Online Reputation Management: What It Is & Why You Need It

The internet is a huge part of our lives. According to Hootsuite's 2020 Digital Report and We Are Social, we spend an average of 6 hours and 43 minutes per day online. It's no surprise that digital information has a significant impact on brand perception.

This means that even one negative comment or review can quickly become a problem for an entire company. Companies should have an Online Reputation Management company in place.

We'll be sharing the definition of online reputation management and the top 12 benefits of implementing it in your business.

Online reputation definition

Online reputation management (ORM), is a term that describes all actions taken by an organization to address, analyze, shape, and shape impressions customers have about a brand. Tracking and responding to brand mentions through a variety of digital touchpoints is a crucial part of online reputation management. This may vary depending on the industry or customer base:

• social media platforms
• Product review sites (both on Google, and platforms like G2 or Capterra)
• Websites, such as news websites & blogs
• videos
• Press coverage
• and other.

Now you're familiar with online reputation management, let's talk about why it's important.

What is Reputation Management and Different from PR?

Public relations (PR), as well as online reputation management, share the same goal: to portray the company in its best light. What they do to achieve this goal is the main difference.

PR agencies work outside through advertising and coordinated media promotion efforts. Most of the time, it's a proactive effort to strengthen brands rather than minimize attacks upon companies (though some PR firms may manage damage control).

Online reputation management is more often responsive. It involves identifying and responding to potentially harmful content from other people or businesses.

The majority of work in ORM is done internally by brands, rather than by an outside firm.

Why are businesses important in online reputation management?

Online reputation management is vital as it allows businesses to monitor their online reputation regularly. Online content can change constantly, so people's perceptions of a brand may also shift.

Businesses must identify the negative comments that are being made about them online.

Research shows that more than 40% of digital marketers monitor the brand of their company daily, while others do so hourly. Companies can monitor their online reputation regularly and prevent the loss of significant business leads and sales.

Businesses must also invest in online reputation management to protect their brand image.

12 benefits to managing your online reputation

These are the top reasons to implement an online reputation management system for your business:

Enhancing brand credibility

Negative comments will always surface, no matter how hard you try to keep your customers happy. Customers can be cruel - PwC reports that 32% of customers would abandon a brand if they had one bad experience.

It all boils down to how you deal with negative brand mentions once they occur. You build credibility by managing your online reputation and responding to reviews, comments, and mentions (both negative and positive). You can show your customer care by gracefully responding to negative comments and making amends whenever necessary.

Boosting customer engagement

Your chances of increasing customer engagement are higher the more channels your company monitors and are active in. It is possible to take both a proactive as well as reactive approach when dealing with clients. You can keep customers invested in your brand by being proactive online and offering special deals to them. They will be less likely to abandon your brand and go to the competition.

Increasing sales

Although spontaneous shopping is still possible from one time to another, many people do their research online before purchasing. 81%" of consumers say they use the internet to research the product before purchasing it. Sometimes one negative review can change our minds and lead us to look at other products. A positive online reputation is linked to increased sales. The more positive reviews a company receives, the better the chances of closing a sale.

Optimizing online marketing to generate reactions

Your online reputation can be an inspiration source for your marketing efforts. SentiOne allows you to see how your audience has reacted to past content and marketing campaigns. Below is an example of how people reacted when mBank, the largest bank in Poland, announced two events. The brand's support for the All-Poland Women's Strike is the first spike. The second spike in January 2021 is due to participation in the country's largest charity event, The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

Tracking your reach and brand mentions will help you determine which campaigns work well and fail, which messaging resonates with customers and leads, as well as what actions cause negative reactions. Your findings can be compiled to help you make better marketing decisions, leading to a higher ROI.

Building trust

Building trust with customers is key to building long-lasting relationships that support business growth. As we mentioned in the reputation management definition, simply responding to brand mentions on your media won't suffice. You can't take a positive brand reputation for granted. There are always threats. Imagine what would happen if you didn't notice a major website criticizing you in their review!

To ensure that the information about brands is accurate and consistent, it is also important to verify any information you find online. You can do this by using a tool to track and alert you about mentions across the internet.

Showing your customers you care

Responding to negative and positive comments online shows that you care. We all want to hear flattering comments, but these are much easier to respond to. Negative comments can be a long-term benefit for a brand. Customers are an invaluable source of feedback. Take into consideration what they have to say and rectify the problems. Negative comments should not be ignored as they could lead to a social media crisis. You can build stronger relationships with your customers by responding to both negative and positive comments.

Encouraging recommendations

Did you know that 90% believe brand recommendations from their friends? Online reputation management is something you need to be concerned about, considering that 90% of consumers talk about brands casually 90 times per week. Effective online reputation management is crucial to ensure that word-of-mouth recommendations are a constant flow. People trust others more than trust advertising.

Increasing web traffic

Positive opinions and news, especially from trusted sources, can go viral. An online reputation management tool will allow you to identify top news outlets that praise your service. This will explain the sudden spikes in organic traffic. This can be used to build momentum. To boost your brand's reputation, you can display positive reviews/brand mentions on your online channels. This can lead to increased conversion if done correctly.

Attracting employees

A positive online reputation can not only increase sales but also draw in a lot more job seekers. Companies with a strong reputation are more likely to attract the best talent. This could help them get the best employees.

It's easier to handle potential crises

A brand that works hard to build a positive online reputation is better prepared to handle any crisis. An ORM solution can alert them to any crisis-related terms that are used about their brand. Customers will forgive a slight stumble if the brand has a positive reputation.

Improving brand health and customer satisfaction

Online reputation management allows you to quickly respond to negative mentions of your brand. If you receive negative reviews via your channels, you can quickly make amends and change the customer's opinion into something more positive or neutral. This could improve your customer satisfaction scores such as CSAT and NPS.

In the case of external channels, ORM will allow you to promote your brand and end any negative rumors quickly.

Get more testimonials for your website

Last but not least, you can use SentiOne to monitor brand mentions and filter out negative ones. The next step is to reach out to your most satisfied fans and request a citation. This can be used to create a testimonial that you can place on your site. You can use places such as Google Play, Apple App Store, and other specialized online review sites to kickstart your efforts.

Final thoughts: What is online reputation management?

We've discussed in this article several steps you can take to keep your brand online positive. It doesn't matter what industry you are in, it is important to monitor, collect, analyze and manage your brand reputation. There are many benefits to engaging in ORM regularly, such as:

• building customer trust
• increasing sales

Optimizing your marketing campaigns to generate positive reactions and increase ROI.

PerfectionGeeks will provide you with an online monitoring tool that will help you manage your online reputation. That Tool allows you to monitor numerous online sources, including blogs, forums, social media, and portals, in real time. You can identify potential PR crises by listening to conversations online and analyzing what leads or customers have to say about you or your competitors. So, Contact PerfectionGeeks for Online Reputation Management services.