A good online reputation helps you retain customers and increase your sales.
Would you confide a secret to someone just introduced to you? And your money to a complete stranger? As nice as it may seem or because it has a functional appearance, we suppose not. To trust a person, more than words, you need facts. To trust a company, too. So, before starting a business relationship, you look for references. Information gives you clues about their philosophy, background, and, of course, about their products and services.
It is what is known in online marketing as online reputation: a series of elements that tell you about its prestige as a brand, and that can mark the beginning of a lasting relationship in time or its end. In this list, we would find the comments that customers, consumers, or the media make about a company and the information that a company shares on social networks and the web.
Why should you take care of your Online Reputation?
Having a good online reputation is as vital to your company as having a good product or service. On it, not only will your visibility and your confidence depend—but also your sales.
1. Influence your Brand Image
Although online reputation and brand image are not the same, they are closely related. And it is that any comment they make about your company or any action you carry out in the digital world directly affects your digital prestige and the image you project as a brand. Taking care of it, therefore, is essential.
2. Attract your Potential Customer
Are you aware that, according to a study carried out by Status Labs, 60% of consumers distrust a brand with negative opinions? In a hyper-connected world like this, having a good online reputation will help you improve your brand image and attract undecided consumers and turn them into potential customers. A positive comment can make a user opt for your products and services, and also vice versa.
3. Improve your Positioning
Google takes various parameters into account when positioning a website. One of them? Your online reputation. Working on aspects such as your site’s content, inbound links, or positive reviews will help you improve your SEO, scale search engine positions, and, therefore, gain visibility and sales.
Also, there is no better sign of prestige than being on the first page of Google.
4. Helps you Build Loyalty
Have you heard of the expression “money calls money”? The same goes for online reputation. The better it is, the better chance you will reach new customers and turn them into prescribers. And the best example of a prestigious company is a portfolio of satisfied and repeat customers.
How to manage your Online Reputation?
Having a good reputation is not a matter of a day or two. It requires constant work that involves analyzing your current situation and the development of actions aimed at improving online communication and increasing your online prestige.
To achieve this, you must:
1. Investigate and Monitor
The only way to improve your digital reputation is to know what situation you are in. What do your customers, suppliers, and employees think about your products and services? What terms does your company relate to online? Are you an authority in your sector, or, on the contrary, do you go unnoticed?
To obtain this information, you must trace the footprint left by your brand on the Internet and its influence online. Tools such as Google Alerts, Google Trends, SEMRush, Mentionlytics, Brandwatch, or the Social Flame will be useful to carry out this task.
In addition to a comprehensive online search, you will need to monitor your networks and web. Only then will you have updated data on your brand.
2. Analyze and Determine
It is useless to investigate what people think about your brand if, later, you do not measure and interpret the data obtained from this research. You must analyze the extracted information and, once this task has been carried out, define an action protocol to follow. Doing so will help you eliminate negative comments, enhance positive ones, and implement improvements to your website and online strategy.
3. Position yourself as an Authority
As we have previously discussed, reducing criticism is key to improving your digital reputation. However, it is not the only thing you should consider if you want to gain prestige online. You must increase positive comments, and, for that, you must gain authority and visibility. Achieving this happens by providing your social networks with their own and visual information, as well as stimulating the feedback with your followers.
Also, for improving the SEO of your website through original and quality content, links to other online sites and incoming links to your website.
Besides, you should make sure that the information you offer is clear and well organized. Google rewards companies that have an optimized and updated website. As you well know, there is no better sign of authority than being at the top of this search engine.