Whether you are in business or embarking on a personal brand journey, your name will be what defines you. What that means is your brand will develop a following, people will take notice (whether good or bad) and inevitably share their thoughts – leaving you with a reputation.
Reputation management is growing quickly in terms of importance to brands. Likely because consumers have the most power when it comes to influencing other consumers. Take a look at some Amazon reviews, that feedback can make or break a sale. Understanding your reputation and taking actionable steps to manage it can also make or break the success of your brand.
Here are methods you can use to manage your reputation and dialogue with consumers.
1. Google yourself
We’ve all done it before, but Googling your brand can shed light on what consumers and/or media are saying about your brand. Be warned that a little more than half of the feedback provided to brands is negative on average. Take a deep breath, you can’t please everyone but there are valid criticisms to be found and improved upon through a quick internet search.
2. Monitor your social footprint
If you’re not active on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and/or LinkedIn, then you can miss out on valuable feedback from consumers in your market. For those who leverage these platforms, take care in monitoring the interactions on your page. Regularly search your brand name on these channels to gain a clearer understanding of the consumer sentiment. Be quick to respond to inquiries.
You can easily perform these searches on your own or work with an outside agency to best determine how to monitor your socials.
3. Harness the power of Google and Yelp reviews
Google and Yelp provide business review capabilities for any consumer that has interacted with your brand. These tools are heavily utilized by consumers in the buying cycle and are especially important for e-commerce brands.
Encourage any pleased clients to provide a review with these tools – adding a small discount or incentive goes a long way in building a positive reputation. Learn more about the benefits of Google business pages here.
4. Don’t feed the trolls
At the end of the day, it’s paramount to understand that there will be unhappy customers. That is okay. While it’s perfectly fine, and sometimes the right course of action, to engage with a poor review, it can be a slippery slope. Use your best judgment – if a conflict can be resolved by addressing the complaint, by all means do so. Take care to not get dragged into an unpleasant exchange, it will do your brand and the consumers no good.
Schedule a call to discuss how we can manage your social footprint for you, so you have nothing to worry about.