Reputation Management: What It Is and How to Manage It

Considering roughly two-thirds of the global population is now online, it’s no surprise that news travels fast. It doesn’t take much for a brand’s reputation to be impacted by negative (or positive) news. In fact, a few negative online reviews in a short period can turn customers away for good. 

Is your business helpless in the face of these judgmental opinions, some of which may even turn out to be fake? Hardly. You don’t need to leave your business success up to chance. Instead, you can help your audience continue to see you in a positive light through a strategy called reputation management. 

What is Reputation Management?

These days, just about everyone researches brands online before handing over their business. If they don’t like what they find, they’re likely to move on to a competitor. It’s become a reality that your brand identity isn’t what you want it to be but rather what gets portrayed about your brand online. So, it’s best if you control the message as much as possible. 

Reputation management is the ongoing process of shaping and influencing the public perception of a brand, company, or individual. Specifically, it involves monitoring what people say and think about an organization, responding to misleading or negative information or reviews, and generally seeking out ways to boost the organization’s reputation. 

Why You Need Reputation Management

Sure, you could ignore reputation management and simply try to be the best at what you do. The problem (again) is that you can’t directly control what others think about you. However, reputation management allows you to influence other’s perceptions through various strategies. Here’s why adding this to your digital marketing toolbox would be beneficial:

• Credibility and Trust — A positive brand reputation instills confidence and trust in the minds of customers, the general public, potential employees, and stakeholders. 
• Competitive Advantage — By managing your reputation, you can set yourself apart from competitors and attract more customers and top talent to your business. 
• Crisis Resilience — If a crisis does arise, an existing positive reputation creates a positive foundation that can help the brand weather a storm and bounce back quickly. 
• Online Influence — Because most people search online for reviews, you have the opportunity to ensure what is depicted about your brand is accurate and timely. 
• Business Success — A positive online reputation can directly impact your business success because it influences consumer choices and brand loyalty. 

How Your Brand Can Manage Its Reputation

Now that you know what reputation management is and why you need it, how can your brand approach this monumental task? Here are some things you can do on an ongoing basis to direct the conversation around your brand and help boost your overall reputation:

1. Monitor Your Online Reputation

You’ll want to begin with a thorough brand reputation audit. From there, you can continue to search for your brand’s name and other relevant keywords on review sites, social media, and other platforms to learn what others are saying about your brand and its products or services. 

2. Create Reputation Management Strategies

The next step is to create some proactive and reactive strategies to manage your online reputation. You can be proactive by continuing to stay active on social media and post engaging blog content. Reactive strategies will include things like responding to reviews and questions or comments on social media. 

3. Develop a Brand Tone Guide

Before you begin responding to those comments or reviews, create a brand “tone guide” to ensure you are conveying a consistent tone of voice across various channels. For example, you want to avoid sounding argumentative with reviewers. Will your brand voice be formal, friendly, or something in between?

4. Respond to Reviews, Comments, and Feedback

On a consistent basis, make sure you are responding to both positive and negative reviews and comments. In addition, take the feedback you receive and do something with it because you may find ideas that can help you improve your business. 

5. Track Your Results and Adjust

Finally, track your results to determine whether your strategies are working. You may wish to identify some key performance indicators (KPIs) to track, such as Net Promoter Score, Repeat Purchase Rate, or Customer Lifetime Value. 

Does Your Reputation Management Need Some Help?

If your brand isn’t paying attention to reputation management, it’s time to get started. Too Darn Loud Digital Marketing can provide the professional guidance you need to create and maintain a winning online presence that gets you found and chosen by your target audience. 

Our team of digital marketing professionals has years of experience helping clients of every shape and size achieve success. We offer results-driven digital marketing solutions that will help your business achieve its goals. Give us a call at (800) 649-1764 or contact us online to schedule a free website evaluation and initial consultation.