In my last write – up, I shared my ideas on the importance of online reputation management. Here I present some thoughts on strategies to manage your online reputation.
While it may be possible to exercise some restraint on public opinion in the real world, it is very difficult in the world of web or the virtual world (as many call it). Still however a proactive approach in your online reputation management can work wonders.
Here are some strategies to ensure that you are portraying just the right kind of image online.
Protect your Identity
Social media has become an easy source for consumers to vent their dissatisfaction. With a new social networking website coming almost every day, it is important therefore to track the latest and purchase if required all the domain names that could be used to spread a negative word about you.
Work with the search engines
Punch some keywords pertaining to your business / key people in some of the frequently used search engines and see what appears on the search engine result page. If you haven’t optimised your web pages, chances are something else with show up which is either irrelevant to your business or fictional intended to malign your reputation.
Leverage the power of social media
The world of web is changing very fast. Websites have become a thing of past (in some sense), what’s more important is to ensure your presence on the online networking sites like LinkedIn, twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. Running a blog or participating in a forum discussion is equally important.
The more important task is to use these media to engage your consumers. It works two ways; one, they know you are not obsolete and second, it reinforces a positive brand image.
Build a support infrastructure
Presence on networking sites (professional and social) means that your customers will start to communicate with you. They may share their feedback, ask a question or respond they way you wanted them to basis your engagement strategy. Now all the customer enthusiasm may fizzle out in absence of a support infrastructure! You have to deploy dedicated resources, therefore, to ensure that their queries are being answered and the process of engagement is driving home a competitive advantage in terms of building customer loyalty.
DESIGN what is to be posted
Many organisations fail terribly in online reputation management because the underlying intent is mere presence. Managing your online reputation calls for meticulously designing the online posts, be it testimonials of happy customers, awards and recognitions or your contribution to the community. All this to ensure that just the right kind of message is reaching out to your audience!
Now you may use all these to manage your online reputation, as you explore and grow your presence, you will find that managing might get complex. Use online tools like social stream, social bakers etc, you task will get easier.