Online presence is not only about having websites and social media accounts for your business but also about how the brand’s reputation is online.

It has become immensely crucial for small businesses and white-collar professionals to manage their reputation, as it affects their business directly. Managing online reputation involves social listening, actively participating in customer interaction, and includes proactive roles.

Therefore it has become necessary to have an Online Reputation Management (ORM) strategy or an ORM agency to handle your brand reputation online.  It allows businesses to look through a digital window, which evinces the avenues to improve and grow.

How to increase the reputation of your online business?

Ask your customers to write a review

What is worse than a negative review of you or your business online? Think! It’s not having a review at all.

Negative reviews are not always bad. If your brand has all the good reviews, the customer might not believe them at all. Negative reviews can be overpowered by positive ones.

Now the main question is, how do we encourage customers to write reviews for you or your business?

There are various methods to generate user reviews, some of which are listed below. Make sure you capture the attention of users to give you a review.

1. Email
2. In-App popups
3. Feedback prompt
4. Offline

An example of how an Uber Driver is encouraging customers to rate them. A message like this ensures that a customer rates the driver.

Expand your presence

Think extensively about your business and which platform people are more likely to use to search for you on the internet. You need to find out where your target audience is present and then leverage the power of social media channels. 

Most businesses and professionals have their presence on Facebook and thinking that it is enough, is a big mistake! Users rely on all types of websites to gather reviews.

• Yelp
• Facebook
• Google
• Trip Advisor
• Better Business Bureau
• Yellow Pages

Make sure you have a presence on all these platforms because it becomes extremely difficult to judge which platforms are trusted by maximum number of people.

Let us explain it by a simple example: A doctor did not list himself on Yelp, but customers still gave feedback and reviews on the portal. The timings and the phone numbers mentioned were all incorrect. Potential customers were turning into unhappy users as they were unable to communicate with the doctor.

In this situation, it would have been better if the doctor had claimed the business page and submitted correct information. Even if you received a negative review, at least potential customers now have a way to communicate with you. That is why it is important to spread out on all the portals where your customers might be present.

Encourage customers to upload the product in use

While you may be promoting your product or profession with high-quality pictures and videos, encourage your customers to upload pictures too.

77% of people say customers’ photos influence their buying decision more than professional pictures. The customer’s picture builds trust and gives authenticity to your brand which helps in improving your online reputation.

Find ways to get your customers to review your brand with pictures. A profitable giveaway, a chance to be featured on social media, are a few ways to get the customers to post pictures along with a review.

GoPro is benefiting from this marketing technique for many years now. They encourage customers to upload pictures that they have taken from their GoPro devices. It not only encourages customers to upload pictures on social media but also helps in increasing the conversion rate.

Respond to the public on social media

Social listening is a process that brands and individuals use to monitor social media channels for mentions, competitors, products or ideas which are relevant to their niche. This information is used to analyze the information for actionable insights. The action can be anything depending on the goal, like responding to a review or strategizing marketing for the future.

Customers will be talking about your brand on social media, make sure you notice. Thank the ones who have appreciated your business and maybe provide something extra which will keep them loyal to your brand. The ones who have left a negative comment are also important as this is where your customer service enters the testing waters. It is crucial as you want to defend your brand but would not want to start an argument with the customer.

Strategically plan your reply to a negative comment, address the issue at hand and provide the customer with a reasonable solution.

A restaurant received a negative review from the customer on Facebook. The restaurant apologized for the mistake but also moved the issue to another channel so that they can resolve the matter more privately.

Start working on your blogs

The best way to improve your online reputation is to build a domain authority which can be achieved by blogging.

A huge part of lead generation depends on blogging. Publishing quality content on a regular basis will help in SEO. Thus, helping in increasing inbound and outbound links.

Diesel cafe has a website and a dedicated blog section where they update their clients on new arrivals in the menu. This way the cafe is increasing their authority on search engines. 

Take advantage of tools that monitor your online reputation

How would a business know if their reputation in the market is good? Businesses can easily monitor reviews on their website and social media, but that is not enough to assess your online reputation. 

For example, a business has mentioned you in a negative light on their blog. Will monitoring Google and Facebook help? Would you ever get to know about it?

