Reputation management helps businesses cultivate a professional image and brand online. Many small businesses use social media, Google, or review sites to maintain their positive reputations.
Combining reputation management and marketing strategies can significantly enhance the results of your campaigns. Managing your reputation increases trust with potential customers, and positive reviews and brand mentions can easily be repurposed for social media marketing content.
In this article, we show you three ways to combine your marketing and reputation management campaigns in ways that are not overly-promotional or boastful. You can use the information to build compelling campaigns across all digital channels.
Respond Publicly to Online Reviews and Monitor Your Brand’s Reputation
Publicly addressing negative reviews allows you the opportunity to resolve problems and prove that your business stands behind its products and services.
Publicly addressing negative reviews also demonstrates to potential customers that you care about individual experiences with your brand. It tells potential customers that if they have a problem, you are willing to address it and arrive at a solution.
A 2018 study by Bright Local reports that nearly all consumers (90%) read business’s response to local reviews and 50% of people visit a brand’s website after reading a positive review.
Thanking customers for leaving positive reviews also helps build trust and encourages others to write reviews.
Monitoring tools such as Google Alerts, Mediatoolkit, and Reputology, can help brands discover what people are saying about them online. This allows companies to respond to reviews and conversations they might not otherwise discover.
Responding to feedback, reviews, and comments about your brand can significantly contribute to your company’s growth and sales.
Create a Positive Content Strategy
Proactively sharing helpful, positive content with your audience builds goodwill and delivers a strong first impression.
Encourage your audience to write reviews of your products, and share the best ones as part of your marketing strategy.
For example, many websites feature positive customer reviews on their homepage.
Encourage your audience to write reviews of your business, or personally ask clients to write reviews and testimonials.
Sharing positive reviews, case studies, and customer testimonials is an essential form of social proof that drives conversions and sales.
Share product education content that provides support for people who are considering your products or learning how to use them, such as:
- Explainer videos
- Product tutorials
- Demonstration videos
Show off your social commitments by posting your brand’s corporate social responsibility policies and social cause activities on your website.
Publish how-to guides and resources that help your customers do their jobs better (B2B companies) or enhance their lives (B2C companies).
For example, software development firm BairesDev publishes blog topics of interest to its target audience, such as smart cities, augmented reality, and quantum computers.
Positive, helpful content helps build trust, drive people to your website, and increase conversion rates.
Maintain an Active Social Media Presence
Social media presents several opportunities to build your reputation, show off your positive content, and guide customers through the sales funnel.
Some of the ways you can use social media to boost your reputation:
- Post positive content from your blog and online reviews.
- Share your social cause activities and fundraising efforts.
- Provide customer service on social media.
- Encourage user-generated content.
PR and brand reputation agencies can help companies further monitor and promote their social media presence using the latest research, technology, and data.
Keeping an active presence on social media is essential to building a good reputation and developing effective marketing campaigns.
Marketing and Reputation Management Work Best Together
Responding to online reviews, publishing positive content, and maintaining an active social media presence are three ways to merge your marketing and reputation management goals for greater results.
Businesses that struggle to manage their reputations alone can partner with experts to come up with an appropriate and manageable strategy.
Author Bio
Grayson Kemper is a Content & Editorial Manager for Clutch, a platform for B2B research, ratings, and reviews.