A Brief Guide To Online Reputation Management
Search engines have put power into the hands of consumers in more ways than we often consider. Not only can people now find almost any product they could ever require in the click of a mouse, but they can also run a quick “background check” on any company they might be considering buying from – essentially a search around the name of a company, particularly if it’s one they’ve never previously heard of.
So what shows up on Google’s first page for your brand?
The first couple of results are likely to be your own website and perhaps even social media profiles. But what else is there?
Fact is, there could be a host of “uncontrollable” content around your brand on forums, review sites, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc..
What can you do to ensure that your online reputation is a positive one?
Be Aware
Search your brand terms regularly and sift through the results to ensure you are actually completely aware of what people are saying about you online.
Do this at least once a week.
Social Media
Have a strong social media presence.
Don’t limit it to one channel. Use Twitter, a Facebook page, Youtube, LinkedIn; even Quora.
Signing up isn’t enough. For your social media channels to show up in search engines, you’ll need to be active on them.
Encourage Clients to Talk About You
Encourage satisfied customers to spread the word on their social media channels or blogs as well: It doesn't need to be disgruntled customers who take to forums.
Respond Appropriately
If someone comments negatively about you on a blog or forum, sometimes it’s best to respond. Leave a public comment inviting the individual to contact you personally to resolve the matter. This shows anyone reading that you take complaints seriously, without you having to deal with what might be a private matter in a public forum.
Online reputation management isn’t about hiding negative feedback – it’s about building a strong presence online and engaging your potential consumers, as well as taking public complaints seriously.
Stacey Cavanagh is the Digital Marketing Manager for Tecmark, a UK Digital Marketing Agency specialising in Internet Marketing and Mobile Application Development. Online reputation management: it's about positive presence.
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This is great advice. Many companies need to realise that they cannot stop people from making negative comments about them. Instead they need to focus on what they can do to try and take up the majority of the results that are displayed. This is where social media comes in.
Gemma recently posted: Google jobs – 75-000 CVs sent in one week
Hi Gemma!
Exactly… the Internet is far too free a platform to be able to stop people having their say online.
Stacey Cavanagh recently posted: staceycav- RT @MayContainNuts5- Were very excited for the launch of free app LogFire on Android on Monday 7th February!
Good advice. You really cannot hide or ignore the negative feedback, you need to deal with it.
However, if you feel you need to minimize the visibility of some negative (no doubt, undeserved) comments someone is spreading about you, you can drown them in a flood of positive and neutral material.
Post comments at multiple blogs / forums using the affected brand name. Make your employees do the same. Post articles and reviews. Do some link building for some of those pages on other sites. Make sure the majority of the top 10 or 20 results on Google for your brand are something that you can live with.
It's easier said than done, but it is doable. Never get discouraged by the naysayers.
Val @ Web Tracking Guide recently posted: Why High Search Engine Ranking Is Not Enough
Thanks for the shout out!