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Online reputation management (ORM) has become a crucial aspect for businesses of all sizes, thanks to the rise of social media and online platforms where customers can freely express their opinions. In the past, only big companies and celebrities had to worry about their reputation, but now, even smaller businesses need to pay attention to how they are perceived online. Negative reviews and damaging comments can seriously impact a brand’s success, which is where ORM comes into play.
What is ORM?
Online Reputation Management, or ORM, is the practice of controlling how people perceive your business online. The goal of ORM is to foster positive opinions and feelings about your brand while addressing and managing any negative feedback or reviews. Just like how we rely on reviews and ratings before making decisions about movies, restaurants, or products, potential customers also rely on online reviews and feedback to decide whether to engage with a business or purchase a product.
ORM is often compared to SEO (Search Engine Optimization), as both involve pushing positive content and reviews to rank higher than negative reviews or links in search engine results.
The Impact of ORM on Your Business
Your online reputation has a significant impact on your business’s success. Most customers read online reviews before visiting a business or making a purchase. Consider the following statistics:
- 85% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- 3 out of 4 customers trust a company more if it has positive reviews.
- 49% of customers require at least a four-star rating before using a business.
- 92% of customers are less likely to visit a business after reading negative reviews.
- 94% of customers state that positive reviews make them more inclined to use a business.
These statistics highlight the importance of maintaining a positive online reputation. With a well-executed ORM strategy, you can shape an online reputation that conveys authority, sincerity, and reliability.
How to Assess Your Online Reputation
To begin managing your online reputation, you need to understand what is being said about your brand. Here are some steps to assess your online reputation:
- Search for your brand or person name and examine the first five search results. Ensure that you are in the top 5 listings.
- Check your Google My Business listing to see if it exists.
- Monitor your brand’s social media channels and what is being said on social media platforms.
- Look for reviews about your business or personal name on platforms like Google reviews, Facebook reviews, Angie’s List, Yelp, and TrustPilot.
Dealing with Negative Results on Google Search
Negative search results can harm your online reputation, so it’s important to address them. Here are some strategies to deal with negative results on Google search:
- Attempt to have the negative content removed by contacting the website directly or seeking legal assistance.
- Respond to negative reviews with the right answer and provide counterproof, if applicable, so others can see your side of the story.
- Push negative results to the back of search results by posting more positive write-ups, reviews, and utilizing SEO techniques.
Improving Your Online Reputation
Now that you understand the impact of online reputation and how to assess and deal with negative results, it’s time to focus on improving your online reputation. Here are some tips to manage and enhance your online reputation:
1. Tracking and Monitoring
Before implementing an ORM campaign, track what is being said about your brand. Use tools like Social Mention, Google Alerts, TweetBeep, Technorati, BlogPulse, and TagBulb to monitor mentions of your brand or keywords related to your business.
2. Review Strategy
Once you have tracked mentions of your brand, develop a strategy to address negative reviews. Some popular strategies include developing a Wikipedia page, asking webmasters for the replacement of negative content, improving reviews and ratings, creating a new website with a person’s name, promoting positive results, and posting content on high-authority third-party websites.
3. Content Creation
Content creation is a vital part of ORM. Develop a content marketing strategy that outlines where, what, and how often you will post online. This strategy may include brainstorming content ideas, headline development, primary and secondary content creation, content approvals and editing, publisher placement negotiation, content placement, and social and search content promotion.
4. Development
Identify and build websites, business listings, and social media profiles as part of your ORM process. This may include creating a charity website, blogs, social media profiles, image sharing profiles, and video profiles.
5. Promotion
Promote the content you have created to reach your target audience. Promotion can take various forms, such as influencer outreach, search engine optimization, blogger negotiation, social media promotion, and sponsored content on high-authority media websites.
Bonus Tips for Effective ORM
To ensure effective online reputation management, consider the following tips:
- Treat your online reputation as a relationship with multiple people. Be committed to maintaining a positive image across various platforms.
- Be transparent and honest in your interactions online.
- React promptly and politely to customer feedback and reviews.
- Encourage happy customers to write reviews and share positive experiences.
- Maintain an active blog to showcase your expertise and engage with your audience.
- Collaborate with social media influencers to promote your brand and improve your online reputation.
Conclusion
Your online reputation plays a vital role in shaping the success of your business. Positive online reviews and high ratings can boost your rankings, attract more visitors, and build trust with potential clients. By actively managing your online reputation, addressing negative feedback, and consistently providing excellent service, you can improve or rebuild your online reputation. Remember to stay informed about people’s opinions, reflect on their feedback to make improvements, learn from others, and maintain honesty and trustworthiness. If you follow these tips, you will be well on your way to effective online reputation management.
Contact us at https://digitalrepandreviews.com to learn more about improving your brand’s online reputation.
