With the events of the last year or two driving more and more brick-and-mortar businesses online, the digital marketplace has become more competitive than ever. That’s led to consumers being more conscious and knowledgeable as they go about shopping through the internet. This is why the online reputation of a business being nothing short of honestly incredible has become downright essential.
Reputation management is an investment that is worth making when a branding strategy is being formed. It can make all the difference between failure and success, especially where small businesses are involved.
Read on to learn more about the only strategy for online reputation management you’ll ever need for success:
Assess Your Current Reputation Online
You will need to know exactly what you are working with from the get-go. How can you manage your business’s reputation if you don’t know what it is? Pull up Google and use your business name as a search term. Scan the first two SERPs (search engine results pages).
Imagine yourself being in the shoes of a possible customer: what will they learn about your business from those results? What will they end up thinking or feeling about your business? Will they be inclined to visit your website to learn more? Will they want to buy the product or take advantage of the service? This will very likely color the first impression a possible customer has.
Be particularly wary of negative reviews popping up within those first two pages. Try to reach out and provide solutions so that the negative effects can be addressed.
Claim Your Business Name and Protect It
Be sure that you have all the possible domain names with your business name under your belt. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether or not you’ll be using it. The last thing you want is for someone to use your business name on a certain platform and completely misrepresent your business. It will be very difficult to prove your business has nothing to do with an unscrupulous account if it bears your official name the way your other platforms do.
Aside from Google, LinkedIn, and Yelp, keep an eye on social media platforms as well. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even TikTok should be claimed. If you’re really not going to use something, like TikTok, for example, just add the brand logo as a profile photo, place the website URL in the bio, and leave it at that.
Keep Your Reputation Management Proactive Instead of Reactive
Make sure that you keep an eye on your online reputation. The last thing you want is for misinformation to spread unchecked, or for unhappy customers to take aggressive action online. Damage control is a reactive approach that may not always work out. Be proactive instead by making your business’s online reputation as sterling as it can be.
Conclusion
The online reputation of an entire business can make or break consumers’ trust in their products and/or services. Consumers are becoming smarter as they shop, doing their research not just on the items but the brand and business as well. Use an online reputation management strategy that involves proactive instead of reactive action, an honest assessment of the present reputation, and claiming your business name alongside protecting it.
Need to work with a boutique marketing agency in San Francisco to handle your online reputation? Book a free consultation with Cyrusson today! We’re a creative agency that focuses on the needs of our customers, whether they’re new to the game or long-term industry players.