From the elementary school teacher to CEO's of large corporations, everyone has a reputation to protect. With the advent of the Internet, the challenge of maintaining a top-notch reputation has increased and can seem as though it is an impossible task.
Online reputation is important. According to a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation, 84 percent of Americans say online reviews influence their purchasing decisions.*
What is Reputation Management?
Reputation Management is a collective process of protecting the image of a brand, company or individual. Many times this involves a counter-attack on the source responsible for the damage.
Every traffic intensive social network is utilized for the damage control effort. This might include – writing new Blogs from company heads, flurry of new articles, new Press releases etc.
Some of the most common defamation sites where anybody can vent their negative feelings are -
- RipOffReport.com
- Complaints.com
- ConsumerWebWatch.org
- My3Cents.com
- ConsumerAffairs.com
Whether in the form of online customer reviews or Tweets back and forth between friends, your Internet reputation matters. Here are five steps to protect it.
- Set up a "watch system." Start by doing a simple Google search for your personal or business name. That gives you the lowdown as to what's been said about you. Next, put a Google Alert into place. That automatically sends you a head's up whenever something new about you appears on the web. Similar systems such as Backtweets.com let you monitor what's being said on Twitter.
- Have a solid website, and keep it updated. A salient element of your online reputation is your corporate website-a venue where you have complete control over what's said and how. For instance, if your fitness studio has just added Pilates to your workout repertoire, post it on your site as evidence of your ongoing emphasis on the latest exercise regimens.
- Keep your online identity on course. Another issue to bear in mind is keeping your online presentation consistent. You can do inadvertent harm if, for instance, your flooring business website says you specialize in hardwood, only to be followed by a posting the following week about your new focus on bamboo. Stories that skew who you are can raise questions in others' minds.
- Take the high road with criticism. No matter your level of professionalism, someone's bound to be unhappy with your services at some point, posting a bad review or public comment. But don't make the mistake of responding in anger or getting into a cyberspace shouting match. First, investigate the issue-if the complaint is justified, there's no harm in an apology. However, if the snafu seems misdirected or flimsya customer who insisted on buying an inexpensive drill at your hardware store against your advice, then accuses you of high pressure sales when it doesn't work for their project needs talk with the customer about the misunderstanding in a reasonable manner.
- Counter the bad with the good. Perhaps the best way to offset negative online feedback is with positive news. If you've had a client who's been satisfied with your work, urge them to post a comment.
In an Internet-dependent world, your online reputation can be a central tipping point in your success. Team Media can monitor it, keep your message clear and positive, and deal respectfully with bona fide issues, and keep your reputation working in your favor. Fill out the form to the right for a quote.
*Source: Opinion Research Corporation, April 2009
|
