How to manage your company's online reputation
Inadequate online reputation management can kill even the most profitable business. Nowadays, it is not enough that people speak about us, but it is also vital that they speak well or, at least, that they not speak badly. Or would you buy from a store with endless complaints or negative comments online? That is why it is very important that you correctly manage the online reputation of your brand, why don't you know how to do it? Relax, we are here to help you.
Find out what they say about you
You won't be able to defend yourself if you don't know what people are saying about you. And to find out, you're going to need a lot of tools. From the classics like Google Alerts even the most complete SEMrush or Keyhole. The question is to know at all times who mentions your brand, why and what feeling it emits: whether it is satisfaction, complaint or indifference.
Taking care of your online reputation is almost as important as taking care of your customers. Always keep it in mind.
We must know everything in order to create a plan through which we improve our reputation. Of course, do not worry if you do not find much information about your company, it is just an indicator that you still have a lot to do in the world of online marketing, but that also means that you have many possibilities of achieving good results because you have before you a blank page. Everything is to be done!
WATCHFUL EYE! Note that everything that happens in the online world affects the offline world and vice versa. In other words, if your orders are arriving late, this will end up being reflected in your online reputation, because your users will use the networks to complain. Similarly, if you make a mistake in one of your marketing strategies, it will have consequences on sales. Today, the offline and online worlds are united and it is important to keep this in mind.
Design a crisis plan
No one is safe from a reputation crisis. In fact, the usual thing is that practically all companies suffer a couple of crises a year, what makes some companies survive these crises and others not, is prevention, the design of a crisis plan that helps us to know how solve the problem.
In this phase sincerity is essencel. Sit down with your team and think about the weak points of your company, those that in certain circumstances could lead to crisis situations.
Once you have them identified, design an action protocol for each of them. Some steps may be the same, but it is important that we define them well so that when a crisis develops we can act quickly.
Not only must we put in the crisis plan what we must do, we must also emphasize what we must NOT do. And it is that in moments of tension we can err on the side of impulsiveness and respond hotly to an attack by trolls or negative comments. Hence, it is convenient to highlight in the plan all the behaviors that should be avoided, as a reminder.
don't let your guard down
Another very common mistake in online reputation management is letting your guard down. You have already prepared your crisis plan, you know what is said about you on the networks and pam! you forget about your reputation. You start to do other strategies and when you realize it, it's been months since you monitored the mentions of your company. Or even worse, you are suddenly in the middle of a communication crisis that you have not even seen appear.
Moral: always stay alert. Online reputation is a matter of perseverance. Spend at least an hour a week monitoring comments related to your brand.
Create positive content
Without a doubt, this is the best weapon to have a positive online reputation: generating content that reinforces our image. This will help us create a reputational shield and be prepared for any kind of negative attack on our brand. And, in addition, this technique is beneficial for our SEO, so we have a two in one.
How do you create positive content? Well, with a blog that is constantly updated, with a good presence on networks, with optimized landing pages, a correct e-mail marketing strategy, sending press releases to the media, etc... That is, creating all kinds of content that favors our interests.
Take this into consideration and make your brand's good reputation grow like foam 😉