A brand’s reputation is key to its success. After all, would you rather spend your money hiring someone who all your friends rave about, or risk your cash on a professional you’ve never heard of? The thing to remember about brand reputations is that everyone has one. Whether you’re actively working on improving consumer perception of your company, or you’re simply letting the chips fall where they may, you can rest assured that people are talking about your business online.
The key to getting ahead of your competitors and remaining successful online is making sure that your customers are having good conversations about you. With that in mind, here are six steps you can follow to instantly boost your digital reputation and give yourself more selling power.
1. Audit Your Current Reputation
91% of all the adults use search engines to find the information they need on the web. 65% of them feel that search engines are the most trustworthy source of information online. With these statistics in mind, it’s safe to say that SEO counts when you’re trying to boost your brand’s reputation.
The first step to optimizing digital customer opinion is assessing your current situation. Google yourself and look at what comes up in the first couple of pages. Are there positive reviews that present your brand in a good light? Or is the conversation resoundingly negative? Perhaps none of the results are related to your brand? If your results are positive, then congratulations! – you’re on the right track. On the other hand, if the results are negative, it’s time to do some damage control. If you have negative reviews, respond to them. The best thing you can do with a bad review is show new customers that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make things right.
If you have positive reviews post a thank you response. Reach out to your clients and show them you value their opinion. This is an opportunity to turn customers into advocates for your brand. If you don’t have any results on search engine results pages, work on your SEO strategy. Look at your keywords and determine whether you’re ranking for the right ones. Think about how you can improve the value of your digital footprint with original content and create a link-building strategy to generate links that further authority from relevant sites.
2. Make Reviews Part of Your Brand Strategy
90% of all customers read online reviews before they visit a business. With the web becoming so saturated with content, it’s easy to forget about one of the most valuable marketing tools of all: word of mouth. With reviews and testimonials, improving your online reputation is easy. Instead of simply telling people about the values of your brand, you’re getting other people to sing your praises for you. Ultimately, people are much more likely to believe an actual customer than a company CEO.
Since many people in this fast-paced online world avoid giving reviews, you might have to stoke the fire a little before you get a response. Ask people to leave a review in exchange for a discount on their next purchase, for instance. Remember, every one-star increase in a Yelp rating can equal a 9% increase in revenue.
3. Build Your Influence
If you want to be successful in the highly-competitive digital market, then you need to gain authority and influence within your industry. While compelling content and fantastic service are of uttermost importance, your campaign becomes far more effective when you incorporate influencer marketing.
Influencer marketing is like piggybacking on the existing popularity of someone else within your digital space. The first key to success is deep research, and working an influencer that’s relevant to your target audience. 49% of customers already rely on influencer recommendations online, so investing in connecting with influencers within your industry is an essential part of any long-term strategy.
4. Don’t Make False Promises
Positive online reputation isn’t just about telling your customers what they want to hear. While it’s important to listen to your customers and incorporating their feedback into your strategy, make sure that you live up to the promises your brand commits to online.
For instance, if you tell your clients that you’re committed to providing environmentally friendly services, you need to actively discuss this aspect of your services online. Publish case studies about your manufacturing practices and showcase how much effort you’ve devoted to green initiatives or your involvement with environmental charities in the last year. Today, organizations need to be more transparent than ever if they want to earn the respect and trust of their customers.
5. Own Up to Your Mistakes
Finally, remember that you don’t have to be perfect to generate brand loyalty. Customers purchase products and services from companies that they “resonate” with. Since users connect emotionally to brands, it’s imperative the story your brand tells online is engaging, personable and authentic.
Your customers don’t expect you to be perfect, but they do expect you to take responsibility for things you do wrong. In a digital world where everyone can follow your brand, you need to be the first to admit to a mistake when one happens, offer a sensible resolution, and follow up.
Building the Best Brand Reputation
You’ve probably heard the saying that a great reputation takes years to build, and seconds to tarnish. Nowhere is this phrase more applicable than in the digital world, where consumers are more connected, empowered, and engaged than ever before. If you’re conscious of what your customers say about you, and proactively work to preserve positive reputation, good opinions about your brand will, over time, help set your company apart from other competitors in your industry. Developing and maintaining great online reputation might not be quick or simple – but must be an essential component of any organization’s digital efforts.