When you start to think about your online presence, you might wonder how something as seemingly simple as an online reputation can have such far-reaching consequences.
After all, aren’t most sites simply there to sell things? Well, the answer is yes and no. While many websites are there to make a profit off of user data and sell personalized products or services, some also exist to promote brands and offer their customers a better experience.
For example, if you go to Facebook or Twitter to ask questions or share opinions about a brand, you’re more likely to receive an honest and helpful response than if you go somewhere else.
The same goes for other social media platforms such as blogs and Instagram. This article will explore why maintaining an effective digital reputation is so important, what types of damage trust can cause, and the best ways to protect your brand online.
What does an effective digital reputation mean?
An effective digital reputation is built on three things: trust, transparency, and common sense. The first two are easy to understand, but the third one requires a bit of explanation.
The first two will come naturally to most users, while the third may require some mental exploration:
Trust – Trust is the foundation of everything. Without trust, you have no customers, no employees, and no business. Without trust, your brand has no customers and no friends. You won’t be able to execute many of the strategies that follow because trust is the lifeblood of all that follows. Without trust, you have no one.
Transparency – Transparency is vital. You can’t have trust if you don’t know what’s happening in the background. You can’t be transparent and expect people to be trustworthy. This goes back to the first two points. If people are in the dark about what’s happening behind the scenes, then how can they be trusted?
Common sense – This one is pretty self-explanatory. You might not be able to create an effective digital reputation if no one trusts you, so it’s important to take the necessary steps to gain people’s trust… and then keep it.
Why You Should Care About What People Say Online – and How to Use It To Your Advantage
You may think that what people say online is only a matter of opinion, but it’s not quite that simple. The internet has made it easier than ever for people to share their opinions and denigrate others.
With the rise of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, there’s now an even greater platform for users to get their “vets” on about anything from politics to pop culture—and have their say in the process.
It can be easy to take what people post on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter and assume they are just being sarcastic or having a joke. But as the old saying goes, when you don’t know what you don’t, that which you do know is a threat.
When someone shares something without meaning it seriously, it takes on a negative connotation almost immediately.
The seven actionable takeaways you can use to manage your brand’s online street cred are listed below.
Monitor your social footprint.
There are plenty of different social media platforms out there, but both Facebook and Twitter are popular ones.
Make regular forays into each platform to get a feel for what people are saying about you. In addition to being able to respond to issues (see below), you can get valuable insight into consumer sentiment towards your brand by monitoring all relevant websites.
Respond to people promptly.
People expect you to be sociable on social media, so when your customers contact you on social media, they want you to reply quickly to their questions.
It’s okay to acknowledge people who leave comments on your content, even if you can’t fix it immediately.
Build a relationship with your audience by soliciting their comments. Even if it’s something you can’t solve immediately, at least acknowledge them.
Preserve Your Good Reputation
Begin with social media platforms if you don’t have a digital presence established. You should start with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, and other popular sites to create social media profiles.
Even if you never plan to use a channel for social media marketing, you should reserve your name on it. This ensures other people cannot use your name and tarnish your reputation.
It’s also a good idea to establish written guidelines for your employees on social media use. Your best post can be misinterpreted and impact your brand negatively. Some organizations even require employees to change their privacy settings to keep curious eyes away.
Encourage Positive Reviews Online
You’ve heard it time and time again: positive reviews are the best way to get new customers, and they’re also one of the most effective ways to keep old customers coming back for more.
But how do you go about creating a customer-friendly review policy for your business? How can you make sure that your reviews are both informative and helpful? Here are some tips on how to encourage positive reviews for your business.
In the world of e-commerce, one of the most important things to do is to have positive reviews for your business. This goes beyond just having a few reviews on Google or Facebook.
When you have a lot of reviews, it’s like adding another thumbs-up sign to promote your brand and sell more products.
This not only makes your business look more authentic but also helps build trust with customers. They will be confident in purchasing from you because they already know your product or service is good.
Let’s take a look at how to get more positive reviews for your eCommerce store and grow your customer base organically!
Ask for Google and Yelp reviews.
Online reviews can be a great way to boost your business’s reputation and drive more traffic to your site. However, not all businesses take advantage of this resource to their fullest potential.
If you’re interested in receiving high-quality feedback on your product or service, then you should try asking for customer reviews.
Here’s what you need to know about how to ask for reviews on Google and Yelp. Both Google and Yelp offer platforms where businesses can post positive reviews and solicit feedback from other customers.
But the two review sites have very different policies when it comes to requesting user reviews. If you want to receive star ratings from your customers instead of negative feedback, here are some tips that will help you craft a successful request for reviews.
What to Know Before You Post on Social Media
Before you post on social media, you need to know what you’re talking about. This is particularly important if you’re sharing content related to video games, film, TV, or other subjects that people may take offense to.
To get a jump start on your content and ensure it doesn’t get you in trouble, here are a few things to consider: Is the Topic Politically Correct? – If not, be careful what you post.
There are certain topics, such as race relations and gun violence, that are sensitive and may not be the best choice for online discussion. – If not, be careful what you post. There are certain topics, such as race relations and gun violence, that are sensitive and may not be the best choice for online discussion.
Are You Making an Appropriate Human connection? – It’s easy to get aggressive and heated on social media, but it’s not always a good idea.
You don’t want to come across as a jerk rather than the person you are wanting to reach. – It’s easy to get aggressive and heated on social media, but it’s not always a good idea. You don’t want to come across as a jerk rather than the person you are wanting to reach.
Is Your Content Relevant? – You’re essentially sharing an opinion on what you think, which is great if you want to share your opinion, but you need to make sure it’s relevant. – You’re essentially sharing an opinion on what you think, which is great if you want to share your opinion, but you need to make sure it’s relevant. Is it Shareworthy? – You can share anything on social media, but some things are better suited to other content types where the thumbnail image will do the talking.
Know your audience.
Knowing your audience is the key to successful social media management. Once you know who your audience is, you will be better equipped to understand your presence on social media.
Your audience should be familiar with the platforms that work best for your brand and how to communicate with them on those platforms.
Building and maintaining an online reputation for your business can boost sales and positive perceptions of your company.
It’s important for businesses to use social media in a way that meets consumer expectations, so avoid the setbacks, because the world is watching!
Encourage Brand Advocacy and Create a Positive Outcomes Strategy
Brand advocacy is a powerful way for your company to build trust and loyalty with customers. A great brand conveys trustworthiness and quality.
It also provides a sense of belonging and belonging in the marketplace. Brand advocates are those people within your organization who work to help other employees understand, embrace, and support your brand.
Becoming an advocate requires you to buy into the values of the brand. It’s not something that you can pick up just by working at a company that uses that brand.
It’s something you have to actively work on and make a priority within your organization as a whole. It’s worth noting that not all brands are created equal when it comes to creating good brand advocates in the workplace.
While some may feel more authentic than others, there are many examples where public companies have poor brand advocacy practices that need to be improved upon.
So, What Can You Do to Be More User-friendly?
You can’t please everyone, so when it comes to social media, try not to make things so easy for people to please that you alienate the other 98% of your followers.
For example, if you want to allow for a more user-friendly platform with advanced search, consider using the Google API to power your search engine results.
This will help you be as user-friendly as possible while still retaining your original Google-like algorithm.
You can also try to add a message of user-friendliness to your bio and/or profile. This may seem like a small thing, but it can go a long way in connecting with your followers and building a relationship with them.
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