Online Reputation Management Is Vital for Businesses

These days, staying on top of your business’s online presence is an absolutely essential part of its success. That includes making sure that your business maintains a positive reputation online. Thankfully, agencies like InnoVision Marketing Group provide services to manage companies’ online reputations.

What is online reputation management, and why is it so important for a business? Read on below to find out more.

What Is Online Reputation Management?

This public relations type of service is essentially a way to control your business’s narrative. It is the process of managing the information about a business that can be found online so that when people search for your company, the information they’ll find is accurate, thorough, and positive.

Why Is a Business’s Online Reputation So Important?

Nowadays, more and more people choose to do research online before doing business with a company. In fact, nearly 95 percent of consumers will do so before making a purchase.

There are some other percentages that show why businesses should hire online reputation management services. For instance, 82 percent of people are likely to not choose a business if they see negative online reviews. Likewise, 85 percent of people will trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

The most important thing to remember is that your business’s online reputation can cost you millions of dollars in lost revenue if not managed properly.

Now that you understand why this is so important, what exactly does an online reputation management service entail?

What Do Online Reputation Management Specialists Do?

A professional in this specialty works to protect your business’s reputation. This includes closely monitoring any potential issues. If something does go wrong, public relations professionals will be able to handle crisis management.

Online reputation management, also known as ORM, combines public relations, social media marketing, customer service, and review management.

Some of the helpful methods include:

• Monitoring your business’s mentions in media, whether positive or negative
• Handling press releases
• Offering guidance on how to approach and control a narrative
• Providing the best keywords to most effectively boost search engine optimization (SEO)

What Digital Channels Are Involved?

Managing your business’s online reputation also involves multiple kinds of digital channels and media. The different kinds of media include owned, earned, shared, and paid.

• Owned media includes what your business actually owns and has control over, like your company’s website.
• Earned media essentially means press coverage. It can also include coverage via online articles and blog posts, as well as forums like Reddit, business-related websites like Glassdoor, and major review sites like Google and Yelp.
• Shared media typically refers to social media pages. Your business’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media accounts are a very important element of an online reputation.
• Then there’s paid media. This covers many online ads (including Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and social media ads) as well as sponsored content.

What Are Some of the Benefits of Online Reputation Management?

In addition to controlling the narrative, improving SEO, and preventing potential negative search results, there are numerous benefits to managing a business’s reputation online.

Some of the additional ways this service is vital for a business’s success include:

Online Reputation Management and SEO

ORM specialists are also particularly focused on controlling what comes up about a business on search engines. This includes making sure your business is one of the top results. After all, studies have shown that 75 percent of people will not look past the first page of results when using Google or another search engine. If you’re not one of the first few results, you’re missing out.

Customer Feedback

ORM helps to give businesses a better, more complete idea of how customers feel. By seeing what customers say about your business online, you can take the opportunity to improve and address specific concerns.

This is also one of the ways ORM can help to boost your business’s sales. When customers feel like a business actually listens to feedback, they are more likely to return. Customers also appreciate when their feedback is encouraged.

Provides Insights

Online reputation management helps you to see what people really think of your products or services. It can show you which are the most popular and generate the most positive reviews.

Thanks to customer feedback, you will also be able to gauge where there’s room for improvement. Overall, ORM gives you an accurate insight into how your business is doing.

Improves Sales

As mentioned above, the vast majority of modern-day consumers read online reviews and do some online research before trying a new brand. More and more new customers will also be able to find your business thanks to the improved SEO.

Builds Credibility

When a business’s online reputation appears positive and credible, more and more customers will see it as a brand they can count on. Having a handle on negative online mentions will maintain the trustworthy image of a brand going forward.

When your business appears credible and trustworthy, it can also attract more investors, financial institutions, and other organizations.

Improves and Builds Brand Image

The more positive reviews your business gets, the better its image. Likewise, the SEO boost improves visibility. Also, when you have plenty of positive online reviews and testimonials, you can use them on social media. This will attract even more customers.

Attracts Potential Employees

Customers aren’t the only group of people you’d want a business to impress. Individuals are also much more likely to apply for jobs with reputable companies. Job seekers may begin with a general search for certain types of businesses. When you use online reputation management, yours will be one of the top results.

Online reputation management also helps your business’s mentions on sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor.

Saves Time and Is Cost-Effective

Without professional online reputation management, controlling a business’s reputation, understanding customer feedback, and building credibility can be a daunting task. You don’t want to waste a business’s time, money, and resources when the solution is right there. So don’t hesitate to reach out to InnoVision Marketing Group today.

Here at InnoVision, online reputation management is a part of our excellent public relations and digital content services. You can find more information about InnoVision by exploring our website.