hire a team to do it for you. Digital Caterpillar is a leading online reputation management service that promotes your brand’s positive image. Get in touch with our ORM professionals and take control of your online brand image.
