The reputation management definition can be separated into three different categories. Obviously, it is managing the reputation of a company, but it can be for a company of any size, whether it is a larger company who wants to self-promote, or a just-established company which wants to get its name out there. With the help of Brick Marketing, you can use any of these types of reputation management:
- Building – This type of reputation management has to do with building the reputation for a business that is just getting started. It includes building a good reputation to maintaining it for your business.
- Maintenance – Reputation management meant to just keep a company’s good image superior in the public eye is called maintenance. This is meant for companies that are already established, and have a good reputation already.
- Recovery – If your business has gotten a bad reputation for any reason, then the recovery portion of reputation management is for you. Brick Marketing works to hide the bad reputation with good marketing and self-promotion.
- Online Reputation Management is a very labor intensive process. Any approach that is subtle and yet effective will take time, at least three months, before any progress is really seen. This includes many different strategies, which include social media such as:
- Blogging – Blogs that are updated every day
- Directory listings – Listing a website in directories using optimized keywords
- Direct reviews – Hiring someone to write good reviews of the company on websites
- Online publicity – Syndicated article writing, links, and banners
- Social networking – Posting pages on MySpace.com and Facebook.
Every plan should define reputation management, but it should also be unique to your business. What works for one company may not work for a different one, so be sure to keep your mind open, and accept that with a customized plan of attack, your reputation management will take some time to come to fruition.
Here are some of the tools and services associated with ORM:
- Reputation strategy:A well thought out strategy is the first step in conducting an effective ORM plan. After all, it’s difficult to end up where you want to be if you don’t have a map for getting there.
- Social media monitoring:The things that are said online about you or your company matter. It’s nearly impossible to monitor all social media mentions on your own though, which is why many turn to monitoring software to scan social media pages for mentions and reply as needed.
- Search engine monitoring and protecting search results:The first few links—even the first few pages—that come up when someone searches for you hold a lot of weight when it comes to your image.
- Review management:According to a 2016 consumer review study, 90% of consumers will read less than 10 reviews before making their ultimate decision about whether to use a business’s services or not. It’s crucial to track and respond to your reviews. Fortunately, there are tools that can help.
- Webpage removal:There are a lot of websites out there that attempt to do you harm. Some of them make serious efforts to destroy companies who are on the receiving end of negative reviews, and they’re often the first pages that will come up when someone searches for you.
- Wikipedia monitoring and editing:If the entire web encompasses the story that is told about your or your business, Wikipedia is sort of like the bio on the back page, holding the power to keep someone from opening your book at all.
- AutoComplete editing:Google AutoComplete is the tool that finishes your sentences in search boxes. If someone searches your name and AutoComplete pulls up the term “complaints” or “scam” or “bad reviews,” it’s probably the first place a searcher will go.