An estimated 60% of consumers avoid businesses with negative reviews, yet 45% might still consider them if they handle criticism well.
This contrast highlights how essential online reputation management (ORM) is for shaping your brand’s image.
Even with the risk of negative feedback, savvy brands understand that effective damage control can make a significant difference. By managing your online reputation, that is, addressing issues directly, showing accountability, listening to feedback and improving customer service, you can minimize the impact of negative reviews and build a stronger, more trustworthy online presence.
In this guide, we’ll unpack how online brand reputation management can enhance your digital marketing strategy, exploring key topics such as:
• Defining Online Reputation Management
• How Brand Reputation Management Fuels Your Digital Marketing Strategy
By the end, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to leverage ORM to strengthen your brand’s reputation and drive better marketing results.
But first things first: What is online reputation management?
Understanding Online Brand Reputation Management
Brand perception is how customers and the public view your brand based on their experiences with your business. In a perfect world, all companies would enjoy positive reviews and a glowing online reputation. But this is not the case as even the best-managed companies experience criticism and negative feedback.
Here is where reputation management online becomes crucial, especially when leveraging digital marketing to build your business.
So, what is online reputation management for brands? Online brand reputation management is the collective effort to monitor, influence and maintain your brand’s image across various digital platforms. This means tracking mentions of your brand, promptly addressing negative comments or reviews and fostering positive interactions.
About 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a store, and 92% will only engage with businesses with at least a 4-star rating.
Online reputation marketing (ORM), a subset of ORM, focuses on actively shaping and promoting positive online content to enhance a brand’s visibility and credibility.
You can implement reputation management online by:
• Using social media to engage with your audience, address concerns, promote positive brand stories and improve online reputation.
• Boosting conversions by improving customer interactions and experiences on your website to increase positive reviews and enhance customer satisfaction.
• Ensuring your brand appears favorably in search engine results by managing and promoting positive content and reviews.
Essentially, ORM isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ in your marketing strategy. Rather, it’s a vital piece in the puzzle that directly influences your brand’s success.
Up Next: Learn how to improve online reputation by integrating ORM into your overall marketing strategy, including social media, SEO and conversion rate optimization (CRO).
How Brand Reputation Management Fuels Digital Marketing
Here’s an interesting fact: 58% of Fortune 500 executives believe reputation management is integral to an organization’s marketing and branding strategy.
Below, we explain why and provide tips on how to improve online reputation by integrating brand reputation management into your broader marketing efforts.
ORM + Social Media
Social media is a double-edged sword. While it offers opportunities for engagement, it also exposes your brand to public criticism. Platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Instagram are often the first places customers run to voice dissatisfaction with a brand.
This is concerning as 40% of consumers use social media to research new brands and products, while 92% use social media reviews to guide their purchase decisions (ReviewTrackers). When they see low ratings or unresolved complaints, they might turn away from your brand and seek alternatives.
Here’s how to improve online reputation with social media reputation management:
1. Post Engaging Content
High-quality, relevant content helps you connect with your audience and attract followers, even those who aren’t yet customers. These positive engagements can boost your brand’s visibility and counterbalance negative feedback.
When people see your content being shared and discussed favorably, you build credibility and establish your brand as the go-to authority in your industry.
2. Reply to Comments and Messages
Over half of consumers will not use businesses that ignore reviews (BrightLocal), so make sure you have a protocol for replying to both negative and positive reviews.
When replying to positive comments, express sincere gratitude and personalize your response by mentioning specific details and the business name. For example: “Thank you, Mikha, for leaving such a wonderful review.”
Use these interactions as a marketing opportunity by inviting further engagement, such as: “We look forward to seeing you again — feel free to bring a friend!”
But what if you get a bad review or comment? It may be tempting to delete the comment, but doing this may prompt the user to escalate their complaints across your social channels.
Instead, apologize and sympathize with the commenter: “Mikha, we’re sorry you experienced this. Please reach out to us directly so we can address your concerns and make things right.”
This approach shows that you care about customer feedback and are committed to improving their experience.
3. Use Social Listening
Social media is a treasure trove for gathering insights about your brand, and social listening tools can help you tap into this valuable resource. Social listening involves monitoring and analyzing conversations about your brand across various platforms to understand public sentiment and trends.
