First and foremost of all, let us congratulate you for finally having an online platform for your business. It takes a lot of effective efforts to enable business and make it online. While choosing to develop your business online, you have to take care of its reputation as well.
Since it is your business, you are entirely responsible for its reputation too. While going online, you have to take care that the status is also maintained. So, with the brand awaress, you are leaving a digital footprint of yours on the internet.
Business reputation plays a vital role in the growth of your business. Having a bad review can impact 22 % of your business. Researches show that the online status of your company influences 67 % of consumers.
Why is online reputation management critical?
Online reputation management is essential for all companies. Surprisingly, not all businesses considered it necessary. A survey found out that only 54 % of companies found their online reputation valuable. Here is why online reputation management is essential.
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- A positive image
A positive online reputation of your business creates a positive identity for the company. Having a positive identity for your business is everything in the market. Having a positive image helps in building trust between your business and the consumers is an added benefit.
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- People trust people
Despite the promotional content you post on the internet, your future consumers will trust your current or previous clients more. 85% of businesses have claimed that their future business campaigns focus on building business-client trust.
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- Faster growth of your business
Online business reputation plays a vital role in the growth of a market. It also helps with your profits. The world is moving online, so start investing yourself in your business’ online reputation now! Optimize your online store for more users on your site.
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- Keeping up with the existing market
Online reputation helps businesses keep up with current and future trends. You can review the feedback left by consumers. It also assists in keeping track of your competitors and helps in monitoring consumer response to their strategies.
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- Attract better employees
When it comes to a healthy workforce, online business reputation comes to your aid yet again. A survey claims that only 1 in 5 candidates will seek employment in business with a bad online reputation! So, think smart today and secure a better future for your business tomorrow.
How to manage your business’s online reputation?
You will find the best online reputation management tips for business here, instead of waiting around for your business to have a bad online reputation start taking care of it now.
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- Tidy up the current reputation on the internet
Before you begin with building your online reputation, start by researching your current standing. You might not know that consumers have already left reviews on different platforms on your business. So, start by cleaning that up.
Just a quick Google search is not going to suffice. Be thorough with your search. Google your business name and go through the first few pages (with Google My Business Profile it will be easier for Google to search your business). Then proceed to clean your dirty laundry.
Do you see embarrassing status updates and old party pictures popping up in the image search? Delete them if you can. With a clean background, you start by building your online reputation again and in good conscience.
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- Create an online presence on all the platforms
Now that your background is all clear, let us start with the online platforms. Google+, Facebook, and Twitter are the most important platforms when making a robust online presence. We highly recommend you to create accounts on these platforms. If you want to spread out the right word about your business even more, then you can also be active on other popular social media platforms. There are dozens of them available. Being active on many social media will increase your competitiveness too.
If your business requires excellent professional attention, LinkedIn is a precious platform. You can have the executive members and employees integrated into it. If your business needs a more visible presence on the internet, Pinterest, Instagram, and Flicker will significantly help you grow.
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- Pay attention to social media
Merely having Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ accounts are not going to build a robust online reputation. Having a social media presence will have a significant impact on your business. You can focus on many different types of audiences through various social media platforms. There is a different world out there!
As social media channels gain more and more popularity, your business might be left behind if you don’t concentrate or focus on your social media presence. You can straightforwardly outrank your competitors with a strong presence on social media.
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- Keep your products and brands in mind
If you have multiple brands and products, you might need to focus on those too. You will need to build online material for the specific brand and social media profiles, focusing not just on your company name.
Develop content to better rank your brand names if needed. You can develop websites or web pages, social media profiles for your brand name to get more exposure in the online market.
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- Implement authorship
Declaration of authorship has been the first marketing tactic for almost a decade now. You will have the upper hand if the authorship is implemented correctly.
Authorship can help you greatly when it comes to Google. The algorithm by Google requires authors to be individuals. For that, the author tag must be associated with the Google+ profile instead of a business page. An authorship tag signifies that you are involved in the ongoing publishing of content on different platforms. Here is where our next point comes into play.
