Today’s consumers know more about you than ever before, and they’re also able to share their opinion with their peers at the touch of a button. While this is excellent news for companies that are open and receptive to feedback, it can be terrible if your company has an online reputation problem. Here are six tips to help you stay on top of your online reputation so that it never gets out of hand.
1. Hire A Reputation Management Agency
To manage your online reputation effectively, you’ll need to work with a reputable company specializing in reputation management. When you hire a reputable reputation management company, they’ll be able to help you create and implement an online reputation management strategy. The best plans will help your business maintain a positive image and build trust with consumers so that your website becomes their first choice for doing business with you.
Our team of professionals at DigitalOx Ltd is trained in online reputation management, including search engine optimization, and can create and implement strategies to improve your company’s online presence. When choosing a company, look for one that has experience managing reputations for businesses similar to yours, and ask about their history of results. Examples of past work or references from satisfied clients should be available upon request.
2. Think Before You Tweet
Before posting anything on Twitter, think about what it will say about your brand. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and if you can’t stand behind a tweet, don’t send it out. It might seem like a waste of time, but it could save your business in more ways than one. A good rule of thumb is not to say anything online that you wouldn’t want on the front page or plastered across an office wall.
Think about who might be able to find it and whether or not it will add value to your followers’ lives. Make sure any posts you put out there align with your business goals. No matter how carefully you consider your social media strategy, some people will still be offended by what you tweet. Hence, finding a reliable online reputation management team can help you monitor your brand across all major search engines and social networks and quickly manage positive and negative reviews.
3. Update Your Privacy Settings
If you haven’t already, take some time out and review your social media privacy settings. Make sure that your profile is as private as it can be. Hence, you don’t accidentally share something embarrassing with people who could bring it back and hurt you—like a photo from that wild party four years ago. It’s also important to know that just because you make something private doesn’t mean it will stay confidential.
So if there are things you don’t want anyone to see, delete them entirely instead of just making them private. You may also want to consider removing or changing any posts or photos that might embarrass you in a professional setting. Online privacy will always be an illusion- but you can protect yourself as much as possible by taking advantage of every social media setting.
4. Be Careful What You Say About Others or Your Clients
Be cautious with what you say about other people, your competitors, or your clients. If you’re slinging mud at a competitor, it could look like lousy karma if they win an award or get a massive contract before you do. It also could come back to haunt you if one of your customers feels slighted by something you said about them online. Always be aware that anything you say online is public information—and once it’s out there, there’s no taking it back.
It’s always better to focus on positive things rather than bringing others down. You never know who might end up working for your competition or buying from your client. In addition, you will hurt someone else’s feelings. Also, these negative comments can quickly spread throughout social media and cost you potential business. Don’t just think about how a statement may affect you; consider how it may affect others!
5. Protect Yourself
Your online reputation can harm your personality or business if you don’t take steps to protect yourself or your business. Though there are some things you can do on your own, a professional online reputation management company will do a lot of heavy lifting for you and your company. Three main areas need attention:
- Fake reviews
- Negative reviews
- Unwanted mentions
If any of these issues come up for you or your business, it’s time to start working with an expert who knows how to manage all three areas effectively. They will protect your personality or business by ensuring only positive information is found when someone searches for you or your brand. That means they will go into places like Yelp, Google, Ripoff Report, etc., to find and fix problems.
Conclusion
No matter your online reputation, it’s best to have some professional online reputation management in place. You may never know when the bug might hit. Keep track of your online activity with a social media dashboard and stay consistent with posting information that benefits you. Be sure to update your various profiles at least once a week (or more frequently) to avoid missing opportunities. If you need a little help managing your online profile, an experienced and reliable online management team will help get your business where it needs to be at affordable rates.