Online reputation management (ORM) services can benefit businesses of all types and sizes. That is especially true if the business’s reputation has suffered damage. Also, if your business is likely to suffer damage due to industry-related controversies, new laws that could impact it, or simply lousy press from online sources, ORM could come in handy. You only need to determine which type of ORM service best suits your company’s needs and how much you should expect to pay for these services.
1. Reputation Repairs
An excellent online reputation management team will work hard to repair any damage that affects your business’s reputation. That may include removing negative reviews, addressing customer complaints, and improving your online presence. To restore your online reputation, an expert may decide to help with the company’s branding and marketing efforts while still focusing on content generation such as blog posts, social media posts, videos, articles, or images.
Most providers offer some combination of these services to meet the needs of their clients. An effective reputation management provider can be crucial for repairing your damaged online reputation and help you stay in front of customers and provide them with an experience they want to repeat.
2. Negative Content Suppression
One crucial type of online reputation management service is negative content suppression. It involves suppressing any harmful content about your business that appears online. A professional can achieve that by contacting the website or individual who posted the content and asking them to take it down or using SEO techniques to push the harmful content down in search engine results to reduce its visibility.
Another common tactic they might use is compliant placement, which is when they place a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on behalf of their client. The FTC investigates complaints, so if the agency agrees with the complainant’s claim, it will notify the company that published the information. The company then has an opportunity to respond and make changes before any enforcement action takes place.
3. Online Monitoring
You can’t improve your online reputation if you don’t know what people say about you. That’s why online monitoring is the first step in any effective online reputation management strategy. By setting up Google Alerts and other listening tools, you can stay on top of the conversation and quickly address any negative sentiment. Constant online monitoring is a great way to see when you have an opportunity to post a positive comment or review or if it’s time to take action on a response.
For example, let’s say that someone just left a scathing review of your product on Amazon. Now it might be time to reach out with a response (without starting an argument). It may also be time to post another five-star review for that customer to offset the damage done by their rant. Failure to monitor your online presence can give room to negativity and quickly snowball into something much bigger than it needs to be—damaging your business for years or even decades.
4. Professional Writing
The content you create for your clients and potential customers should be in a voice that resonates with them. If you’re writing for business, speak about the daily challenges they face. You should also know how your industry operates to discuss it from an expert perspective. If you are writing for consumers, appeal to their needs by giving them advice on dealing with challenges or improving their lives.
A professional online reputation management team will help you create a social media presence that will help you to engage your audience and provide relevant information to them. They will manage any comments or complaints on blogs, forums, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and e-commerce sites like Yelp and Google reviews.
5. Website Repairs & SEO
If your website is not working correctly, it can reflect poorly on your business. A website repair service can help identify and fix any issues with your site to improve its functionality and make it more user-friendly. Additionally, it can help improve your search engine ranking, leading to more traffic and customers. Ultimately, repairing your website can help improve your online reputation and boost your business.
In addition to a website repair service, SEO services may also be beneficial for you. SEO strategies help get your website noticed by people searching for your services or products. There are various strategies that a professional in online reputation management can employ to optimize the search results in Google or other popular search engines like Bing or Yahoo!. These strategies will often include adding keywords throughout the content on your website and updating meta descriptions and page titles, so they accurately represent what your company offers.
Conclusion
Negative reviews and press can damage your business’s reputation, and you may lose the customers you worked hard to bring on board. Online reputation management (ORM) services can help you take control of your online presence and protect your business. ORM services can range from simple monitoring to complex crisis management. Some standard ORM services include social media monitoring, online review management, reputation analysis, and more. However, for practical strategies, it’s crucial to hire a reliable and experienced online reputation management company that understands the best practices in the industry