About the Importance of Online Reputation Management
Why is Reputation Management becoming increasingly important?
In the digital age, a flawless image is of vital importance for both public figures as well as companies. False reports, half-truths, defamatory statements or manipulated customer ratings are spreading rapidly through the countless social media channels. And negative publicity is extremely persistent, because the Internet never forgets. Once lost, everyone knows that it is difficult to regain the trust of the target group.
Trust is a fundamental component of reputation. As a soft factor, it has a decisive influence on the achievement of goals and is crucial for success. The reputation of a company, an organization or an individual is largely determined by the assessments of third parties. They assess the credibility of the company on the one hand and its products, services and employees on the other.
Online review portals are booming. Most users use personal recommendations when making a purchase decision. A good reputation within the target group is therefore essential. Advantageous ratings can increase the demand for a product or service and therefore boost sales.
In return, a bad reputation can have devastating effects. Insufficient security concepts, inefficient risk management and inappropriate crisis communication can cause lasting damage to the image of a company or brand. The resulting loss of customers and turnover can mean the economic end for a company. A holistic management of reputation is therefore elementary for the success of a company.
What strategies does Reputation Management include?
Online Reputation Management instruments are very versatile. It is individually tailored to the needs and wishes of each client. It should be noted that reputation cannot be created overnight. It is a long-term process.
In a first step, the current online presence of the company or an individual is subjected to an extensive analysis. This includes, for example, the profile and portfolio of a company as well as the biography and social commitment of a person. The goal is to identify content that is damaging to a person’s reputation. With the help of the analysis results, tailor-made strategies are selected to achieve the intended goals. Which tactic is suitable depends on whether the good reputation is to be protected preventively or whether damage to reputation has already been identified.
A central area of responsibility is the production of suitable content. For example, it makes sense to optimize social media profiles in order to achieve the desired effect on potential customers or competitors. Appealing online PR skilfully emphasizes personal strengths. The various communication channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube must be constantly fed with relevant content. An authentic appearance is of crucial importance. This is the only way to leave a lasting impression on customers as well as employees and business partners.
If a reputation attack is detected, the threat situation must first be realistically assessed. Then it is important to react quickly with effective crisis strategies. Thanks to targeted communication, negative or unwanted statements can be revised. If this does not lead to the desired result, mediation is conceivable. This involves asking website operators to correct or delete certain entries.
Classic search engine optimization (SEO) is another field of activity for online reputation managers that aims to increase the visibility of a company on search engines, and thus improve their ranking on search engine results.
The effect of the implemented measures must be continuously checked and documented. Monitoring and reporting are the keywords. The focus is on the permanent monitoring of web content for possible damage to reputation. In addition to your own online presence, you should also monitor that of your competitors and business partners. Specific software tools and search routines are available for this purpose.
