What is online reputation? And how to take care of it?

A bad online reputation is always a heavy burden to carry but even harder to unload. Once established, it doesn’t change easily, so knowing what online reputation is, its importance, and key aspects such as how it works, how to manage it, and how to avoid a possible crisis will help you maintain a healthy and polished image with your users. Ready to get started? Let’s go!

What is online reputation?

Digital reputation consists of the image, level of prestige, and sentiment that your brand generates in the general public. It originates from “word of mouth” in the comments and opinions that both people and influencers make about it through the different digital channels in which it has a presence.

It is a term linked to “social proof,” a psychological phenomenon that moves people to copy the actions, thoughts, ideas, opinions, etc., of others, something very useful in marketing since, in reality, most people decide on a product or service according to the comments and choices that other people make about it on the networks.

The term online reputation is often confused with brand image; however, although related, each entails substantial differences. Brand image refers to the perception that consumers have of the brand, while digital reputation refers to the impact that such comments and opinions have on the brand’s image.

What is the importance of online reputation?

According to a recent study, 94% of consumers choose a brand over another of its kind based on the comments and opinions they find about them in digital media. The one that has the approval of the majority on social networks and other platforms will be chosen 94 times out of 100.

A good reputation equals good advertising, which translates into more leads and sales conversions. Are you starting to see the importance? Let’s keep watching.

Another reason that makes it so important to have a good digital reputation is that at the SEO level, the fact that search engines come across positive comments about your brand, your positioning will benefit notoriously.

In addition to attracting new customers and improving your positioning on the web, having a good digital reputation is vital to building customer loyalty for your brand, something that strengthens its place in the market, one of the main qualities that any business wants to have, but how can we achieve this?

What are the elements that make it up?

A good online reputation has strong foundations. What does this mean? It means that the following elements cannot be missing in its construction:

• The personality of the brand: It must be well defined so that when it comes to presenting itself on social networks and online spaces in general, it stands out from others of its type.
• The value proposition: It must be able to reflect the brand’s own character in a solid way, so that people will begin to perceive its identity and value it.
• Quality: A well-made product always generates a good reputation; if you add aspects such as optimal delivery time and efficiency to this product, the results will go through the roof.
• Interaction: The dynamics of the relationships that your brand has online with its customers, suppliers, and web users in general is another element that is essential when it comes to generating a good digital reputation.
• Coherence: This element refers to being coherent between what you advertise on digital media about your brand and what you do; for example, if you want your business to join a cause about good nutrition, it must be in line with it.

Negative online reputation and its impact on your business

Oscar Wilde’s phrase that it is worse to be talked about badly than not at all does not always apply to the online world. Sometimes, a bad reputation can bury a brand forever.

Remember that what enters the Internet never disappears, and if we add to this fake news and campaigns focused on defaming the image of a brand, you will understand that a lot can be lost, so it is important to know how to protect yourself. 

Yes, it is possible to take legal action against this type of action aimed at damaging a brand or company with treachery, but the truth is that once the damage is done it is very difficult to make amends due to the permanence of everything that is on the web, especially if the content goes viral.

However, if a brand has built good relationships with its customers online when this type of negative information arises, there is a high probability that they will be the ones who defend it from harmful comments, making what was initially seen as a problem become an opportunity to take preponderance.

You can also resort to running a positive press campaign to improve your online reputation. This can be done personally by contacting journalists or using a press agency, although it would be the most expensive option. Alternatively, you can use tools like Getlinko that allow you to contact more than 10,000 digital newspapers and blogs to improve your online reputation without intermediaries or agencies. You have 10€ as a gift to make your first test, make digital media talk about you and register now.

How to generate your brand’s online reputation?

A brand’s online reputation needs time, patience, and care to develop properly. In addition, you must go through the following phases or stages:

Research

This first phase focuses on gathering all the data and information available on the internet about your brand, whether good or bad. It is necessary that you have an in-depth knowledge of the perception that most people have so that you can strengthen their weaknesses and enhance those for which they stand out.

The ideal place to start is social media, the meeting place where brands and people shake hands, and the company website. Pay special attention to the interaction with the public; their comments are jewels that you should treasure very well.

Analysis

Once the first phase is over, it’s time to classify the comments and opinions collected into good and bad. Be careful here, and don’t take the things you read and listen to too seriously. Instead, take them as guidelines that will help you improve as a company and brand. Of course, be very careful and verify the veracity of all comments; do not fall into the trap of deception.

