Why Does Online Reputation Matter?
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The Internet has evolved a lot over time and has enabled businesses to change the way they operate, opened up opportunities, and gave consumers a chance to have a field day; for search purposes and sharing experiences.
That’s why as a brand, you need to understand and have structures to shield you and protect your brand from risks caused by malicious or damaging commentary. But first, let us get to understand what ORM is.
WHAT IS ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT(ORM)?
In today’s economic situation, the success of every organisation depends on many factors: one of them being reputation. Reputation is the belief or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.
An organisation can have a good reputation today, and the next day, it is ruined.
Online Reputation Management is how marketing, SEO and PR tools are combined to boost and maintain your online image.
ORM involves making sure that the appropriate information appears when people search you or brand name up in search engines, i.e. Google, Yahoo or Bing., or on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, to name a few.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION
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People do most of their socialising (including talking about brands) on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, Pinterest, and so many more.
Before social media platforms became mainstream networks, brands and people could quickly address negative comments by tracing links or doing damage control.
Currently, if a brand crisis is not handled quickly and effectively, your reputation can go down the drain in just a matter of minutes or hours.
Having a professional team to handle crises and manage your brand makes the work much more manageable.
As media evolves, the brands that will impact are those who listen closely to what people are saying and respond quickly to show that they are paying attention and that they have understood.
While you can control your website or social media accounts, search engines can allow consumers access to other information that you might not control, like consumer reviews, social media posts, consumer photos and more.
Potential customers will most likely be swayed by third-party information that you might not have direct control over. Hence, as a brand, you have to manage your online reputation aggressively.
HOW ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT WORKS
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While constructive criticism is good and very much welcome, damaging information can be destructive to a business.
Online Reputation Management combines marketing, public relations and search engines. When executed correctly, a brand can gain visibility and an overall positive internet presence.
ORM works by:
- Monitoring and tracking what is being said about your business/services online.
- Analysing how the visible information affects the brand’s reputation.
- Influencing the results by responding to, removing or suppressing negative reviews.
Online reputation consists of what people think about a brand; that is why they refer to the Internet. They need a quick way to decide which organisation is trusted and publicly endorsed.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT(ORM) AND SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)
There is a difference between Online reputation management and SEO. ORM is the effort to improve what people think about you or your brand when they search you up online.
SEO stands for search engine optimisation. SEO is generally concerned with making sure your website gets to rank better for search-related terms.
A good SEO strategy uses keywords and other specific formulas to push your website toward the top of search engine rankings. On the other hand, ORM uses several strategies, SEO inclusive, to create a favourable public opinion about your business.
WHY DOES ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT MATTER?
The role of ORM is to get organisations and brands to raise awareness by increasing the number of positive reviews and reducing the number of negative reviews.
There’s a need for a solid online brand reputation, and even though it seems like a lot of work, it has tangible results.
Online Reputation Management helps boost sales.
Source: clutch.com
From this graph, it is clear that growth in sales is the biggest reward that comes from ORM. Having a solid online presence is directly linked to brand growth.
“A clean reputation limits the hesitation a client might have if they see negative reviews or complaints about your company. It makes it easier for the sales team to close a deal on a potential client,”
— Andy Beal, Reputation Refinery
ORM helps build brand image
The brand image relates to what potential customers see about the brand externally. Positive search reviews give a business a chance to get high rankings.
ORM not only builds the image but also maintains and protects it by monitoring brand reputation, minimising reputation risks and taking control over the conversation surrounding your company.
Improves visibility
ORM is a process of reaching out and engaging customers by having conversations with them continually. This, in turn, establishes brand strength among clients, thus increasing the value that a business holds.
ORM strategies put in place well-designed content through brand websites or blogs. These can be pushed to other social media platforms owned by the brand like Facebook, Twitter and more.
Builds trust and credibility
The Internet allows consumers to give their opinion on anything. And people tend to buy from brands they trust or those proved trustworthy. That’s why a business brand must build trust with its clients.
ORM achieves this by avoiding negative reviews, and even when a bad review is already out there, reputation managers ensure that the issue is resolved. ORM enables you to decide what you want your audience to see.
BOTTOMLINE
The results of ORM greatly depend on the characteristics of a business. The key is to adopt an appropriate strategy that will produce the best outcomes.
In many cases, the software is not enough. What is needed is a whole ORM solution that involves choosing the right ORM tools and campaigns managed by a team of experts.
