But turning around perceptions of your brand is possible, especially when you have safeguards to limit the damage and deal with problems before they occur.<\/p>\n
Managing your brand\u2019s reputation online isn\u2019t a once-and-done process, but investing in it as soon as possible can save you plenty of future headaches.<\/p>\n
What Is Online Reputation Management?<\/h2>\n
The key focus of online reputation management, or ORM, is to create a positive perception of a brand or business.<\/p>\n
Every activity a brand takes part in should be monitored and managed to help shape the opinions of existing and future customers, ultimately making the business appear reliable and trustworthy.<\/p>\n
The Connection Between ORM And SEO<\/h3>\n
We all know that customers are increasingly turning to search engines as they research<\/a> new products to buy or services to invest in.<\/p>\n So ensuring that, when your brand is searched, the best and most positive results are the ones that show up first is an essential part of any ORM strategy.<\/p>\n What appears in those top searches heavily influences how people think about your brand.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why you need to be in control of those results as much as possible, and take ownership of what message is being shown to your audience.<\/p>\n ORM is a multi-channel approach to prevent and resolve any issues that could damage your brand\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n While the mix that each business uses to maintain its online reputation will differ, ORM should involve a combination of the following:<\/p>\n Although reputation management should be part of an ongoing approach to building a healthy brand online, many companies don\u2019t act until the damage has already been done.<\/p>\n Recovering your online reputation is incredibly challenging.<\/p>\n A bad experience with your business can not only put a single customer off from returning to your brand again, but if they choose to leave a negative review on Google, Facebook, or elsewhere, you could quickly see sales dropping.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re not actively monitoring your brand mentions and reviews circulating online about your company, you could quickly miss out on an opportunity to change the narrative before long-lasting negative perceptions take hold.<\/p>\n A 2022 report by Khoros found that 83%<\/a> of customers say they feel more loyal to brands that respond to and resolve their complaints.<\/p>\n So, not only can swift action prevent turning off new customers, but you may even be able to retain unhappy existing customers too.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have a finger on the pulse of chatter about your brand online, you could be spending thousands of dollars on new marketing campaigns that will fall flat at the first hurdle because you didn\u2019t deal with bigger issues sooner.<\/p>\n Messaging could be in stark contrast to issues being raised by customers, coming across as insensitive and possibly insulting, rather than making the positive impact you were hoping for.<\/p>\n Remember, your online reputation lasts forever.<\/p>\n Countless businesses and individuals have learned this the hard way.<\/p>\n Remember the viral interview with then-BP CEO, Tony Hayward, days after the tragedy that saw 11 deaths after the explosion on Deepwater Horizon? His statement of, \u201cI just want my life back\u201d did not land well, when actual loss of life had occurred.<\/p>\n A mountain of backlash quickly swept over the BP online properties, going so far as former President Barack Obama saying that he \u201cwishes he could fire him<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Without online reputation management<\/a>, you can quickly end up in a lose-lose situation.<\/p>\n With proactive measures, though, you can keep control of your brand\u2019s story in search results and plan ahead for any possible problems.<\/p>\n While the phrases \u201creputation management\u201d and \u201cpublic relations\u201d are often used interchangeably, what they actually involve are very different.<\/p>\n Both can be used effectively as part of your brand\u2019s overarching only strategy, but it\u2019s important to understand the differences before investing in one or both options.<\/p>\n Where ORM is solely focused on the needs of the brand and maintaining a positive image online, PR plays a more mutually beneficial role between a brand and other organizations, particularly the media.<\/p>\n PR efforts can and should aim to improve the reputation of a brand in the eyes of the public.<\/p>\n But typically, the goal is to provide information about something more specific, like a new product or service.<\/p>\n Like other forms of advertising, PR is another direct marketing channel that brands can use to increase their visibility, both on and offline.<\/p>\n Although ORM and PR can work independently of each other, pairing both will help a business cover behind-the-scenes brand building (ORM) and public-facing marketing (PR).<\/p>\n When your brand faces negativity online, even with a solid ORM program in place, PR can also be used to roll out important updates or comments via the media to help address the problem.<\/p>\n Online reviews are almost impossible for brands to control, and nowhere is that clearer than on social media.<\/p>\n Yes, dominating the search engine results pages (SERPs) with positive stories about your brand is a crucial part of ORM.<\/p>\n But so, too, is effectively managing and responding to comments elsewhere online.<\/p>\n Staying active and engaged in social conversations about your brand is essential.<\/p>\n There is plenty of software out there to help you stay on top of this, including tools like Mention<\/a>, BrandWatch<\/a>, Sprout Social<\/a>, and BuzzSumo<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many of these offer sentiment analysis functionality, where you can easily keep tabs on whether your mentions are skewing more positively or negatively.<\/p>\nFactors That Contribute To ORM<\/h3>\n
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Why Is Online Reputation Management Important?<\/h2>\n
Changing The Narrative<\/h3>\n
Understanding Your Customers<\/h3>\n
Getting Ahead Of Issues<\/h3>\n
![\"What](\"https:\/\/marketingnewsbox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/what-is-online-reputation-management-orm-via-sejournal-vandernickr.png\")
Screenshot from Google, December 2022<\/span><\/div>\nHow Is Online Reputation Management Different From PR?<\/h2>\n
Social Media Marketing And Online Reputation Management<\/h2>\n