The definitive information to on-line fame administration
There are many misconceptions about online reputation management. Some people think it's just social media monitoring, while others believe it has something to do with public relations, and still others have no idea what impact it can have on sales.
In this guide, I'll cover the role of online reputation management in today's digital age, explain why it is important, and outline 10 tips to improve and protect your brand's online image.
Why is reputation management important?
Just a few years ago, the Internet was very different. Companies didn't acquire customers, just sold (or tried to sell) to a passive audience. People couldn't express their voice in a powerful way, and the entire communications landscape was very "top-down".
The situation has changed radically. Websites are no longer static brochures. User generated content is a must. Regular interactions on social networks are critical to business success.
Regardless of the size of your business, people are talking about you, including prospects, clients, and their friends. They tweet about your latest product, leave a comment on your blog, post a Facebook update about their customer experience, and much more.
If you think you can save on reputation management, or if you think you can do it without considering people's voices, opinions, and ratings, think again.
Today's brands have to be transparent
One of the most important business imperatives is, “Be transparent.” Opening up to criticism and feedback seems to be beneficial for companies using this new mode of communication with their audience.
What does it mean to be "transparent"? Here are some examples:
- Employees can speak publicly about products and services
- Establishing a 1-to-1 communication channel
- ask for feedback
- Do not hide criticism and address it publicly
Easier said than done! Most small and medium-sized businesses don't invest a lot in communication and struggle with this concept. As a result, their efforts are usually wrong or inconsistent.
Transparency is risky. But in the long run it is riskier not to be transparent.
Online reputation management "errors"
@aprildunford that's great … we're in the coffee business, not the office business. We have many outlets to do what we need …
– Dark Horse Espresso (@darkhorsecafe) January 15, 2010
There is a price to be paid to being open. If you and your brand accept feedback, customer opinions, and so on, you need to be ready to face them immediately.
Consider these scenarios:
- What if your product / service gets too much criticism?
- What if your employees aren't familiar with social media?
- What if your competitors take advantage of this?
These are just a few reasons why you need to have a proper online reputation management plan in action before embarking on a journey to transparency.
Here are three famous cases of reputation management failure in the digital age:
- Dark Horse Café received a tweet criticizing the lack of power outlets for laptops. Her answer was something like this, “We're in the coffee business, not the office business. We have many outlets to do what we need. “Of course, defensive / aggressive behavior doesn't work in the online world. Many blogs reported a negative PR case.
- Nestlé received negative comments about its environmental practices a few years ago and did not respond to them. People got aggressive and released altered versions of the Nestlé logo, forcing the company to close its public page. Bring away? Don't pretend people aren't talking and raise criticism as soon as possible.
- Amy & # 39; s Baking Company fought fire with fire against an internet one star rating. Her insults against the reviewer were eventually picked up on the local news. Negative attention is not good advertising.
The lesson here? Be mindful of your online reputation and be friendly to bad reviews. Don't let your ego get in the way of being professional. Remember, you're not just replying to the person who left a review, you're showing everyone else online who your brand is.
The key to online reputation management: Hear what people are saying about your brand
Confession .. I hate McDonald's breakfast.
– Alex Goot (@alexgoot) March 13, 2013
What do people say about you Good online reputation management responds well not only to what people say about you, your brand, or your products and services, but also to whether and when you should react in the first place.
Sometimes a response is not required, and sometimes too late a response can cost millions.
A proactive approach to this is to monitor your public standing regularly, and not just when you learn of a specific event that you need to deal with.
How you do that? By using social media monitoring tools to keep an eye on what people are saying about your brand.
Social media monitoring enables businesses to collect and process online public content (from blog posts to tweets, from online reviews to Facebook updates) and see if something negative or positive is affecting their reputation.
Social media monitoring can be both DIY (Google Alert is an example of a free web monitoring tool that anyone can access) and professional, depending on the size of the business involved.
Watch out for Online reputation bombs
In the online reputation management scenario, companies should be aware of two types of malicious content. One of them is complaints on social networks. They need to be addressed the right way, but unless your business is facing serious problems, they are not a real challenge for your business.
The other is what I define as "online reputation bombs" that can have a long-term impact on your reputation and sales, and which can seriously damage a company. They are very powerful because, unlike the content of social networks, they play a prominent role in search engine results.
What if someone Googles your brand name and finds defamatory content? Let's see what they are:
- Negative Reviews: Review pages allow users to share their thoughts on your brand. Did you like your service / product? Would you recommend it? Negative content can affect your sales, and addressing the criticism on the website may not be enough. Websites like Ripoff Report and Pissed Consumer provide the perfect platform for this type of negative content.
- Hate Websites: Some people go beyond simple negative reviews and create ad hoc websites of their opinions, some of which contain illegal content. So-called "hate sites" sometimes address companies and public figures with insults and false information. Needless to say, a search result like "The Truth About NAMEOFYOURCOMPANY" or "NAME scam / rip off" will make your potential customers run away!
- Negative media coverage: Phineas T. Barnum used to say, "There's no such thing as bad advertising." This may be true of controversial public figures, but poor TV, print, and online media coverage has a negative impact on companies and brands.
What do you do when your company is a victim of a smear campaign?
What to do if your company is subject to an online reputation smear campaign
The first thing most companies ask is, "Can we call the police?" I get it; Being treated unfairly feels illegal. However, in most cases, online comments are not a legal issue.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression and expression; This right includes the freedom to express opinions without interference and to seek, receive and pass on information and ideas through all media and regardless of borders. "
Everyone has the right to express their voice through your brand. However, there are certain limits that must be adhered to. Some of the negative online content is actually illegal. Why?
- It uses defamatory language
- Incorrect information is reported
- The aim is to damage the company's reputation
How do you react to all of this? How do you defend yourself or your company against this type of illegal behavior?