This is why it is important to take advantage of tools like Google Alert to monitor where your business name is being mentioned. 

Reputology is one of the dedicated solutions to help you analyze reviews and comments. The tool algorithm identifies the emotion of customers and finds an appropriate reply to the same. Some other important tools are: 

1. Mention
2. Buzzsumo
3. SentiOne
4. Chatmeter
5. Social Mention

The above screenshot shows a tool called Mention. When searched for Swiggy, it shows all the results where the word Swiggy is mentioned. It also shows the influencers who are using the brand name. A must-have tool to keep track of your online reputation. 

Partner with influencers

Influencers have the power to convince people to buy a product or do business with you. Just like user-generated content, they have the power to create social proof for the business.

Brands need to find appropriate influencers according to the niche of the business.

Instead of brands promoting their own image on their own page, influencers can show the product in use. People follow and listen to influencers because of their expertise in a particular area and when they approve of a product, it highly influences the decisions of consumers.

Skinny mint collaborated with Kylie Jenner to market their brand on her social media profile. She uploaded a picture with their product on her Instagram profile with an engaging caption.

Showcase testimonials

As we have talked about it above too, encourage customers to write reviews and add pictures in their reviews. Gathering a lot of reviews is not going to help your business unless showcased on appropriate platforms. Wherever the potential customer might search for you, reviews and testimonials should be present there. Make sure you showcase the name and designation of the reviewer. The designation must be in accordance with your business functionalities. For example, for a restaurant,  a food blogger providing reviews makes it a credible source.

A local dietitian has a dedicated section of reviews on her website that showcases reviews of the customers who have benefited through her diet plans. Before and after pictures of customers make it more authentic.

Steps for fixing negative reviews:

1. Build good reviews to suppress bad reviews- While business owners can not control the feedback customers leave on your website, they can dilute negative reviews by building up positive reviews.
2. Read the review and check if you need to change something- A negative review surely does affect your brand’s reputation. Think, is there something that needs to be changed in your business? One feedback might have affected a lot of your customers. Analyze the review and your business strategically.
3. Respond to it professionally and with a solution- Only one customer leaves a review (good or bad), a lot of them read it. So respond to every review that your brand receives.
4. Dilute negative reviews in SERPs- Like mentioned above, dilute the impact of negative reviews by an overpowering positive development. What if you are not getting enough positive? Take the help of a global reputation management agency. Talk to the critic on a private channel- While you are dealing with the negative review on a 3rd party review portal, make sure that you also email or call the concerned person to apologize and give a valid explanation for the issue.
5. Turn them around- Keep in mind the people who review you online can become the most influential fans of your brand.
6.  On the whole, if you or your business reputation has been damaged, it can be reversed. Also, if you are trying to build a reputation on the internet, it can be done by following the points mentioned above. Through an efficient online reputation, you can create the utmost credibility and trust for yourself or your brand. A good online reputation can help create a good perception from existing or new customers; ultimately resulting in increased sales and revenue of your business.

The post Online Reputation Management Tips For Small Businesses And White Collar Professionals appeared first on Diggiecorp Blog.

Social media works hand in glove with online reputation as most negative reviews on internet surface due to bad social monitoring. Though the trend is changing now, B2B companies particularly paid little attention to social media considering it relevant to B2C only. Reputation management experts however strongly disagree.

It is a sheer fallacy that social networks are meant for interactions between brand & individuals only. Platforms like LinkedIn & Google+ also prove this wrong by evolving as best sources of connection building for businesses.

Just like their B2C counterparts, B2B companies also need active social participation to maintain their online reputation and avoid negative reviews from surfacing for brand search.

Below points will help you create the best online reputation management strategy for your business;

Advantage of high domain authority

Social media sites have high domain authority and thus have higher probability to rank on search engine results pages. Your presence on such networks ensures defense against negative reviews. Company profiles on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc are highly relevant for search queries related to businesses.

If you maintain an “Active Presence” on such profiles, there is a high probability that no negative business or company review will be able to bypass these links for branded search terms.

