Protect Your Online Reputation

| Online marketing

Protect Your Online Reputation

 

Your online reputation isn’t really something you think about until someone has left some negative feedback but it really is something you should monitor and work on frequently.

All businesses need to have a great reputation online as it is likely to be researched and found by your potential customers. Try searching for yourself on Google, does anything bad stand out in the results, for example a bad review on your Google Local Business page? If yes, then this is likely to be the first thing your potential clients see when they are looking for you.

Even if you have an amazing website and rank at the top of Google, having a single bad remark can easily ruin your reputation and lose you business. You need to monitor your online reputation regularly to ensure your online reputation remains untainted.

How to protect your online reputation

1) Get social

Having a strong social media presence is very important for your online reputation. Social media gives you the chance to prove to your audience that you are the experts in your field and area and that you can be trusted. Having a strong, active social media account will hugely boost your online reputation.

2) Keep all profiles up-to-date

Keep all of your local citations, social profile and your website up-to-date. Make sure you post regularly as it is one of the best ways to gain attention.

3) Respond

You should respond to all comments good or bad. This may be on social media channels, blog posts or review sites (like Google Local Business pages). As a business you are bound to get some negative comments but neglecting to deal with them will only make you look worse.

Most people like to deal with issues through social channels like Facebook or Twitter so make sure you monitor them frequently.

4) Start an active blog

Blogging is one of the best ways to send out a positive message to your potential customers. Blogging is hugely popular for a number of reasons including being one of the best reputation tools. Try to create original, informative and relevant content frequently to increase your online reputation.

5) It’s down to you

The internet and social media has given people a voice, making it easier than ever for people to tarnish your reputation and it can be very hard to cover it up or fix it. Your online reputation only reflects how well you treat your customers. Make use of the social media platforms, connect with your audience, inform and educate and your online reputation will stay good. 

Luke Stanley