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Online Reputation Management & Brand Monitoring

Customers freely share their opinions about your brand, both in spoken and written form. Despite your best efforts to maintain a positive brand image, negative experiences and impressions can occur. But don’t worry; online reputation management (ORM) comes to the rescue. ORM not only addresses crises but also involves monitoring your brand and preventing issues before they happen.

This article explains everything you need to know about online reputation management, its best practices, its importance, and real-life examples. Let’s start with some basics.

What is Online Reputation Management?

Online reputation management (ORM) refers to managing and controlling how a brand, business, or individual is perceived and talked about online. It involves monitoring and influencing what people say about your brand, products, or services online. 

ORM aims to maintain a positive reputation and effectively address negative feedback or criticism. By actively managing your online presence, you can enhance your brand’s image, build customer trust, and minimize the impact of negative experiences or comments.

ORM is often mistaken for public relations (PR), but these concepts differ. ORM focuses on managing and shaping a brand’s online reputation for virtual assistant services, addressing online feedback and reviews. On the other hand, PR includes broader activities aiming to manage a brand’s overall public image online and offline. While agencies that manage reputation deal with online conversations and feedback, PR involves strategic communication, media relations, and building relationships with stakeholders through various channels.

Online Reputation Management Media Channels

Four primary ORM media channels work together to shape and manage a brand’s online reputation, maintain a positive image and address potential issues:

1. Paid Media

Paid media refers to promotional content or advertisements a brand pays for to reach its target audience. Examples include sponsored social media posts, paid search ads, and display advertising. Paid media gives brands complete control over distributed content but requires considerable investment.

2. Earned Media

Earned media refers to the publicity and coverage a brand receives through organic means, such as media mentions, positive reviews, and social media shares. It is earned through the brand’s positive reputation, effective PR efforts, and the quality of its products or services. Brands can also reach out to influencers and media outlets to get media coverage. Earned media increases brand visibility and audience trust.

3. Shared Media

Shared media refers to any social media content about your brand. It can include your content, user-generated content, comments, and interactions. Shared content increases the brand’s reach and visibility, but handle shared media cautiously. Negative reviews and comments can harm your brand’s reputation, so you must monitor social media mentions and address all issues as soon as possible.

4. Owned Media

Owned media refers to the brand’s own digital properties and channels, such as its website, blog, social media profiles, and email newsletters. Owned media gives the brand direct control over the content and messaging it shares with its audience. It also allows you to engage in website development, tailor your website and content according to your audience’s needs and improve your SERP rankings.

Why is Online Reputation Management Important?

ORM is crucial for several reasons:

    • It influences customer perception. A solid online reputation can significantly affect how customers perceive your brand and whether they trust it or not. Positive reviews and mentions and a well-managed online presence can enhance your brand’s credibility and attract more customers.
    • It prevents reputational damage. ORM helps protect your brand from potential reputation damage. By promptly monitoring and addressing negative feedback or reviews, you can mitigate the impact of any unfavorable content and maintain a positive brand image.
    • It manages crises: In the event of a reputation crisis or negative publicity, ORM allows you to respond effectively and control the narrative. It enables you to address the issue, provide accurate information, and minimize the spread of damaging content.
    • It manages customer relations. ORM allows you to engage with your customers, respond to their feedback, and address their concerns. By actively working on your online reputation, you can build trust, foster loyalty, and strengthen relationships with your audience.
  • It provides a competitive advantage. A positive online reputation sets you apart from competitors. When potential customers search for products or services, a solid online presence, positive brand image, and positive reviews can make your brand more appealing and increase the likelihood of conversions.
  • It helps build partnerships and collaborations. A positive online reputation can attract collaborations and partnerships with other businesses. People are more likely to work with or associate themselves with a brand that has a good reputation.

How To Manage Your Business’s Online Reputation?

