Have you ever Googled your business? Do you think that the online image of your business is fair enough? Online reputation management or ORM is all about creating strategies that influence the online reputation of an organization or individual. It helps drive public opinion about a brand and its products and services. According to a survey by BrightLocal, 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations, and 49% of people consider four-star rating before buying a product or service. By using ORM, a company may try to lessen the effects of a negative viral video, turn a negative comment into neutral, and then positive. ORM is not only about handling content in search engines, but also about taking care of negative business reviews and encouraging happy clients to contribute more positive feedback.
ORM services generally involve:
- Installing online reputation management software, to easily alter reviews from customers, and distribute good comments on online review sites.
- Adding review markup to your website.
- Being proactive about asking customers to give online reviews about your business.
- Responding to both positive and negative reviews. This is done by either thanking the customer for their great feedback or addressing the concern.
- Promoting positive reviews through multiple channels
| S.No | Channels involved in ORM | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paid Media | Google AdWords, PPC, Facebook Ads, Sponsored Posts |
| 2 | Earned Media | SEO, Review sites, Word of mouth |
| 3 | Social Media | All social channels |
| 4 | Owned Media | Website, Email Marketing, Content Marketing |
Why is Online Reputation Management necessary?
Online reputation management plays a vital role in the growth of your business. Thousands of people search your business online, and the image they find there about your business makes an effective impact on your brand image. It has become very important to build a good online reputation, and here’s why:
1. Professional Brand Image
Professional brand image is an essential marketing tool for your business. The world is going online, and people are likely to search your business on Google. The potential customers don’t have a complete idea about your business. So, they’ll look out for the available online information and then make any decision. If they find any negative information online, they won’t be interested in taking your services. Effective online reputation management can build a perfect professional brand image for your business. Work upon your social media posts by analyzing your audience response on the previous posts. If you have a service or product, which your customer are showing some extra interest, make it the centre of your communication.
2. Elevated Sales
One of the best ways to increase sales is by engaging with potential customers online through social media posts and analyzing the best ways to convert them. Internet is the first place people search when they are looking for a solution or a product. It is also among the best sources for research since one can easily connect with many people who can solve the purpose of the search. A good online reputation builds a sense of trust in your customers. A brand is considered reliable when the customers make use of a trust to differentiate a business from its competitors. When a brand is considered to be trustable, the sales automatically go up.
3. Increased Credibility and Trust
Gaining customer’s trust is a very important, but a tricky thing. People have the right to raise their voices if they are not happy with your services. They can easily post reviews online, comment on your social media pages and reach out to other clients. A negative word about your brand will spread much faster than a positive comment. Online reviews are how people will react to your brand. On average, 92% of consumers read reviews online before making any decision. Having an ORM strategy in place can help you decrease the rate of negative reviews and finally diminishing them. A good ORM service helps you build credibility as a brand that cares about its customers and wants to grow the product.
4. Better SEO
Online reputation and reviews can create a huge impact on search engine optimization. It’s because SEO algorithms know it very well that customers pay a lot of attention on the online reviews of the company when making a decision. Hence, if you are making the best efforts to deal with its online reputation, you will get rewarded with increasing SEO visibility.
5. Better Staff
Have you ever thought of joining a company which has a top reputation in the market? It’s because of the good reputation of a company attracts better talent. A good online reputation drives in recruitment applications at a high volume. It is understood that no employee will come for the interview or join the company without any prior research done about that company. Hence, your business’s online reputation can be a deciding factor in the recruitment of new talents.
How can you manage your reviews?
- Email Campaigns– It is a smart way to include reviews in your email campaigns. This trick works very well to increase your authenticity and create a good reputation in the market. You can customize them according to your campaign and send it out to the target audience.
- Website – Display your reviews on your website. The safest way is to put them in the ‘testimonials’ section, but you want to get the most out of it, you can place them at random locations on your website.
- Social Media Post– Ever thought of posting reviews on social media? Just add a beautiful graphic and post them on your social handles.
- Videos – You can add the reviews in your videos. You can either put them in the beginning or at the end of the video.
How to select the best Online Reputation Management Company?
With the growing demand for ORM, many ORM service providers will reach out to your business and promise you to provide the best online reputation marketing services. Don’t fall for the sweet sale talk. Some of them provide basic services, which are not worth spending thousands of dollars. Here are a few things to keep in mind while choosing an ORM company:
1. Know what you want
Do some research and have a clear goal. It will be easier for you to select the services which you actually need. Go through their list of services you’ll come to know if your needs match their services or not.
2. Beware of Unrealistic Promises
Some ORM companies might guarantee that they can fix your search results and online credibility with a 100% success rate. Others might offer swift solutions at sky-high prices. Think twice before signing a deal with these unrealistic promise makers.
3. Research their online reputation
What kind of services can an ORM company provide you if it can’t maintain a good online reputation for itself? Try to research about the company online. Read their customer reviews and ratings, you can even talk to their client for some behind-the-curtain information.
4. Judge their customer service
A great ORM company should offer high-quality customer service. Consider how they treat you and the quality of their assistance. Because, when you’ll hire them, you might need to experience their customer service time and again.
Conclusion
The internet is not an easy and safe place. People will charge you unnecessarily for useless services, plastic reviews or even cyber extortion. It is highly advisable to select a trusted ORM service provider for your business.
