Photo by CC user mslgroup on Flickr.
Reputation management, in today’s world, is almost fully online. This means that reputation management companies focus on spreading a positive image about you on the internet. If you were to type in your name in Google, you will instantly see what your reputation is. The result will have either a positive or a negative tone to them. If the overall feeling is negative, it is not the end of the world. It does mean, however, that you have a bit of work to do. Below are five habits that will get you a better reputation, should you follow through on them.
1. Hire an SEO Expert
SEO (search engine optimization) and reputation management go hand in hand. It is through SEO techniques that negative postings get hidden, and positive ones are brought to the foreground. A good reputation management company also offers SEO services.
2. Use Social Media
Social media is a great tool to get your brand known, as well as to engage with your customers. In fact, customers are highly suspicious of businesses that aren’t at least on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure that you engage with your visitors by replying to their queries and questions.
3. Think Across the Board
Most businesses are now available through multiple online channels, such as websites, blogs, and social media platforms. You have to make sure that the information found on all of these channels is consistent.
4. Be Responsive
If someone has a problem, they need to know that they can turn to you straight away. If they send you a Facebook message, for instance, you shouldn’t leave them waiting. In fact, Facebook mentions on the page how long it typically takes you to reply to a message, and trying to get that as low as possible is a great way to improve your reputation.
5. Work with Professionals but Don’t Outsource
You have your own online business and it is unlikely that this is a business in reputation management or SEO. Hence, you have to hire a professional to help you with the different elements of it. But you shouldn’t outsource other things. If a message is sent to you on Facebook, you, or an actual member of your team, should reply to that, not some sort of call center in South Africa.
The bottom line is that if you have no idea about how people see you when they are online, you also cannot access a fantastic money-making opportunity. The tips above are important, but you have to be even more proactive than that. Essentially, you have to constantly monitor what your reputation is, do everything you can to improve it by encouraging more positive content, and by pushing negative content away. This is best left to the professionals, who have made it their business to work on reputations. Your business is your own niche, their business is making sure that you can succeed in your niche. Work together for the best results.
