In today’s technological age, a brand’s voice is shaped not only by the business but also by the public – primarily online. As a marketing agency, how you maintain your client’s online reputation is crucial. It involves promoting and safeguarding their brand so that it can be found, followed, promoted, or even defended in a largely digital world.
However, it’s not as simple as creating their social networking accounts or website. You must exert influence on and fact-check what others say about your client’s brand. Proper online reputation management should be prioritized to make your client’s online image as positive as possible and reduce negative customer reviews.
This article will go through what online reputation management is, why it’s essential, and agency tips on getting started.
What is Online Reputation Management and Why is it Important?
Online reputation management is the process of actively monitoring brand mentions on websites and social media to resolve any negative or fraudulent comments. It includes a combination of marketing, SEO, and public relations efforts.
Online reputation management is crucial because it allows companies to evaluate their online image frequently. Since online content is constantly changing, the way consumers view a brand can likewise fluctuate dramatically. As a marketer, you must determine what is written about your clients on the internet and how you can enhance their image if people have a poor perception of them.
Additionally, online reputation management offers the following benefits:
Boost Sales
Before making a purchase, consumers conduct online research on companies, products, and services. Brands with positive internet reviews tend to draw a more significant number of customers. Businesses with a poor reputation and those with the most unfavorable reviews lose out on substantial sales.
Builds Credibility
Social media platforms have allowed people to express their opinions on virtually everything. A negative review about a company will travel faster than one that is positive. As such, it’s vital to have an efficient online reputation management strategy and resolve any issues as soon as they come up.
Strengthens Brand Image
When unfavorable information about your client is disseminated online, it typically loses consumer loyalty. This can abruptly damage hard-won respect and credibility. It can also have a negative impact on your client’s bottom line. Regularly monitoring the replies to any online interaction will assist you in developing the brand image that your client desires.
Effective Returns
Existing and prospective investors, suppliers, partners, banks, and average citizens conduct research and acquire information about a company online before proceeding with transactions. As a result, having a positive internet presence opens new options and benefits.
Getting Started with Online Reputation Management
Customer reviews, social media monitoring, and online press are incredibly inconvenient and inefficient to track manually. Reputation management software is an economical approach for managing your clients’ reputations online. Here are two examples.
Yext
Yext is a data management solution that lets you manage your company’s location data across numerous business directories. The tools assist you in handling the business listings on which your firm appears and discover new ones. Additionally, it offers solutions for local search and voice search optimization.
Pros
- Quick submission
- Automatic distribution
- Review monitoring
- Listing analytics
Cons
- Locked annual subscription
- Complicated dashboard
- Listing data changes aren’t permanent if service is cancelled
- Inconsistent review monitoring
- No local ranking tracking
- No white-label support
- Limited API
Synup
Synup’s Digital Profile Management Platform revolutionizes a brand’s capacity to provide meaningful and reliable business content to all devices, locations, and online media channels from a single centralized dashboard.
Pros
- Instant data syncing with 42 sites.
- Can also submit data to an additional 150 sites.
- Submit to Google My Business.
- Provide white-label reporting.
- Provide additional SEO reports and reputation monitoring.
Cons
- Some sites in their network have low authority value.
- Higher cost per location
- No guaranteed listing update success
- Only for US and Canada-based businesses
- No integration with Google My Business.
Maintain the Image of Your Client’s Brand Through Online Reputation Management
Shoppers form opinions about brands based on what they read and see online. Utilize online reputation management to reinforce your client’s favorable image, which you’ve worked so hard to establish.