Protect Your Business with Reputation Management
Adventures Media Solutions
What exactly is Reputation Management? Well, it is a strategy for maintaining and monitoring your online presence. Business owners can spend years developing a high-quality brand and one negative review can leave it blemished. According to a study done by Harvard Business School just one negative article about your business can negatively affect 10% of your company’s sales. These days there are so many forums, review websites, news sites and social media sites out there. It can be tough to keep up with how your reputation is perceived on every site. However, it is essential for your business’s growth to have a stellar online profile. To maintain your profile, you should be staying informed with the latest reviews.
How Online Reputation Management Works
When a customer looks up your website on Google or your Google Business Profile both serve as your first impression. This can have an enormous impact on whether they choose to do business with you. According to consumer reports, 80% of customers report that they search online to discover more about a business. It is essential for your business growth that you put your best foot forward online. Especially since 90% of consumers report not visiting a business with negative reviews.
Thankfully, your online reputation is in more in control when you practice reputation management. When you create a strong online presence, you can present yourself positively to prospective customers and build your brand, while also providing a foundation to work with should a reputation crisis arise. Here are a few tips to consider when you want to improve your company’s online reputation.
1. Place your Business on “Google My Business”
You might know that your business is fantastic, and your regular customers may agree, but this may not be what is seen online. The first step in establishing a strong online reputation is to Google search your company name and get a reality check. Scan the search results on the first two pages. Imagine you are a potential customer who knows nothing about your company. What do you see? If potentially damaging material exists on sites that you own, you can update your information and respond to reviews. If your business is already listed on Google My Business, you need to claim and verify your Google Business Listing. Remember if your listing is outdated, it can turn away future customers. It is important to build out your content and keep relevant information posted. Active Google My Business pages thrive with regular content updates and posting.
2. Register Your Business
Now that you know what is in your Google search results it is time to secure your business on listing sites like Yelp, Trust Pilot, Better Business Bureau. Anywhere you can think to find an available and appropriate profile for your business, secure it so you can turn it into positive content. If you do not register your accounts, your business appears absent, and this could raise a red flag for potential customers.
In addition to claiming profiles, begin a search for the most common social media platforms and start creating profiles. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are perfect for monitoring your business reviews.
3. Monitor Your Business
Once you are set up with Google and social media sites make sure alerts and notifications are turned on and you are monitoring and answering comments. The alerts allow you to formulate a response and launch a response strategy as soon as possible for negative and positive reviews. Also keep in mind that even a scathing review can become a positive interaction when the business replies quickly and can resolve the issue. Many times, angry customers are willing to remove a negative review with exceptional customer care and service to fix the issue or concern.
4. Produce Positive Content and ask for 5 Star Reviews
It is always a clever idea to encourage customers to write reviews online, yet you cannot control what they write. Another option is to turn to what you can control: search rankings. Try posting informative and relevant articles and keyword rich content on your website. Writing quality content takes time every month.
One of the best ways to create quality content is to write content rich blogs for your website which create on-site SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Blogging should contain useful information that your potential customers want to know about your business and the products and or services you provide. You will see improvement in your Google search results and expose your services and products to potential future customers.
If this is all sounding like too much work to do since you have a business to run, let Adventure’s Media Solutions help you get to where you need to be. We can handle verifying your company online, regular social media posting, consistent relevant content blogs and content build out for your website. Our reputation management monitors and encourages reviews, connecting with your customers, and setting up a long-term plan to maintain your business’ growth. We are here to help. Contact us for a consultation at (901) 605-1949.