Geolocation

The third phase consists of using geolocation tools that tell your users the location where they can find you. This gives you credibility, and people will tend to trust your company more. Lean on the use of social media for this task.

Positioning

This phase is all about taking your place in the digital market and becoming an authoritative voice within your niche.

To achieve this, you need to increase your value in the eyes of the public. How is this achieved? Certainly, it will not be by eliminating the negative comments that you get about your brand on the web; on the contrary, the idea will be to take them as stimuli to improve and offer people who give this type of opinion quick and effective solutions.

Always be polite in your responses and, if possible, reward them for their contributions, such as free subscriptions for a limited time, discounts, or anything else you can think of.

 How can you measure the level of online reputation?

To measure the level of reputation that your brand or company has in the digital environment, you must resort to the following metrics, which show the most relevant aspects to take into consideration:

• Number of negative reviews: Prioritize the demands and needs of your dissatisfied customers. No, it’s not about completely ignoring the positive messages, but it’s about solving the problems that have arisen as soon as possible. Remember that a satisfied customer is a calm customer, the opposite of one with whom you have not fulfilled.
• Buyers’ opinions: Analyze the sentiment that your product or service has generated in customers; has their impression been good or bad? This will go a long way in helping you get your future marketing strategies on track.
• The position you occupy in the Google search engine: This metric is very important because it shows you the evolution of your brand in the digital environment.

You should always be updated on keywords that are associated with your brand or product. Using these keywords within your SEO strategy will capture new potential customers.

• Determine the number of mentions: Record the number of times your brand is mentioned on different digital platforms and how often they do so.

This will help you plan the number of community managers you need for customer service and choose the most convenient software for this task.

Tips for taking care of your online reputation

If the above lines made your hair stand on end, don’t worry; there are ways to protect yourself while continuing to generate a good digital reputation. Let’s see what they are:

• Be transparent: Being honest and transparent with your audience and being close to those who follow you generates a climate of trust that will make them more likely to buy and build loyalty to your product or service.
• Be accessible: We briefly mentioned in the previous section, but it deserves its own space; you ,ust maintain a close and human tone with your audience so they know that behind the screen there is another person capable of empathizing with them.
• Give quick and accurate answers: Customers want easy and quick solutions, without so many comings and goings; life is already complicated enough, and your goal will be to make it a little easier for them. Their doubts and complaints must be answered as soon as possible and in the best way.
• Be kind and polite with your users: Bees are attracted to honey, respond gently to their queries, if they are aggressive you should strive to give neutral answers and not get carried away by the emotion of the moment, remember that there are many eyes watching the way you behave.

There are thousands of anecdotes of brands that lost their good reputation for offering terrible attention to their users; do not join this list because it could mean the end of your online career.

• Pay attention to those who speak badly of your business: You will come across unfounded or purely subjective comments about what some people think about your product, but you will also find others whose complaints are well argued: the latter are the comments worth gold.

This type of contribution will make you see the flaws and aspects to polish as a brand, on your platform, and in other facets of the business. You know, respond promptly, gently, oriented to offer solutions, and if necessary, recognize mistakes to provide a better service. Your users won’t forget it.

• Run Press Campaigns: Press campaigns help to improve your online reputation, generating more credibility thanks to publication in newspapers and online blogs. This will cause a customer to search for your brand in a search engine to find positive news and transfer the credibility of the media to your company.
• Surround yourself with the best: Here’s another phrase that’s perfect for the theme: “Tell me who you’re with, and I’ll tell you who you are.” If you link up with well-known people and groups in your industry, some of their “aura” will radiate over you, benefiting you.

Online reputation takes into account the authority of a website, and part of whether it is high or not is due to the type of sites with which it links.

• Keep track: It’s important that you don’t lose sight of the rating of your brand that circulates on the web; things online can change from one second to the next, so you must always be updated on where your brand ranks in the perception of the majority.

Examples of Brands with an Unblemished Online Reputation

Finally, we are going to talk about two brands whose reputation in the online market is worthy of praise:

• Lego: Their commitment to customers and employees has left an indelible mark over the years. Its products continue to be innovative, and today, it is one of the leaders in the world of video games, without leaving behind its image as a manufacturer of traditional toys.
• Rolex: Experts consider that this brand boasts one of the best online reputations in the world. Its secret has been congruent during all these years with the image of sobriety, elegance, and luxury that has always characterized it.

So now you know you can achieve an excellent digital reputation if you always strive to be what you intend to be and care about offering the best of yourself to your customers, and you will be more than halfway there.