How to control your online reputation?

Mastering your online reputation is not easy and requires regular monitoring. Indeed, it is relatively easy to obtain and distribute information on a company. This same information often influences consumer choices. But how can you control this information to manage your online reputation? Let’s see it together!

What is the online reputation or “e-reputation”?

E-reputation or online reputation will correspond to the image that a company will send on the internet. We can translate this into the image that consumers have of a company very concretely.

Online reputation is maintained by everything that will concern the company directly or indirectly: social networks, its blog, the various opinion platforms, videos, customer testimonials or testimonials from former employees, etc.

Given the ease with which information is disseminated on the internet, you will have understood that any user can obtain this information and use it.

The e-reputation is crucial because it determines the consumer’s view about your company, whether good or bad, favorable or unfavorable.

Very concretely, this will influence the consumer on his behavior, opinion, etc.

The most significant difficulty of e-reputation lies in its control! Even if the company can partly control its reputation, it does not have total control.

Indeed, online reputation is built by Internet users and not by the company itself. You can do following things;

• Coverage New customers
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2. The importance of e-reputation

My business is making money. Why should I care about my online reputation?

Some companies likely think this way, and it is not the best way to think! Indeed, customers and prospects are susceptible to the reputation of a brand or a company.

A company’s online reputation will generally influence your recommendation rate, consumer choice, loyalty, etc.

For example: when you are looking for a restaurant to have lunch, you often tend to look at the reviews on the internet or directly ask the opinion of people who have already had lunch there, right? According to the views you will find, you may not go to the restaurant, and yet this one could very well have pleased you!

We take the example of catering here because it will speak to everyone. However, this also applies to all types of companies, both in B2B and B2C.

We mean that your product or service may perfectly match consumers’ expectations. Still, a single negative opinion, a single negative testimonial, or the like can deter them from buying the product or service.

As said before, the company’s online reputation is difficult to control and master. However, it can still partly manage its online reputation by regularly monitoring its presence on the internet. A bad reputation is caused by many factors: neutral content, controversial social posts, pejorative testimonials about the company, defamatory comments, etc. Therefore, it is imperative to monitor these points to react quickly and answer! For example, when receiving negative opinions on your company, it is crucial to respond promptly and correctly (to mention the blocking points, the misunderstandings that there may have been, etc.). It shows the seriousness and professionalism of your business. Conversely,

3. How to improve your online reputation?

1.    Use customer reviews:

Exploiting customer reviews is a phenomenon increasingly used by companies. There are often dedicated blocks or pages devoted to these “reviews.” (our references, they trust us, etc.)

In addition, many companies register on review sites, but this practice can turn against them in the case of predominantly negative reviews.

We recommend that you have a google my business file to use your customer reviews.

This sheet will allow you to display the various information of your company: place, schedule, telephone number, photo of the site, and to show customer reviews! Internet users will therefore be able to consult notices and other important information.

On your google my business page, remember to respond to opinions, whether they are negative or positive, this shows your seriousness and professionalism. Do not hesitate to solicit your current and satisfied customers to leave a positive opinion!

2.    Natural referencing or (SEO)

As a reminder, natural referencing (SEO) refers to the actions and optimizations of a website to make it more visible on search engines.

We don’t necessarily think about it. SEO is a crucial element for a company’s reputation. The visibility of a website on search engines is a real plus! Why? It’s pretty simple. A user will always trust a site that often appears at the top of Google results than another site. SEO is, therefore, an element not to be neglected for its digital strategy but also its online reputation.

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3.    Social networks:

Social networks are probably the most critical vector to consider when discussing online reputation.

Indeed, it is on social networks that consumers will talk about your company/brand.

However, with good use, the networks make it possible to acquire new customers and retain existing customers: it is a very powerful lever with a strong influence on the consumer. It makes it possible to create a “link of proximity” between the business and the consumer.

To improve your reputation, you can respond to Internet users, create events, contests, or surveys to solicit your community!

4.    Train employees internally:

And yes, employee training can improve your online reputation, or at least avoid bad buzz.

Do not forget that your employees are also important vectors of your company’s reputation.

Your collaborators likely have personal social accounts on which they post content. Some Internet users will have no difficulty in making the connection between your employee and controversial content that he may have published and your company.

Therefore, it is essential to raise awareness and train your employees to avoid this kind of association.

For example: Raising awareness on the use of social networks and the impact on the company.

5.    Respond to negative reviews.

To control and improve your reputation, we advise you to always respond to customer reviews, whether positive or negative.

In the case of positive opinions, this helps to retain your current customers and increase your recommendation rate. On the other hand, in the case of negative reviews, this allows you to manage your brand image. Regarding responding to negative reviews, remember to treat your responses by being concise and professional.

6.    Create a blog.

Creating a blog will allow you to offer quality content for Internet users, which will contribute to the good reputation of your business.

In addition to responding to actual customer issues, the blog is of paramount importance in SEO. However, it is essential to know your target and its problems well to offer relevant content.

VSEs like SMEs, B2B, or B2C, monitoring your online reputation is crucial! It is therefore vital to monitor the various communication media and act quickly to control your online reputation.

If you want to manage your online reputation with a reliable digital marketing agency, feel free to contact us.