Checking Out the Numbers

To be truly effective in your online reputation management effort, you should first identify the asset that you want to protect. In most cases, this is either your brand, products, or business name. Each of these assets is quite different from one another, but the main avenue through which your reputation propagates stays the same: the internet. So, on a micro level, the reputation management effort seems very different between these assets. However, on the macro level, the avenues through which you protect them and the methods that you will use are very similar.

Now let’s take a look at the raw numbers. According to Business2Community:

• 37% of consumers will search for a local business online at least once a month
• 85% of consumers state that they read the online reviews and testimonials of local businesses
• 79% of consumers state that they consider online reviews to be as trustworthy as a personal recommendation
• 65% of consumers state that they prefer businesses that have positive online reviews
• 71% of consumers state that positive online reviews increased their trust in a business

The takeaway here is that the vast majority of potential customers use the internet to look into a local business, and that positive reviews have an overwhelming impact on their perception of the business. We can also conclude that positive online reviews create a snowballing effect that increases customer acquisition and retention as the reputation of a company grows.

However, online reviews have a disproportionate impact on several industries, while they are less impactful on others. For example, restaurants, private medical practices, and dentists top the list when it comes to the number of potential customers who check reviews before considering patronage. These are followed by general shops, hair/beauty salons, bars, and clothing shops. At the bottom of the list, you have real estate agents, taxi firms, and yoga classes/alternative therapies. This does not mean that you should completely disregard online reputation management if your business is in one of these latter industries. Instead, you would benefit from a strategy that places more emphasis on SEO, social media marketing, and the reduction of negative reviews and chatter online.

Looking for the Services of a Milwaukee Online Reputation Management Agency and Company?

As your business’ online presence grows, so does the amount of discussion regarding your brand. There are many aspects of reputation management that will come into play—from community management on social media, to negative review mitigation, and the promotion of your brand across multiple social media channels. Soon enough, you will need a dedicated team to handle the way your business is perceived online. At this point, it is best to hire an agency that has the experience and the tools to manage your online reputation management effectively. At Digital Destination, we have the expertise to handle any process related to online reputation management in Milwaukee. If you are interested in finding out more, contact us today.

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Study your search engine presence

A big part of your online presence is a direct consequence of your search engine ranking on various keywords. This is why it is important to invest some time into determining your strengths and weaknesses in this domain. All businesses will have a set of related keywords that may pertain to their industry, location, products, services, and some other factors. If you understand these keywords and how you rank in the search results, you are able to apply a force multiplier to your online marketing efforts and improve your reputation within your particular field.

Have consistent usernames across social media platforms

By having the same username across all your social media platforms, you not only ensure that users will be able to find you easily, you also improve your website’s SEO. However, you might not find the perfect username right away, so it’s important to be versatile. Underscores, shortened usernames, periods, and other methods can be used to find a name that fits all platforms. Once the profiles are up, you can add links to them on your website, and use them as a way to talk directly to your customers.

Use social media carefully

Social media is an essential tool for reputation management, but it can also be your biggest foil. If not handled properly, a minor complaint could turn into a PR disaster. There are plenty of examples out there, and we’ve covered a few on our blog, where even large, well-established brands mismanaged a public reaction and it turned into a fiasco. The rules are fairly simple, however. Make sure that you answer all complaints in a polite and expedient manner. Do not try to ignore problems, as they may escalate. The age-old adage, “the customer is always right” is particularly true here, since the speed and reach of a single sentence is lighting fast. Besides that, social media is a wonderful tool to put out the brand image that you want and connect with your customers.

Make use of press releases

Press releases have also been changed by the online world. Nowadays, sending out a press release is much faster and much more convenient, so you should make use of it if you have the chance. It will allow you to build authority and reach segments of your market faster than you would through SEO or traditional content marketing.

Contact a Milwaukee Area Reputation Management and Online Listings Management Company for More Information

Reputation management is a fairly vast field of practice, which can have a steep learning curve. Over the years, we’ve helped many companies establish an online presence that accurately reflects their brand and values, and which naturally draws in customers. When combined with other online marketing avenues, reputation management can be a force multiplier that improves your social media presence, SEO, and overall reach. If you are interested in outsourcing the reputation management for your business in Milwaukee, contact us today and one of our team members will be happy to discuss your options.

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1. Monitor the Right Keywords

Before you start laying out the action plan, it’s important to figure out which avenues and keywords to monitor. There are several review websites that you’ll want to keep an eye on, as well as social media websites, where people will talk about your company. However, if you reach a wide customer base, and if your products are discussed in casual conversations, you’ll want to monitor specific keywords in order to get a full view of what your online reputation looks like.

