What Are The Biggest Online Reputation Management Mistakes?
Online reputation mistakes happen to every business, however, not everyone understands how to combat the negativity?
During this day and age, technology help assist users and workers with millions of duties and tasks. Online reputation management (ORM) is important for any business.
Online reputation management mistakes happen, do not be ashamed if you are confronted with a brand crisis.
The highest consumer buying behavior influences nowadays are popularly known as online reviews. If you or your company, unfortunately, generates a negative presence online you need to know all of your options.
Learn to improve your crisis response strategy plays a large part in ORM.
The internet is an ambiguous source of information, that is why it is imperative to know all of your options before a crisis emerges.
Having a positive reputation online is like having your own personal “trump card”.
Having your own trump card comes in handy when you promote new goods or services. You have already created that trust factor between your audience who will believe whatever you tell them.
Managing how your company is viewed online should be a top priority for your marketing team (or specialist).
Whether or not users are on a Google search or on the higher Business Bureau, monitoring your online reviews will be the difference between a brand crisis and an awkward phone call to resolve the issue.
Personally (as a consumer) when I look and shop online I would never purchase from a company with a recent negative review. There are exceptions to this if the company responded in a professional manner and resolved the complaint I may work with them.
Here are the top 8 online reputation management mistakes we have found that most impact businesses and individual in a negative way.
Lacking Consistency
Make sure you remain consistent and actively publish new content for your audience to see. It would be a wise choice to create a schedule and follow it strictly.
Sites such as Hootsuite offer great templates for content calendars so you never miss a post.
One key mistake several corporations make is that company try doing too much to start with.
Figure out the most successful way (from experience) to market your good or service and double down on this theory for an extended period of time.
By making your own distinct image or “brand voice”, individuals will scan a piece of writing or see a post as they’ll subconsciously say “Oh, this Remove Personal Information, I can tell because they use black and white colors with red features”.
One straightforward tip to enhance your consistency efforts would be through social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, many more.) and post original content daily.
Most of the content you see online that is original will most likely have some sort of watermark on the image or video. This is to eliminate the chances of another company ripping off your content.
Use an editing tool such as Canva.com to add watermarks to every image you post.
So spend a little more time formulating ideas, create something only you can offer. Not only will your audience like it but the chances that they share the content increases tremendously.
Post at high-traffic hours or whenever users are online the most to increase and optimize your publications. You do not want to post at midnight or at weird hours throughout the day. Think of what time you are on your phone the most and test publication times from there out.
Not only does posting at the right times work but after a prolonged period of time, your audience will know when to expect another post or blog article. Here you are creating loyalty between yourself and your target market.
When writing blogs and press releases keep a comparatively similar outlook amongst all of your articles. Establish a “voice” for your company.
A brand voice may be a specific way you portray yourself. This is an excellent way to create a competitive advantage against your competition online.
Forgetting to Set Goals
Goals or objectives will provide you with a way of direction, a map for wherever you’re making an attempt to urge and the way you are getting there.
Making a 30-60-90 day plan for your efforts is often an excellent way to begin. Multitasking is a superb quality to own, however, if enforced poorly you’ll be being further unproductive than you may imagine.
Stephen Covey, the author of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” wrote concerning this within the initial habit, “inside-out”.
The most effective example of this might be navigating a giant town like Chicago. and making an attempt to drive to your destination without a map. Imagine if you’re given a map of Houston but you are in Chicago… you can drive as fast as possible, solely the get to the wrong place faster.
Ensure all the tools you employ are to your profit. RPI gives you all the ammunition you need to accomplish your goals.
Knowing How To Respond to Negative Reviews & Comments
What determines what is personal, and professional?
Since the internet is home to millions of websites that are accessible for any and everyone. It is important to realize that not everyone is going to like your product or services.
However, your response is what makes the distinction. The most effective approach is to never get personal, only state the facts as well as admitting fault and take responsibility for their poor experience.
The old saying “the client is always right” should be a code that you live by. Small interactions such as unpleasant customer service or a bad phone call could spark a negative review.
Inadequate Local Networking
Networking and client relations are a large part of business today. It’s particularly useful once it involves managing your online reputation and brand.
Being active within the community not only shows your audience you care but it conjointly shows your staff you’re here to produce an honest and valued service.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Thinking that online reputation management isn’t vital is a terrible assumption most business owners have in 2019.
They assume everything will just “fall into place”. Well, it won’t. In fact, ignoring the problem may worsen the situation if you’re doing nothing to combat the negativity.
Remember, it is important to be proactive and not reactive when you are working online.
Your business could have stellar reviews now however one negative review may flip that around in a heartbeat.
So, make sure you continue to remind your users and customers to convey feedback.
Incentives work, supply a free gift or a price reduction if a review is provided.
If your audience notices that you are active in the community by responding to both positive and negative reviews may actually lead to more conversions (clients).
Creating a sense of transparency is key when working with new buyer personas.
Having engaging contact at an organization is another serious influence or consumers who are shopping online for a service you offer.
At the end of the day, your customers should feel like they “got the best bang for their buck”.
Various studies say 50% of users online take the time to examine reviews and articles about a particular company before they purchase anything. Never get too comfortable, the results of negative data online is harmful to your success rate.
Worst Method is Online Reputation Management (Blackhat SEO)
This is a standard mistake most businesses make without even realizing it.
Blackhat SEO refers to the utilization of aggressive computer program improvement techniques that forces search engines to confuse search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo into things your article is about something when it really isn’t.
A typical incidence would be inserting keywords at the top of your sentences and turning the text to white, this is a big red flag.
The readers won’t see the text however Google can acknowledge it from the markup language code and rank your web site higher.
Another method is placing your keyword in over 3% of the body text.
Try using synonyms and other semantics to get your point across instead of using the same word or phrase repeatedly.
Search engines like Google, Bing, and AOL have stepped up their preventive measures to confirm these practices stop. Your search visibility is going to be dramatically lower and in some circumstances.
Google can noindex your entire site! That means your website will NEVER show on Google search results. Although that is extremely rare we see it happen.
There are several effective ways to market your business, SEO takes time and sadly, there are not any quick-fixes once performing on the web.
Know Your Worth, Do Not Oversell
Working as a startup or in sales, employees say things just to close the sale. Having a “we’ll figure it out as we go” attitude.
Having the mentality of closing the sale without knowing you can complete the job is a recipe for disaster.
So, be direct and honest with your consumers. You will never be able to sustain long term growth if you lie about your ability to yield adequate results.
Not only will it eat up your time as you try to figure the problem, but the client will also most likely contact you often for updates or concerns about why the job is showing no progress.
A company’s success is embedded in their morals and beliefs. build your word and create a relationship with your customers.
At the end of the day, managing online reputation management mistakes are key to learning how you can improve your brand image online. Your reputation is a double-edged sword, do you know your options?
Contact us here to receive your free reputation consultation. Read another recent blog of the best ways to manage your online reputation to minimize the risk of mistakes on your end.