Ninety percent of customers will read online reviews about your business before visiting your store. They also do it before they check out your website or Facebook page. This is why reputation management is important, with studies showing at least half of your business market value is impacted by your online reputation.
In fact, 58 percent of Fortune 500 executives see reputation management as an integral part of branding strategy, driving the demand for online reputation management company services.
Are you experiencing any of the following:
• Revenue losses
• Diminished consumer trust
• Lower search rankings
• Increased employee turnover
• Increase in marketing expenses
You might be surprised to know that they’re related to poor online reputation management.
Online Reputation Management: What You Need To Know
In this post, we will cover what is online reputation management (ORM) and outline the tasks and strategies to make it work. Along the way, we will also point out the cost of not paying attention to ORM. Finally, we’ll look into the benefits of reputation management (review response services in particular).
Aside from the importance of online reputation management, we will also unpack the basics of ORM marketing. That will include the role of online reputation management in digital marketing. Brand reputation management is vital to your social media presence, as well as your search engine optimization (SEO) performance.
Another importance of reputation management relates to your Google Business Profile (previously Google My Business) listing. We’ll go over ORM’s impact on local SEO and how it can help turn customers into brand advocates. We will also look into the benefits of using reputation management software and hiring an online reputation management service.
What Is Online Reputation Management?
ORM is the aspect of a business that centers on monitoring and managing your brand’s digital reputation. The goal is to improve your trust signals to encourage investors and customers to do business with you. That is why online reputation management is important.
Your reputation management strategy should contain a mix of SEO, digital PR, conversion rate optimization (CRO), reputation monitoring, reputation repair and social media follower growth and review generation. The proper mix of these tactics allows your business to reap the benefits of reputation management.
Why Online Reputation Management Is Important
What is online reputation management for brands? It’s a marketing tool and practice focused on protecting and managing your online image. ORM marketing and management are more important now than ever. A brand that has a good reputation tends to be trusted by more customers and businesses.
The following are the top 10 reasons why online reputation management is important:
1. Boosts Sales and Increases Profits
According to a Harvard Business School working paper, every star rating that a business gets (like on Yelp or other review aggregation sites) can increase revenue by as much as 9 percent. Ninety-seven percent of consumers say online reviews definitely influence their purchase decisions. This stresses the financial importance of online reputation management.
Businesses that have products with lots of excellent reviews attract more customers. This answers why reputation management is important in today’s digital-heavy world.
Reviews about your company and products spread faster than the old word on the street. This is why you should invest in ORM marketing. Too many negative reviews can reduce sales and return on investment (ROI). Work with an online reputation management agency if you need help building or repairing your online reputation.
Businesses with very good online reputations don’t have to spend more on advertising than those with bad reputations. That’s another reason why reputation management is important.
2. Impacts Your SEO Efforts
If your business can’t generate enough interest among customers, then expect your site’s visibility to go down as well. Sure, you may have done your part when it comes to on-page SEO, but that is only one part of the equation. One of the benefits of reputation management is that it increases brand awareness.
Fifteen percent of the ranking factors in Google’s Local Pack come from online reviews. This stresses the importance of reputation management. Google places a huge value on user-generated content (UGC). One of the effective strategies that you can use is to generate more user reviews on Google and other review websites.
Ask any online reputation management service provider, and they will tell you that UGC should be integrated with your Google Business Profile (GMP). By doing this, you improve your click-through rate (CTR) and increase your brand’s trustworthiness. Eventually, your local rankings go up.
3. Supports Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Social media is a vital part of search engine marketing as well as ORM. Brand reputation management requires each business to formulate an effective social media strategy. The goal is to make your brand more customer-focused and accessible to leads and current customers.
Studies show your customer churn could increase by as much as 15 percent simply because you didn’t actively engage your customers. When your visitor engagement is low, people will see your brand as just another business only looking to sell something.
Forty-six percent of businesses today use social media for online reputation management in digital marketing. Others use review sites, news websites and blogs.
4. Creates Instant Social Proof
Another importance of reputation management is that it instantly creates social proof for your brand. UGC isn’t only important for search engines; it’s something people also use to measure trustworthiness. When people see one or two stars on a review about your business, it keeps them from investigating further.
However, if you earn three to five stars, it can effortlessly convert a casual onlooker into your next customer. This demonstrates the value of online reputation management in digital marketing. ORM allows you to social proof your site. Highlighting client logos, displaying customer reviews and linking to different review platforms help.
5. Improves Products, Services and Customer Experience
Another importance of online reputation management is it allows you to analyze customer feedback. This feedback is a big help in product development. You can better address customer needs and customize your products to solve their pain points. When people know you’re listening, it improves customer experience.
6. Attracts a More Talented Workforce
Why is reputation management important? ORM builds your brand’s credibility, resulting in a lot of trust with the general public. Your high reputation also becomes a magnet for people who align with your core values. More talented professionals will want to work with you. Remember that 69 percent of job hopefuls tend to reject offers from companies with bad reputations.
7. Increases Customer Loyalty and Turns Them Into Brand Advocates
Businesses can improve customer loyalty by staying on top of reviews and social media comments. Promptly addressing complaints creates opportunities to establish excellent rapport with customers.
Social media monitoring helps you understand customer sentiments and provide valuable solutions. Improving customer loyalty turns clients into brand advocates that spread the word about your business. Still asking yourself, “Why is reputation management important?” This is one good reason to do it. There’s no way to keep track of everything happening on the web, which is why taking advantage of software solutions and the best online reputation management services is key.
8. Improves Conversion Rates
Using the best online reputation management solutions increases trust in your brand. This includes conflict resolution and getting more positive brand reviews. When your brand reputation is solid and trust is high, you get increased conversion rates. Studies show that getting more positive reviews can increase your conversion rate by as high as 270 percent.
9. Manages Unknown Website Listings
Using ORM software, you can better identify, claim and manage unknown website listings. There are hundreds of online directories, such as Yelp, for instance. Unfortunately, some of these listings and backlinks have a negative impact on your site. Getting the best online reputation management service will allow you to find them as soon as possible.
10. Provides More Control over Your Online Presence
Your online business presence is everywhere. You control the content on your website and social media pages. But you don’t have 100 percent control over other portals like Reddit, Quora and review sites. With excellent brand reputation management, you can regain control of how your brand name is used online.
Why Work with an Online Reputation Management Agency
Getting the best online reputation management services is key for all businesses, with 84 percent of marketers believing ORM should be a core part of future marketing efforts. Thrive is an online reputation management company with a proven track record of building and repairing the credibility of hundreds of companies.
For instance, we helped a renewable energy company obtain more than 592 new positive reviews in just five months. We also helped a local plumbing company generate 23 times more positive reviews in 12 months.
ORM wins you half the battle in today’s crowded online marketplace. It’s vital to your GMB listing, SEO efforts, social media performance, sales and ROI. If you need help in any of these areas, call today or fill out this form for a free consultation.
