Definition:
Online reputation is the image of a brand or company that is projected on the internet.
This is given by the opinions of the users of the brand on the internet, either through reviews in search engines, opinions in forums or publications on social networks, based on their own experiences.
Importance to the brand
Online reputation has a vital importance for the brand,since many times due to poor management of it a business can cease to exist.
As a general rule, you can not control what is said about a business on the internet, so it is essential to know how to manage the action plan in the face of a bad review on the internet.
Keep in mind that those bad opinions once written are indexed by search engines, so they will appear in the searches that are made on the internet and you have to do everything possible so that they do not affect the image you have of the brand.
Managing an online reputation crisis
To prevent a brand from falling victim to a reputation crisis, it is very convenient to perform the following actions:
Monitor:
You always have to check the presence of the brand in comments from both social networks and other sources, for an early detection of negative comments or attacks on the online reputation of the brand.
Attend:
Give importance to the opinions of users and followers.
If the brand does not interact with users, both for good and for bad, it will give the impression that it does not care about its audience and will cause distrust and therefore unreliability.
Communicate:
You always have to transfer the information and content that a company shows on the internet correctly.
This can prevent malicious comments from users.
Respond:
You always have to answer questions and doubts about the brand. Also to all reviews, especially negative ones, in a correct and conciliatory tone.
Solutions can be proposed or the user can be suggested to contact the brand for clarification of the incident.
Apologize:
In the event that there has been an error on the part of the mark on an information or a communication, the mark must apologize, evaluate the error, correct it and communicate that it is corrected at the time of correction
Tools to measure online reputation
Online reputation is more important than ever these days, especially because of the ease that internet users have in leaving opinions of brands, companies or businesses.
Businesses must have a strategy against reputation crises since some such as restaurants, bars, hotels or shops may have serious problems due to comments made about them on social networks or blogs.
There are tools that measure the popularity of websites and here are a few:
- Meltwater
- How Sociable
- Rankur
- Google Alerts
- Social Mention
- Tail Wind
What you can never control a brand are the opinions expressed with malice by users who want to harm it either for personal or business interests, without having to see how your service / product is.
You have to have a very well defined strategy in the face of any type of attack and rely on the ambassadors and supporters of the brand.