Online Reputation Management

Posted by LauraDerb on March 24th, 2021

Online Reputation Management refers to the suppressing or managing or altering of a person's or organization's reputation online. The process has a number of goals: it protects the reputation of a company, the individual, the organization, and their clients; it also serves as a means to enforce the control of the power of the people who have created the reputation to monitor and keep it. This also helps in building relationships and trust with these same people in the future. It is often used by large organizations that wish to control the views of their audience.

The main benefit of online reputation management is the prevention of false information being spread about a business and its clients. False information includes slanderous comments, untruthful reviews, complaints without basis, and bad business card pictures (for example, when a business uses stock images on their web site). When false information is spread, it can seriously damage the reputation of the business in the long run. When searches are conducted online about a certain business (websites, social media pages, etc), the results usually show all kinds of results, including negative and positive reviews. These reviews can greatly affect the ranking of a website or business.

An important reason why this is important is because bad reviews can significantly decrease the conversion rate of a website or a business. In simple terms, when a consumer has a bad experience online, she will most likely not visit the website or call the business again. However, if the same person comes across a positive review, she may consider making a purchase from the brand or organization. This is the concept behind brand protection. Negative reviews can have a negative impact on the reputation of a brand, which could potentially cause damage to the company.

Another benefit is that businesses can benefit from online reputation management. They can prevent the spreading of criticisms about them in social networks. If they engage in social media monitoring, they can prevent negative comments from reaching their consumers. By providing evidence-based information, they can answer any questions or doubts that they might be facing.

As discussed earlier, one of the benefits that consumers get from online reputation management is the prevention of brand reputation damage. Through social media monitoring, businesses can prevent negative criticism about their brands. They can also react quickly and positively to criticisms posted online. They can easily address these criticisms and provide appropriate answers. Through this strategy, businesses can build healthy relationships with their consumers, thus increasing the chances of gaining new clients.

However, there are some downsides of online reputation management, as well. In addition to addressing criticisms quickly and appropriately, businesses need to monitor the conversations that they are having online. Otherwise, they could start receiving negative mentions that could lead to even more negative feedback.

One problem with online reputation management is that it does not address one of the main reasons why a particular brand is under fire. While it may be true that negative feedbacks are stopping customers from buying products or services, it is also true that sometimes a company needs to address criticism head on and counter accusations head on. Without addressing these two reasons, a business could quickly find itself in a vicious cycle of negative mentions and negative feedback, all of which will have a negative impact on its brand image.

If you want to ensure your brand's survival in the face of negative feedback, online reputation management is a great tool to use. However, it is important for businesses to understand that they should not rely solely on it alone. In order to keep their social media presence intact, they should still engage in effective marketing strategies.