Depending on the scope of the problem, different ways can be taken to restore your online reputation:
- Aggressive SEO: Ranking on page one or two of Google for your industry and brand name is one of the best ways to suppress bad advertising. The first thing you or your online reputation management company should do is develop a search engine marketing strategy that will rank positive content that either belongs to you or a third party. The search engine game is too important to be ignored, and it's the first step in restoring your image.
- Removing Reviews: Did a User Make Wrong Comments About Your Business? Clearly, is this review aimed at destroying your reputation rather than providing feedback? Is it in the wrong language? The legal connection and the speed of response make it possible to remove the negative rating.
- Online Investigations: Serious attacks on your brand image may require hiring skilled online analysts to investigate untraceable threats and attackers through email tracking, data cross-indexing, and other information gathering techniques. Cyber investigations are the definitive way to get to the bottom of the toughest reputation management cases.
These strategies are only required in the most extreme cases. Most businesses can manage their online reputation by following these 10 tips.
10 tips for online reputation management
Calling it "online reputation" is really redundant. Your online reputation is your reputation. In the digital age, nothing protects your brand from criticism. This is good from a freedom of speech perspective; bad if your company has been defamed and attacked.
Here are ten handy tips that summarize what we've covered in this guide. The world of brand awareness will change in the years to come. However, if you follow these simple tips, you can keep your name.
1. Be respected
Trust is a perishable asset and difficult to gain. Working to build respect work is more important than any other online reputation management imperative.
2. Be radically transparent
After years of hiding from critics, McDonalds publicly forced egg suppliers to raise the standard of living of chickens in line with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals call.
Being transparent shows that you care about your customers and are ready to make changes if something goes wrong.
3. Monitor what people are saying about your brand
Dear, whoever is running Apple now, how about inventing an iPhone with a battery that lasts longer than half an hour ?! You absolute idiots.
– Elizabeth Windsor (parody) (@Queen_UK) March 14, 2013
In addition to all of the reasons for monitoring your online reputation, social media monitoring can also increase sales. Nowadays, many people ask questions on Twitter and Facebook because they are evaluating whether or not to buy from you. When you show that you're responsive, your brand will look reliable.
4. Respond quickly and politely
In the case of a customer complaint via Twitter, for example, a quick and simple “Thank you for bringing the problem to our attention. We are working on it and will get back to you as soon as possible. “Is better than a late reply with more information.
5. Address criticism
In 2009, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wrote a comment on Obama's healthcare reform that sparked controversy among WF customers. Two days later, the company issued a written statement recognizing that there was "a lot of opinion on the matter, including within our own company," and urged people to share their thoughts on the article and the changes in healthcare. They didn't just ignore it and hope it would go away. You raised the problem directly.
Responding to negative feedback shows that you care and work hard to fix issues.
6. Pay attention to your Google results
First impressions count, and we judge many books by their cover. If the words "scam" and "rip off" are associated with your brand, this is what you should be concerned about.
A strong SEO strategy is your best defense against negative press, reviews, and false reports.
7. Learn from your critics
Criticism can be a chance to learn more about your audience and create a better message in the future. Motrin's controversial commercial for "Mothers Wearing Babies" generated a lot of criticism. It did not come from competitors or illegitimate attackers, but from people in Motrin's target group who were offended by their advertising content.
If the online responses to your brand are legitimate, it may be time to reconsider your marketing strategy or responses.
8. Attack your illegitimate attackers
Sometimes we just have to fight illegal behavior. In 2009, Dominos Pizza employees who posted disgusting videos of themselves playing with food were fired and arrested. Another example is people who post incorrect information on the Internet. If you don't sue them, sometimes they do it again.
9. Learn from your mistakes
CORRECTION: @jmbergoglio is not Jorge Mario Bergoglio's report. We apologize.
– Boston.com News (@BostonDotCom) March 13, 2013
Sony learned a lesson about reputation management back in 2005. The company installed copy protection (XCD) on its CDs, which led to computer vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malware. Instead of realizing their mistake, Sony has blocked criticism and lost millions in class actions.
If you made a mistake, go ahead and take action to correct the problem.
10. Ask for help if necessary
If your online reputation management efforts are not enough to protect or restore your brand image, your choice is to seek help from a professional. Working with an online marketing company or reputation management company may be your only resort.
Needed time: 5 minutes.
Here are 10 tips for protecting your online reputation management
- Are you well respected
Building and maintaining trust in your company can protect you from online smear campaigns.
- Be radically transparent
Share the good – and the bad – about your company to build trust.
- Monitor what people are saying about your brand
You can't protect your reputation if you don't know what people are saying.
- Respond quickly and politely
A prompt, “Thank you for bringing the problem to our attention. We are working on it and will get back to you as soon as possible. “Is better than a late reply with more information.
- Address criticism
Don't ignore criticism. A quick response shows that you care about your customers.
- Pay attention to your Google results
If the words "scam" or "rip off" are associated with your brand, it's time to take action. A strong SEO strategy can protect your brand by suppressing negative feedback.
- Learn from your critics
Criticism can be a chance to learn more about your audience and create a better message in the future.
- . Attack your illegitimate attacker
If you don't sue or back down critics, sometimes they do it again.
- Learn from your mistakes
If you made a mistake, go ahead and take action to correct the problem.
- Ask for help if necessary
If your online reputation management efforts are not enough to protect or restore your brand image, your choice is to seek help from a professional.
Conclusion
Managing your online reputation starts with listening to what your customers are saying and finding ways to connect with them. Answering reviews online is vital, and building an SEO strategy is vital, but it may not be enough to protect your brand from smear campaigns. In these cases, it may be time to seek professional help.
What are you doing to protect your online reputation?
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