Why Brands Need Online Reputation Management in 2024?
December 25, 2023 / ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
It is often said that the true test of a negative situation is how you handle it, and this term also applies to brands. It is because the social web gives everyone the freedom to have an opinion about you, and only a few of them would understand the facts.
The web is full of rumors, rants, and misinformation, and you will find thousands of people on social media taunting and ridiculing you. When you face such a situation, trying to cover up problems by removing online evidence or paying for positive posts is tempting, but it often backfires.
More than 90 percent of customers will read your business or product reviews before visiting the store or purchasing. This is why online reputation management is important, as it impacts 50% of brand value.
What is Online Reputation Management ORM?
Online reputation management(ORM) is the practice of monitoring, managing, and improving the brand or person’s reputation online. The primary aim of ORM is to shape how a target entity is perceived and portrayed online, especially on social media.
Here are some of the key components of online reputation management.
- Keep vigilant about mentions, reviews, and other content
- Responding to negative content and feedback.
- Developing and promoting positive content
- PR and marketing strategies to improve search rankings
- Analyzing metrics and listening to stakeholders
- Being proactive rather than reactive.
The ultimate goal of the ORM is to build an authoritative, consistent, and positive online presence that showcases the best attributes of the brand or individual. You need to remember that an effective online reputation is not a time activity but an ongoing process.
10 Reasons Why Online Reputation Is Important?
The internet has become super important as we are going to enter in 2024. When someone searches for you online, what they find online becomes their first impression of you. It’s a big deal. Here are the 10 reasons why ORM matters for everyone.
1. Boosts Sales and Increases Profits:
An effective online reputation management strategy directly correlates with increased sales and profits. By actively managing brand perception online, businesses can build trust and credibility with customers.
A Harvard Business School study says that businesses with more star ratings can get an increase in revenue by as much as 9 percent. It means that products with lots of positive reviews attract more customers.
Reviews spread fast online, so invest in managing your reputation. Too many negative reviews can hurt sales, and that is why you need to work with a reputation management agency if needed. Good reputations reduce advertising costs, and that is why protecting your reputation is important.
2. Impacts Your SEO Efforts:
Your website visibility will likely decrease if your business lacks customer interest. Good on-page SEO alone is not enough; it is only one part of the game. One key benefit of online reputation management is that it increases awareness.
Online reviews play a key part in Google’s local SEO, and 15% of Google Local Pack rankings come from online reviews. This shows the importance of managing your reputation. Google highly values user-generated content (UGC). Generating more positive user reviews on Google and review sites is an effective strategy.
3. People Are Increasingly Researching You Online:
A few damaging links on page one of Google can cost you customers who are turned off by what they find. A proactive online branding strategy is needed to influence what impressions people form when Googling you or your company.
People online can find you or more about your business through search engines and social media, especially if the decision is going to have commercial intent. Apart from this, your prospective customers, partners, and employers are very likely to look you or your company up online before engaging. These searches give people thorough knowledge of brands and individuals.
It is where search engines and review sites make it easy to find background information with simple online searches. However, if these searches turn up excessive negative sentiment, hostile articles, or concerning revelations, it can immediately affect their willingness to do business with you.
4. Creates Instant Social Proof:
Getting trust and a strong online reputation is one of the key challenges for businesses. Making your customers believe that your business is worth investing in is more important for a business to grow. It is where social proof can turn things around.
But if your business has three to five stars, whether they are on e-commerce site reviews, local service reviews, or review aggregators sites, These stars demonstrate the value of online reputation management.
ORM enables you to showcase social proof on your website by highlighting client logos, displaying customer reviews, and linking to various review platforms to enhance credibility.
5. Improves Products, Services and Customer Experience
When people feel heard, it greatly enhances their experience and satisfaction. Incorporating their feedback helps in improving the product and services.
By closely monitoring what people are saying in reviews, mentions, and discussions, you can gain an understanding of customer sentiment and pain points.
Businesses can identify common complaints or issues and then customize offerings to better address the needs of their target audience. Proactively seeking out and implementing customer feedback for improvements demonstrate that the business genuinely listens and cares.
6. You can edge over competition:
It is important to differentiate yourself from the competition in today’s highly competitive online marketplace.
Online reputation management can help strengthen your marketing efforts by showcasing your unique selling proposition from the customer’s point of view through online reviews. Online reputation management allows your customers’ feedback to sell your value for you, presenting it from your most authentic source: your customers.
7. Hire a more talented workforce:
When HR departs, recruits new talent, selling not only the job description or certain set of benefits but also the company itself. When a company has an authoritative and positive online presence, an ORM campaign can help to boost its ability to retain top talent. Online reputation management helps the brand build creditability and trust with the general public.
8. Improves Conversion Rates:
Implementing comprehensive online reputation management strategies through the best solutions can significantly increase trust and credibility for a brand.
When a brand is perceived as trustworthy, consumers are much more likely to purchase from that company. Research indicates that brands with stellar reputations with positive reviews and social proof can increase conversion rates by up to 270% compared to those with poor or limited reputations.
9. Get More reviews:
Online reputation management provides many benefits that keep business momentum going. One tangible gain is generating positive reviews on high-authority sites. ORM helps to create opportunities for your brand and products. A good ORM strategy targets getting reviews on influential review platforms like Goodreads and Trustpilot.
Reviews from established sites can significantly boost your online credibility and reputation. ORM helps sustain business growth by securing positive endorsements on reputable review hubs.
10. Get ready for crisis:
While companies want to avoid any sort of crisis, still unforeseen crises can strike any brand at any time. It may include scandals, damaging new stories, or other sudden events that put a reputation at stake. Without an effective response plan, these can go out of control and inflict lasting reputational damage. That is why a well-managed online reputation management service can demonstrate your brand resilience in challenging times.
Conclusion:
As we enter 2024, Online Reputation Management has become even more important. Every click and positive interaction will help you write your own digital story. The power lies in your hands, and you must figure out what kind of story you want to create. Maintaining a positive online reputation requires consistent efforts as it is an ongoing process.
