ONLINE REPUTATION – HOW TO MAINTAIN IT?

A company's Online Reputation is a reflection of its influence, importance, and popularity. Positive feedback and reviews attract online clients, publicity, website traffic, and viewership while negative feedback and reviews result in loss of clients and website traffic which is harmful to the company’s development, progress, and reputation.

It is very important to conduct research and to manage and protect the Brand’s online reputation. The main objective is to create a balance between uploading engaging content while keeping a check on false and misleading information so that your Business is represented with clarity, transparency, and truth. The information online is permanent and unchangeable so a reputation that is made once is difficult to alter. It is important to build and enhance an authentic and positive online reputation to increase engagement and interaction with customers, gain customer trust and loyalty, build the Brand image, and maintain dependability among customers.

How do you maintain a good online reputation? This can be achieved by:

 Constant and proactive Social Media monitoring

 Consistent Online Visibility

 Enhancing product Outreach

 Regular Tweets and Notifications

 Constant survey of Feedback and Reviews

 Regular Posts and Blogs about the product

WHAT IS ONLINE REPUTATION?

Online Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that customers have about products and services that are advertised and promoted by a business on the Internet and digital platforms. It is influenced by a company’s online content, preferences of the customers, reactions on social media platforms, popularity, and re-distribution among peers.

Online Reputation Management (ORM) is the control of a Brand or a company’s online reputation. It involves strategies and techniques that ensure that customers find the right materials when they look for a business on web-based search engines. It is an interdisciplinary concept that involves Public Relations, Advertising, and Digital Marketing. There are three main steps of Online Reputation Management which are practised in rotation:

 Analyse

 Monitor

 Respond

With the extensive growth of the internet and social media interaction, online reputation management has become essential to create a balance between a company’s true reputation and the opinions of others.

BENEFITS OF A GOOD ONLINE REPUTATION

Online Reputation is created and maintained through regular feedbacks, opinions, surveys, and updates by customers, both new and old. Having a good and positive online reputation is essential for a Brand as it is a reflection of its image, vision, mission, and overall objective in the business or industry.

A positive Online Reputation means:

 Transparency – the company is not concealing or hiding information

 Authenticity – it ensures that the company is not fake

 Dependability – other’s reviews ensure that the company strives to provide what it promises

 Credibility – it shows that the Brand or company is genuine and legitimate

 Trustworthy – the company strives to provide what it promises

 Reliable – the company strives to comply with its goals and objectives

 Honest Feedback – the company strives to provide what it promises

 Accuracy – it ensures that the company is not fake

 Interactive – it ensures that the company promotes customer engagement and communication

 Good Listener – it means that the company takes into consideration customer’s voices, opinions, and reviews

 Increased Sales – more outreach and social awareness means more buyers

 More Influence and online Views – more social awareness means more online traffic, increased content sharing, and more promotion

 Popularity – more social awareness means more preference by customers

 Loyalty – when customers are happy and satisfy, they remain loyal followers of the Brand

 Conflict Resolution – which increases communication and interaction

HOW TO MAINTAIN ONLINE REPUTATION

To create a good balance between positive reviews and negative opinions careful planning, management, monitoring, organization, and strategies are required. These include:

 Create genuine and original Content to gain customer admiration and interest

 Check and censor Content so that information is diplomatic, neutral, and unbiased

 Carefully monitor customer and employee Review Websites, Blogs, and News Articles

 Conduct regular and thorough Research

 Use original and catchy Headlines and attractive Graphics to ensure appreciation from customers

 Use Authorship to demonstrate authenticity and originality

 Publicly share the Feedback Forms and Online Surveys

 Always have a continuous 1:1 open Communication and Interaction channel

 Expand online visibility on different avenues like Social Media, Email, Newsletters, E-magazines, Blogs, and Visual Galleries like Pinterest

 Be honest and transparent to gain the trust and loyalty of online customers

 Regularly analyse of Social Media Content and Posts to review trending topics and cold topics

 Promotion of content on social media handles to increase popularity and viewership and create a lasting and positive online reputation

 Provide honest Criticism and Feedback related to the Brand

 Focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – to boost position on web-based search engines and increase website traffic

 Focus on Customer Reviews on Google’s first page because the first impression is the BEST impression and lasts very long

 Use the latest and relevant Keywords and trending Hashtags to be up-to-date with the latest online trends

 Manage and regulate online Metrics for consistent analysis, monitoring, and control of online customers

 Stay active on Social Media to promote engagement and interaction with customers

 Ensure that appropriate and specific Information reaches the target audience

 Advertise and promote Products on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

 Share on International Platforms for global outreach and international inputs

 Constantly monitor and check for derogatory, negative, hateful, and spam comments

 Regularly check and monitor online public relations (PR) to ensure there is uninterrupted engagement with customers

 Keep a track on the Negative Reviewers to check if they are genuine or are irrelevant and not associated to your Business

 Analyse and monitor the website Traffic, viewer numbers, Bounce Rate, On-Page Time, reviews, and recommendations

CONCLUSION

A company's Online Reputation is a reflection of its influence and popularity. Positive reviews attract online clients and more website traffic which enhances a company’s online reputation, while negative reviews result in a decreased number of clients and less website traffic which is harmful to a company’s online reputation.

Regular assessment, monitoring, and research is necessary to manage and protect the Brand’s online reputation. The main objective is to create a balance between uploading attractive and engaging content while also keeping a check on false and misleading information so that your Business is represented with clarity, honesty, and transparency. It is important to build and enhance an authentic and positive online reputation to increase communication, engagement, and interaction with online customers, gain customer trust and loyalty, build the Brand image, and maintain dependability and reliability among customers.

It is very important to assure customers of your complete assistance and support in providing the latest strategies to help to boost Brand reputation and value. It is also important to reinforce the core goals and objectives of your Brand to have an exceptional and high reputation in the online business world.

It’s never too late to enhance your online presence and reputation!