Online Reputation Management: The Ultimate Guide To Protect Your Brand
Most business owners understand the significance of offline reputation. But with internet commerce becoming an ever-increasing part of life, online reputation management should also be given equal weight to offline reputation management.
Google “online reputation management,” and you’ll come up with nearly five million results – that’s an overwhelming amount of data to sift through! Unfortunately, most people don’t have enough free time for such research projects.
Don’t stress: we have done all the legwork for you and compiled everything necessary to understand online reputation management in one comprehensive guide.
What is online reputation management (ORM)?
Before delving deeper into online reputation management (ORM), let’s define its core components. ORM refers to monitoring, protecting, and building upon one’s online image to enhance it.
Now, most people learn about businesses and individuals through the internet; thanks to social media platforms, however, it has never been simpler for anyone to post negative comments online about you or leave reviews with negative ratings about you.
At its heart, online reputation management involves taking control of the narrative about you online and ensuring it portrays an accurate representation.
Why is online reputation management important?
ORM can benefit both individuals and businesses alike. As an individual, ORM can assist with finding employment, maintaining relationships, and furthering one’s career. As a business, it can attract and retain customers while recruiting top talent while increasing sales.
Your online reputation has never been more essential. Below are a few statistics which demonstrate this point:
- 90% of recruiters have rejected candidates based on their online reputation, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and one out of three customers would hesitate to purchase from businesses with negative online reviews
- 68% of customers believe positive online reviews increase business credibility.
As can be seen, your online reputation can make or break you. That is why you must take control of what people say about you online and ensure it reflects how you want the story about yourself to unfold.
Difference Between ORM and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
As digital marketing has progressed, so has online reputation management (ORM). No longer can businesses merely build an attractive website and wait for customers to discover them; rather they must actively manage their presence online and reputation to remain successful.
One question frequently raised by businesses is which areas to prioritize: ORM or SEO? Our response? Both. Here we explore some key differences between ORM and SEO as well as their ability to work in tandem in managing an online reputation effectively.
ORM (online reputation management) involves monitoring what people say about you online and responding in ways that protect and strengthen it. SEO (search engine optimisation) refers to improving visibility within search engines like Google or Bing.
Although ORM and SEO might appear separate from one another, they work hand in hand to achieve your business goals. ORM helps monitor and address negative reviews or comments, while SEO ensures potential customers find your site.
Effective online reputation management relies on both ORM and SEO practices, specifically monitoring what people say about you online before responding swiftly and appropriately; SEO ensures your site can be found by potential customers searching search engines.
Do’s and Don’ts of Online Reputation Management (ORM).
As part of your online reputation management strategy, you should keep a few essential considerations in mind. First and foremost is being proactive. This involves monitoring what people say about you or your business online and taking measures to counter any negative sentiment. Furthermore, being responsive means taking time out to respond directly to negative reviews or comments to show that you care enough to listen and accept responsibility for any of their actions that might surface online.
- Keep track of what people are saying about you online.
- Proactively manage your reputation online by regularly publishing unique, fresh content.
- Engage with fans, followers, and customers online.
- Accept negative criticism constructively before accepting its resultant criticism constructively; 5. Do not ignore or neglect your online reputation altogether.
- Do not engage in negative or confrontational behaviour online.
- Avoid trying to hide or delete negative feedback. 8 When necessary, apologize with grace when necessary
10 Steps You Should Take to Improve Your Online Reputation
The Internet can be an immensely powerful platform to build or demolish your online reputation. Here are 10 strategies for managing ORM it effectively:
1. Be proactive. Take charge of your online presence and manage it before it spirals out of control.
2. Keep tabs on what people are saying about you online by regularly conducting Google searches of yourself or setting up Google Alerts with mentions of your name.
3. Respond promptly and professionally to negative reviews or comments posted online about your business, don’t allow them to fester. 4. Keep your social media profiles active by regularly posting updates and engaging with followers, while 5. Make sure your website remains modernized and professional-looking at all times.
6. Develop positive content. Write blog posts and articles and create videos and audio that positively showcase you and your brand. 7 Optimize it for search engines by including keywords that customers might use when conducting an Internet search.
8. Coordinate and optimize your online presence across various platforms. In addition to managing your website and social media profiles, ensure your listings on directory/review sites are current.
9. Stay abreast of the newest trends in online reputation management by reading relevant articles, blog posts and books to stay ahead of the game.
10. Engage an online reputation management service provider. If you don’t have the time or resources available to manage your online reputation, turn it over to someone with experience who will.
Easy Ways To Monitor ORM
- Utilise Google Alerts: Receive email alerts whenever your name or keywords appear online, such as social media mentions.
- Check Social Media Accounts/ Google Yourself regularly in order to see what comments have been said about You/them or about who else there might be said about/them or vice versa.
- Utilize Reputation Monitoring Tools: There are various online tools that can assist with tracking and managing your online reputation.
- Take Control: Take charge of your reputation by regularly creating positive content or reviews to build it further.
- Respond to Negative Reviews: When responding to any negative reviews, try responding constructively and positively.
Best Online Reputation Management Tools (ORMA)
1. Google Alerts is a free online reputation management tool, that lets you monitor for mentions of your brand or name across the web.
2. Social Mention is a free online reputation management platform which lets you monitor brand mentions across the web.
3. Brand24 is an advanced online reputation management solution which offers real-time tracking of mentions of your brand online.
4. BuzzSumo is an affordable paid online reputation management solution that lets you access popular posts across multiple social networks.
5. Hootsuite is an online reputation management solution offering social media monitoring, and analysis features at an additional fee.
6. GoodReputation.co is an affordable and customized service providing agency, with lots of user-accessible tools. You will have regular reports and innovative ORM strategies to boost your Online Reputation. They are one of the top online reputation management companies with many reviews.
6. Reputation.com is an inexpensive yet comprehensive reputation management platform offering tools designed to assist with managing one’s online reputation.
7. Trackur is an affordable reputation management platform with real-time monitoring of brand mentions online.
8. BrandYourself is a pay-for online reputation management solution offering several tools to assist with controlling search results online.
9. MyReputation is an affordable online reputation management platform offering various tools that will assist in maintaining an exceptional online identity for its members.
10. Mention – With Mention’s online reputation management solution, it is possible to closely track mentions of your brand or business across social media and traditional news sources in real time and quickly address any negative coverage quickly and appropriately.
Tips For Selecting an ORM Company:
When selecting an ORM company, there are various aspects to take into consideration. Here are a few suggestions on what features should be looked for when hiring one:
1. Make sure your company has experience managing online reputations (ORM). Ensure the ORM provider you hire has a proven track record of successfully managing online reputations.
2. Investigate their strategies. Reputation management can be intricate, so you will want to understand which techniques your prospective partner company employs to manage online reputations.
3. Make a note of their success rate. One important criterion when searching for an ORM company is success rate – ensure the service provides exceptional results in terms of managing online reputations.
4. Be certain the company is transparent. ORM can be an emotive topic, so make sure the firm you hire provides full transparency about its processes and strategies.
5. Get References. It is wise to verify the ORM company you choose has happy clients; to do this, request references from past clients so you can form an idea of their level of service and what level they provide their products at.
Conclusion:
Online reputation management must not be taken lightly since it could make or break an online business’s chances for success. By understanding how online reputation works and applying the tips in this guide, your organization has every chance at success.