With social listening, you can:
• Track Brand Sentiment: Use reputation management software to gain insights into how people feel about your brand, allowing you to address issues proactively and celebrate positive feedback.
• Identify Key Trends: Spot emerging trends and shifts in consumer preferences that can guide your content and marketing strategies.
• Engage With Your Audience: Respond to mentions and conversations to strengthen relationships and show that you value your customers’ input.
• Monitor Competitors: Monitor your competitors’ activities and customer reactions to identify opportunities for differentiation and improvement.
4. Create a Crisis Communication Plan
Information travels fast, and a negative comment or review can quickly escalate into a full-blown crisis. A well-defined crisis communication plan ensures you can handle such situations effectively.
Start by outlining how to handle negative reviews, particularly those that gain traction. Identify key team members responsible for communication and establish protocols for addressing and resolving issues across relevant platforms. This ensures a coordinated and timely response that minimizes damage to your brand’s reputation.
5. Build a Community and Engage Customers
A strong community around your brand ensures that even during challenging times, you have a loyal group of advocates who can support and uplift your business.
Foster this sense of community by engaging with your followers online. Share valuable content, start Instagram broadcast channels, host live Q&As or webinars — there are several ways to do this.
These efforts help strengthen connections and create a supportive network for your brand.
ORM + Search Engine Optimization
Google is the trusted search engine for 63% of consumers seeking product reviews (PowerReviews).
Reputation management for SEO or search engine optimization ensures that when people search for your brand on search engine results pages (SERPs), they will be greeted with positive information.
To improve online reputation often means optimizing your content to rank well on SERPs, managing the visibility of favorable reviews and reducing negative or misleading information and articles pushed in Discover feeds and the News results.
For example, Nestlé frequently faces scrutiny over the ethics of its corporate practices. If you type [Nestlé formula] into Google, you might notice autocomplete suggestions that reflect these ongoing discussions.
Screenshot from Google
In such a case, Nestlé could use online reputation marketing to address negative press by optimizing search results. They might start by creating a dedicated web page that directly responds to concerns and provides transparency about their practices and initiatives.
By sharing valuable content, such as blog posts, infographics and videos, that highlights positive aspects of the brand, Nestlé can improve the visibility of this content in search results.
And, to take that even further, implementing SEO best practices, like using relevant keywords and acquiring high-quality backlinks, will help push down negative coverage.
Additionally, showcasing positive customer reviews and testimonials on social media, email campaigns and other marketing channels can further enhance the brand’s reputation and build consumer trust.
ORM + Conversion Rate Optimization
Fifty or more reviews per product can boost conversion rates by 4.6% (FATbit). This increase is largely driven by social proof – a psychological phenomenon in which people look to others’ actions and opinions to guide their decisions.
Essentially, when more people share positive experiences, potential customers are more likely to follow suit, a concept known as the “bandwagon effect.”
Online reputation marketing plays a key role in this by ensuring that positive reviews are displayed and easily accessible across your digital channels. This includes showcasing favorable reviews, testimonials and social media mentions, which collectively build trust and credibility.
In addition to reviews, other effective ways to leverage social proof to boost sales and drive conversions include:
• Testimonials: Feature endorsements from satisfied customers to reinforce trust and reliability.
• Social Media Mentions: Highlight mentions and positive interactions on social platforms to create buzz and attract new customers.
• Brand Ambassadors: Collaborate with influencers or advocates to promote your products or services within their networks.
• Limited-Time Offers: Use urgency and scarcity tactics to prompt quicker purchase decisions.
Juggling multiple digital marketing strategies can be too much without the expertise, so hiring a full-service marketing agency will be your best investment.
Improve Online Reputation and Drive Conversions With Thrive Local
Managing diverse digital marketing strategies – social media, SEO, content marketing and conversion optimization – is already complex. Using reputation management online further complicates the process.
Thrive Local simplifies this by integrating ORM seamlessly with your overall digital marketing strategy. We ensure that every facet of your online presence, from handling reviews and social media feedback to optimizing search results, works harmoniously to support your growth goals.
If you’re ready to improve online reputation and drive conversions, talk to our ORM experts today.
