The vast majority of businesses still do not understand why it is so important for them to have a five-star reputation, and how that can benefit their business in terms of attracting more customers. The worst thing is that they are missing out on a huge opportunity, since it is incredibly easy to simply ask people to leave positive reviews. Not doing so, as any online reputation management company will tell you, leaves you open to negative and even abusive reviews that can destroy public perception of your brand. Here are 3 top tips to make sure you have a positive online image.
1. Find out What Your Current Reputation Is
First of all, you need to know what information is already out there about you, and whether this is positive or negative. Google is the best place to find this, as it is as easy as typing in the name of your business and seeing what comes up. You must understand that people today trust online reviews as much as what they trust the opinion of a personal friend. Hence, if something negative is said about you, whether that is true or not, they will believe it. You must know what people find about you, so that you can learn what you can build on and what you need to fix.
2. See Reputation Management in a Strategic Manner
Reputation management is not something you should only do when you happen to have a spare five minutes. Properly managing it is actually a full-time job, which is why you should consider hiring a professional agency to manage it for you. Together, you can create a strategic plan of action in terms of how to address the bad reviews and push them down, how to attract more positive reviews, and how to make it easier to find the positive reviews that are already out there.
3. Always Value What People Say about You
It doesn’t matter whether what they say is good or bad, you have to be thankful for it. Be publicly thankful as well, so that people know that you are listening. Positive reviews can tell you where your current operations work well, whereas negative reviews can tell you where you need to make improvements. Even a completely libelous review is a lesson to be learned. While you can draw on the online defamation law to protect yourself, it is also a chance to see who has a grudge against you and you may even be able to find out what they have that grudge.
What Is Reputation Marketing?
Another reason why you should work with a professional reputation management agency is because they will market your brand for you. They will take a proactive approach to ensure more positive reviews about you are posted online. They do so in a variety of different ways, while at the same time employing digital marketing tactics to make sure people can find those positive things.