Here are some of the keywords you should monitor:

• Your company name
• Your products and services
• High profile employees
• Industry-related keywords
• Your competitors’ company names

2. Make Full Use of Online Reputation Management Tools in Arlington Heights

Reputation management tools can make your job a lot easier, so it’s important to account for them when calculating your marketing budget. Of course, you will likely find more tools along the way as you discover the various aspects of reputation management. Some tools will help you monitor social media, while others will keep an eye on review websites and alert you whenever a customer leaves feedback. Most of these tools can also be customized so that you only receive alerts when you get a negative review, for example. All in all, these tools will make your life a lot easier and improve the efficiency of your efforts.

3. Engage Your Customers

A big part of reputation management is actually responding to your clients’ issues and concerns in a timely fashion. This is especially true when it comes to negative reviews, and multiple complaints regarding a single issue. In fact, according to Sprout Social, social media is currently preferred by 34.5% of users as a customer care option. This is followed by live chat at 24.7%, email at 19.4%, phone at 16.1%, and in-store help at 5.3%. Customer issues are also a lot more visible on social media than through other customer care avenues because they are posted publicly. As such, it’s important that your reputation management campaign has a strong social media component, where your team engages with customers directly in order to solve issues in a constructive and collaborative manner.

4. Encourage Social Media Reviews

Engaging in customer service on a public platform is a double-edged sword. Sure, bad reviews are more visible, but positive feedback is much more visible as well. Always try to encourage people to leave positive reviews on social media if they enjoy your products or services. This can be done through images, links in posts or on your website, direct calls-to-action in posts, post-purchase emails, on-site customer service, and even by asking for reviews on your online receipts. By doing this consistently, you will eventually start to see compounded benefits, and as other people will join in the conversation, you’ll create a very positive image for your brand.

These are just several of the techniques that should be taken into account when engaging in reputation management in Arlington Heights. If you would like to learn more, do not hesitate to contact us directly and speak with one of our team members.

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The Social Media Landscape

The internet has changed everything. In the past, most companies would have little direct engagement with their customers, outside of a few market research techniques that were performed either through surveys or in a closed environment. The communication was pretty much one-way and top down in most cases, from the company, to the clients, through advertising.

Today, however, this is no longer the case. Social media has given a voice and wide reach to anyone with a smartphone or laptop. This has closed the gap between companies and their customers, with customers being able to openly share their opinion about your company. They are talking about your products and services, leaving comments on your blog, sharing reviews, describing their customer experience on social media, and more.

Reputation Management Mistakes

There’s no doubt that being transparent and open to the public can be risky. However, this risk is worthwhile in the long run. To start our guide, it’s best that we start with some common mistakes that you should avoid at all costs.

• Dark Horse Café: The Dark Horse Café received criticism on Twitter regarding the lack of electrical outlets in their locations. Customers wanted to charge their laptops and phones while they were enjoying their coffee. In response, Dark Horse Café wrote something along the lines of: “We are not an office building, we are a coffee shop. We have all the outlets we need to do our job.” This type of overtly defensive/passive aggressive response reflects very poorly on the company, especially in their line of work. The experience of a coffee shop is as much about feeling welcome as it is about the coffee itself.
• Nestlé: Nestlé showed a similar disregard for its customers when the company received a lot of criticism for its environmental practices. In response to the many complaints it received, Nestlé remained silent, choosing to ignore the outcry. Soon enough, customers became more aggressive in their criticism to the point where the company was forced to close its public page. This case teaches us that it is important to respond to the criticism in a timely fashion, even if it is uncomfortable to do so.
• Amy’s Baking Company: This case was so egregious that it actually ended up on the local news, when the company’s representative started insulting one user who left a one-star review. Needless to say, this is a very bad PR practice.

Online Reputation Management in Naperville Best Practices

Now that we’ve covered what NOT to do, let’s take a look at some best practices. To start, you’ll want to be aware what the general feeling is out there. If you keep an eye on what people are saying on social media, not only can you anticipate and respond to poor reviews, you can also interact with your audience and answer any questions they may have. Always address criticism forthrightly and in a polite manner, but make sure that you discern between legitimate criticism and illegitimate attacks. There are websites out there that are dedicated to negative reviews, with some disgruntled customers creating impromptu websites to attack a company. If you are targeted in this way, make sure that you have a legal recourse, or at least proof-based argumentation that can address the false information spread by the attackers.

If you would like to discuss the advantages of reputation management for your business, contact us today!

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