Your online reputation will make or break your company. Failure to make sure that you are presenting the right brand image will have a direct impact on sales. Protecting and managing your online reputation is an ongoing process.
This guide is going to show you some of the things you need to do in order to protect and manage your online reputation.
Images are Your Best Friends
One big trend in the world of social media in the last few years is the rise of sites like Instagram and Pinterest. The rise of these social media platforms has indicated how important images are to appealing to your target audience.
At the same time, they have made it crucial that you inspect every image you post to ensure that you are not doing something that could be misinterpreted. Professionals should have photos match the feel and outlook of the message you are trying to send.
And this includes on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Using images on social media is a big issue regardless of the network you are on because things can and do go wrong.
The key to making images work is to be genuine. And use them often because when you are trying to convey a message an image really can be worth a thousand words.
How Reviews Can Have a Big Impact
According to the latest statistics, 61% of consumers look at online reviews before they make a purchase. If you don’t have an array of good reviews, your business is going to suffer. See a review of your business as a review of a person because that’s exactly how others see it.
Another fact you should bear in mind is that people are more likely to leave negative reviews than positive ones. Here are some methods you can use to turn bad PR around.
Improve Your Service – The easiest way to prevent bad interactions is to tackle the source of those interactions. If people are complaining about how long it takes for you to answer the phone, make a concerted effort to improve.
Ask for Reviews – Often, many people are too scared to ask for reviews. Send a follow-up email to your customers and ask for a review. The worst they can do is not reply.
The Right Places – Make sure any reviews you do have are placed on independent websites. Client testimonials on your own site are not trustworthy because they are handpicked and under your control. Consumers aren’t stupid.
On a side note, it may be tempting to pay for reviews in order to reverse a bad reputation or to get a start on your competitors. This is one of the biggest mistakes you can possibly make because consumers can see straight through fake reviews. Furthermore, many review platforms will kick your business off if they catch you.
Sharing Your Personal Side
There’s a reason why the most successful businesses keep their customers coming back for more. They have built relationships with their target audience. The business and the customer are friends, but it’s because of the people behind the business, not the entity itself.
Setting up a positive online reputation is about humanizing your company. Nobody wants to talk to a corporate drone. They want to speak to a real human being. Original content can be created through adding a personal twist to it because this is something nobody can replicate.
As well as sharing your personal side, place some of your unique tone into your writings. For example, if you have a dry sense of humor you may want to include that. Letting people in on your personal side is an easy way to break the ice and make those connections.
But you have to be careful about where you share your personal side. It isn’t always appropriate.
For example, sharing personal photos from last weekend’s party is not appropriate and not a wise idea. Think about the image that your brand is going to project every time you share something personal about yourself.
It Takes Time to Build a Reputation
An online reputation is not something that’s going to happen overnight. Even the most successful companies spent many years treating their customers in the right way. They made a concerted effort to build a specific image of themselves.
It will be tempting to take shortcuts in order to achieve success, but this is short-term thinking and it’s going to come back to bite you sooner or later.
How will you protect and manage your online reputation today?
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