Reputation Management: A Case for Consistent Maintenance of Your Online Presence

By: Jeff St. Onge

Online reputation management

Online reputation management is taking control of the online conversation about your business. There are a variety of techniques to ensure that you have a positive and effective online presence.  When it comes to your online reputation there are two different cycles to fall under; vicious and virtuous. Vicious online reputation cycle means that as a business owner you are ignoring your online presence which results in misinformation or a lack of content at all.  Virtuous online reputation cycles consist of positive feedback, proactive content and reflects the business well.  

How to maintain online presence in 3 simple steps

1) Social Content Distribution: Consistent Text, Video, Image, or Audio content distributed through major social media channels

  • Be consistent active on social media
  • Use a variety of content to see which your users engage most with
  • Create the content style you’re most comfortable with (audio, video, written – (see bottom of article for consumer data)
  • Customize your content to each channel’s needs IE don’t repost the same thing on all platforms

2) Website and native content (blog)

  • Create industry specific content relevant to your customers or partners
  • Focus on adding value to users

3) Get listed on business directories (ex: google business, yelp, etc )

  • Ask customers to leave positive reviews
  • Respond to all reviews (don’t ignore negative reviews)

KEY STRATEGIC POINTS TO EMPHASIZE FOR ALL CONTENT

  • Consistent branding and visual aesthetic
  • Be proactive
  • Implement SEO and optimize content across all channels
  • Offer Valuable Content for your customers/followers
  • Demonstrate expertise and industry leadership
  • Ask customers for reviews on key platforms
  • Respond to all reviews (do not ignore negative reviews)

Next step: Paid media and online advertisements (ex: Google AdWords, Social Ads)

The importance of online presence in stats

There are approximately 4,208,571, 287 internet users

46% of small businesses did not have a web presence in 2018

2 out of 3 people believe the Internet is the most reliable source of information about a person or a business (Edelman Insights)

70% of hiring managers have rejected a candidate because of something they found online (Cross-Tab)

97% of people read online reviews when looking for a local business (BIA Kelsey)

Over 80% of reputation damage comes from a mismatch between what is being talked about and the reality (Digimind)

40% of consumers have received a response from a business after leaving a review

59% of customers that were asked to leave an online review in-person during the sale

60% have written reviews for positive experiences, while just 25% have written reviews for negative experiences

84% of consumers believe that reviews older than 3 months aren’t relevant

71% of consumers say they’re more likely to use a business that has responded to their existing reviews

64% of global respondents trust online search engines the most when conducting research on a business

Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to achieve a positive ROI on their efforts

84% of marketers believe that building trust will be the primary focus for marketing efforts in the future

41% of companies that experienced a negative review have reported loss of brand value and revenue

Consumers aged 18 to 29 use a brand’s social media site more for customer service interactions (43%) rather than for marketing (23%)