Follow these steps to improve or maintain your brand’s positive online reputation:

1. Conduct a Brand Audit

To understand how the audience perceives your brand, start by assessing your brand’s current online presence and reputation. Evaluate your existing website content, social media profiles, reviews, and overall brand presence online. Enter your brand name or related keywords into the search engines and analyze the results. Understanding where you stand allows you to develop a targeted reputation management strategy.

2. Monitor Brand Mentions

Keep a close eye on what people are saying about your brand online. Regularly monitor social media platforms, review sites, forums, and any other relevant online channels to stay informed about both positive and negative mentions and respond promptly. 

You can conduct brand monitoring manually or use automated brand monitoring tools like Brand24, Hootsuite, Brandwatch, Google Alerts, or Sprout Social.  These tools are designed to track and analyze online conversations and mentions of your brand across social media platforms, review sites, news articles, blogs, forums, and other online channels to provide you with real-time updates and insights. 

3. Ask Customers for Reviews

Actively encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, or industry-specific review sites. Reach them via email and offer incentives for their thoughts. Provide simple instructions and make the review process easy for customers. Positive reviews act as social proof and enhance your brand’s reputation. Respond to every comment to show customers that their opinion is appreciated.

4. Address Negative Comments and Reviews

Ignoring the complaints of your customers is not a good business practice. Doing so conveys that you don’t care about resolving the audience’s pain points with your products or services. 

Instead of ignoring and hoping that negative attention will disappear, consider negative reviews as improvement directions. Address them in a constructive and timely manner. Show empathy, offer solutions, and strive to resolve any issues. By demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction, you can mitigate the impact 

5. Optimize Your Online Presence

Search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can positively influence your ORM. Optimize your website and online content to improve your search engine rankings. Optimization allows positive and relevant content to appear higher in search results, overshadowing harmful content.

In addition, when customizing your SEO efforts, it’s crucial to consider the unique requirements of different industries. 

For instance, if you specialize in designing websites for restaurants, you can tailor your optimization strategies to target specific keywords related to cuisine, location, and dining experiences. 

By understanding the nuances of the restaurant industry, you can create a customized SEO plan that maximizes visibility, drives organic traffic, and ultimately helps restaurants attract more hungry customers. Incorporating localized keywords, optimizing menu pages, and showcasing enticing food photography are just a few examples of how you can optimize websites for restaurants and make them stand out in search engine rankings.

To improve your ORM, follow these best SEO practices:

  • Optimize website content for relevant keywords related to your brand to help search engines understand your content and improve your SERP positioning.
  • Create informative and engaging content that adds value to your audience. High-quality content enhances your brand’s reputation and encourages engagement.
  • Acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable and relevant websites to improve your website’s authority and visibility in SERPs.
  • Optimize on-page elements such as meta tags, title tags, headings, and image alt tags. These elements should accurately reflect your brand and each web page’s content, improving search engine visibility and UX.
  • Optimize your website for local search queries (local SEO): incorporate location-specific keywords, optimize Google My Business listings, and generate positive local reviews.
  • Monitor and respond to online reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and industry-specific review sites. Timely and thoughtful responses demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction and can help mitigate negative review consequences.
  • Ensure your social media profiles are professional and appealing. Optimize them with relevant keywords, descriptions, and high-quality visuals to improve search visibility.

6. Use the Power of PR

Proactively manage your brand’s public image through effective public relations strategies. Engage with media outlets, industry influencers, and journalists to share positive news and stories about your brand. Building solid relationships with these stakeholders can help shape a favorable narrative around your business.

Online Reputation Management: Conclusion

With the rise of social media and online platforms, taking care of your ORM is more important than ever. Online conversations quickly spread and influence public perception, buying decisions, and overall brand reputation. 

ORM allows you to engage with your audience, build trust, and foster strong customer relationships. By actively managing your reputation, you can control the narrative, shape a positive brand image, and differentiate yourself from competitors. Also, you can protect your brand from potential reputation damage and address negative feedback effectively. 

Prioritizing ORM is a proactive and strategic approach that ultimately contributes to your business’s overall success and sustainability.

 

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