Techblog
A guide to online reputation management: How to build and safeguard your brand online
As an SME, it's unlikely you have dedicated resources for building and monitoring your brand online. However, this can be achieved effectively using simple and inexpensive solutions.
We live in a digital age - an age where reputations are built and lost online. Most businesses are aware of this and maintain an online presence, which may include an attractive website and a couple of social media accounts. But is that enough? Or do businesses need to be more proactive?
Questions to Ask Yourself
Here are a couple of questions you might want to ask yourself:
- How frequently do you update your social media accounts?
- What are the top results that appear when someone looks up your business on the web?
- How often do customers mention your brand online?
- What do you do when a disgruntled customer or ex-employee says negative things about your business online?
You need to not only think about how you create an online brand for yourself, but also how your customers perceive your brand, and how you want them to perceive your brand. Effective online reputation management can help you deal with these questions and use the answers for better business growth.
Be the First
The best place for businesses to start is their own website and social media accounts. Businesses should ensure their website is up to date, with the latest information about their product offerings and services. It's worthwhile to include a blog on the business's website, with regular posts about the organisation's plans and industry observations.
This should be shared regularly on social media accounts. Customer queries should also be responded to promptly.
Similarly, businesses should maintain active accounts on industry-related online communities and customer-feedback forums. Here too, it is crucial to participate in discussions when your business or brand is mentioned.
This way, companies ensure they are on top of what is being said about their brand online. Search engine results will reflect this when a prospective customer looks up a company's service on the internet.
Now that you have begun building a healthy online reputation, how do you ensure that it remains intact?
Know What Others Have to Say
Word of mouth is especially important for SMEs without a large advertising budget. Feedback, good or bad, spreads far quicker on the internet than in the real world. Your business might also be mentioned, without your knowledge, in the local media or elsewhere.
You don’t want to be the last to find out about any of this. So, while it's not feasible to be present on all online platforms, it is still key to track what various stakeholders are saying about you.
There are numerous free services available for this very purpose. They scan the web for positive and negative brand mentions, industry terms and other keywords and phrases chosen by you, and alert you on a regular basis. They are:
- Google Alerts: Delivers Google results for your queries from across the web to your mailbox.
- TweetBeep: Updates you on any mentions of interest anywhere on the microblogging site.
- Social Mention Alerts: Alerts you to keyword mentions across social media platforms.
- Mention: Monitors the web across more than 40 languages.
There are paid options too. Many of these solutions also offer actionable analytics and dashboards to track online metrics for your business.
Monitor Your Personal Brand
If your employees’ names are heavily associated with your business, it is imperative they have a strong profile on social media platforms. Providers like Naymz measure people's online influence.
Reap the Benefits
Being alert about your business's brand online has many positives. You can spot and correct gaps in product and service offerings. You will be the first to know about negative opinion, and can handle it appropriately. You can nurture an involved audience that is informed in real time about product launches and upgrades. And you always know what the competition is saying about you.