Act fast & tell your side of the story

The hardest part about handling a negative review is sharing your part of the story. At times, the place from where the negative review comes provides no option of clarification. While replying to a negative review, avoid contributing a long thread of communication as this will only make the domain more authoritative. Negative review clarification is much simpler through social media platforms. You have complete freedom of saying what you wish to share. The CEO of Zomato did his best in sharing his point of view through Quora, when an ex employee shared a negative review about the startup’s work culture.

Focus on improving overall brand presence

Promote your good work and positive customer reviews through social media platforms. Feature your work and customer experiences through case studies, infographics, sales figures, CSR activities, etc. Share details about your work process, quality control, technology, product updates, new launches, etc through appropriate platforms. Try to share informative content so that you don’t sound promotional. The more positive content people come across about your company, the less likely they are to get influenced by negative reviews.

Become a socially active modern brand

Big B2B players have already started using social media platforms actively. Companies like HP, Microsoft & GE present a perfect example of B2B’s well-run social media strategy. Cisco is another such business that has second highest twitter followers i.e. 83,964 after Microsoft. American Express too has lately come up with open forums and Facebook page to improve their networking with small businesses & potential investors. A B2B company having a good online presence is perceived as modern and in sync with the changing trends. A brand with poor online visibility leaves a negative impression no matter how well it promotes itself offline.

B2B businesses indulge in more research before a deal is closed as most of their business decisions are based on reviews of referrals and brand reputation. Unlike before, brands are judged on social profiles like LinkedIn, Google+, and Twitter

Consistent social media presence is very important to protect your online reputation. If you are already managing and monitoring your online presence, then, chances of negative online publicity are rare. But if you haven’t been paying attention, then, negative reviews and defaming comments from competitors can outbreak anytime. Protect your business reputation with these super tips.

Can negative feedbacks against a B2B brand be pushed down using social platforms?

Yes, you can push down bad reviews by using business specific social networks. If you have been shown in negative light by a client, critic or spammer, it is likely to show on first page. To push down such results, you need to maintain an active presence over equally or more authoritative domains like LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Other social sites and forums that can be used by a B2B company to push down negative reviews are:

• ukbusinessforums.co.uk
• businessadviceforum.com
• businessbiscotti.co.uk
• americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/explore/
• meetup.com
• ted.com/talks/browse

Posts on business networks with high domain authority are quickly indexed and appear on initial pages, pushing other results down. Because such websites have high potential of ranking on search engines, ORM agencies use them for suppress negative reviews in SERPs. You also get the added benefit of connecting with other businesses and potential clients through multiple platforms.

Dos & Don’ts of using social media to handle negative online reputation

Though there are no ground rules of using social media for handling negative reputation, keeping below mentioned points in mind will keep your brand on the safe side;

1. Focus on content sharing rather than just profile creation. Display your work and positive reviews on forums & social profiles to highlight the good things said about you. Few business networks like LinkedIn offer this option (LinkedIn Recommendations) that allows your clients to recommend your company/products/services to others.
2. Don’t respond negatively to any online review that questions product or any other aspect of your business. Instead try to resolve the issue without getting defensive.
3. Don’t choose a domain just because it’s authoritative. Pick the right platforms by keeping your target audience in mind. For instance, LinkedIn is a better option for interacting with professionals. Twitter and Quora are for casual conversations and relationship building with all age groups.
4. Target important keywords like ‘[BrandName] reviews’, ‘[BrandName] feedback’ etc through your profile description. This becomes important especially ifthe negative reviews appear for these particular keywords. This is called social media profile optimization and is necessary to get prompt results.
5. It is advisable to connect your various social accounts to each other to get the ranking benefit from Google.
6. Having too many accounts ruptures your social presence. Some SEO companies create multiple company profiles on the same platform, each to target a different keyword. Such accounts when appear in search results seem illogical and arouses more doubts.

There are various other technical and non technical ways to bring down negative online resources. Here is an online reputation management guide to help you make much-needed additions in your online reputation management plan.

There was a time when only travel or hospitality companies used social media for traffic generation and brand building. Today, even business-to-business companies are making social media part of their marketing strategy for added business benefits.

3 out of 4 online users will click on negative search result rather than positive one if the prior ranks higher. So, whether you are a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer, reviews about you are bound to appear on web in near future.

As reputation advisors to international brands, our suggestion would be to go proactive.

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