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- Be active in the blogs section
Blogging is the best way to increase your site’s ranking. And an increase in your site’s ranking means that there will be more traffic on your website, which ultimately leads to a good reputation online. Isn’t that what online marketing all about?
Content marketing gives you the essential fodder for your social media accounts. It is an excellent way of interacting with your consumers, as well. So, what is not to like about blogging?
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- Be mindful of the negative reviews
Let’s get one thing straight, and bad feedback is not the end of the world. You can always learn something from feedback, whether it is negative or positive. And when it comes to a negative review, it will help you make improvements in the future. When you do get a negative review, pay attention to it as your consumer does not have a personal vendetta against you. So, you don’t have to take it personally. Instead, you can learn from it. Remember, “The customer is always right” is the motto when it comes to a business.
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- Reply to the reviews professionally
It is for sure that you know when it comes to a business; you have to think of the better of the company. There is nothing wrong with apologizing when responding to a bad review. If your company does something illegal, it is you who has to own up to. It becomes your responsibility, too, since you are the business owner.
The way you respond to your reviews helps improve your online business reputation. Being immature about it and responding in a silly way is not going to help your online reputation. The practical way to respond to a negative review is to apologize and be professional while responding.
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- Invest when it comes to Online Reputation Management
When it comes to building a strong online reputation, you have to make investments. It is not only money, but you also have to invest a lot of time into it. Most small businesses do not involve themselves proactively when building their online reputation. They often do it on a short-term basis. This scenario, of course, is not going to assist or help you in the future.
To not do that, you have to make an effort. After all, you reap what you sow now. Furthermore, social media and online reputation management are the most important elements in the growth of a business. In many communities, it might not be right to do it all by yourself. So, investing in making a name for your business will only help you in the future.
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- Maintenance of Public relationships and involvement of third-parties
There is nothing like taking help when it comes to the growth of your business. It does not only build strong relationships with other companies but also helps you in gaining an influential audience and in creating a positive online reputation.
For one thing, you can contribute to leadership articles for top tier publications. Yes, the content will be published on somebody else’s website, but your words will be released. Publication with a top tier website will also add to your credibility. With this publication, your author ranking will also increase. So, there is no loss in this situation for you.
Another thing that you can do is to earn quotes and mentions in those same top tier companies. Consider getting in contact with journalists and editors for this. It can be time-consuming and stressful, but, in the end, it is all worth it.
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- Enroll in Award-winning events and competitions
Have you ever thought or wondered how some businesses have so many great awards? Of course, you have to do great work for it and stand out from the others. Companies don’t get awards unless they apply for it. So, you can consider using industry awards too. Getting an award is always beneficial for a business. We suggest and recommend you to make a list of all the top awards. While making this list, collect information on the application fees, requirements, deadlines, and set it up in your calendar.
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- Setting up a proper online platform
If you get a bad review from a top-tier company, you can utilize a number of strategies. From search engine optimization to a better SEO approach, there are many things you can do. Set up your website, social media marketing, blogs, and informational WebPages to optimally raise your brand names. Keep in mind to regularly update these platforms. This scenario will help you in promoting your content while also updating your consumers.
Another possibility is to take action when your business is portrayed inaccurately legally. With this, you will remove the negative review from search engine results on Google and Bing. An expert can help you in forming the appropriate response. They can also help you in taking the necessary actions.
Small and local businesses are most vulnerable to these kinds of criticisms. If companies have a robust online business reputation for them, they can use it as leverage. This scenario can especially work when you are taking legal action against someone. With these ways of managing your online business reputation, you are sure to conquer any issues you might face.
Investing in online business management is not going to be light on your pocket, but it will prove very helpful in the future. Think of it as a long-term insurance policy for your current business. This insurance will pay you off in the long term.
Key Takeaways
In a world where digitalization is the future of businesses, these online business reputation management tips will help you in progressing swiftly. You will be able to keep ahead of your competitors while also gaining considerable revenue and profits. And you will also be able to handle any sticky situation or scenarios when it comes to receiving feedback.
