Social media and the open nature of the web is physically changing the way we are doing business these days. Your online reputation or digital footprint is your reputation online and how others conceive you. It’s critical that you monitor what is currently being said about your business online, and the sentiment of these conversations. Are they neutral, positive or negative?
Your digital reputation can either be made or broken in 140 characters or less. This is a reality. Upset customers have access to thousands of social media channels that can quickly spread a story. On the other hand, they can also post something positive about you which can add to your online credibility and help you build your digital footprint online.
Traditionally, marketing departments used various PR methods to build a reputation for a company and it’s image. Social media adds a new level to marketing and this medium can be used either to facilitate the growth of your name online, or break it in the process.
Online marketing and social media marketing campaigns should always include an online reputation management strategy so that you can monitor for what is being said about you, your campaign, and even your competitors. Trust me, this is one of the costs that cannot be overlooked in today’s digital business world, especially if you are big company where your image means everything.
How can you start with this process? Find a couple of tips below that will help you get started with this.
How to protect your reputation online
- Create listening outposts with Google Alerts or any other monitoring tool to be notified as soon as someone mentions your name online. These tools can automatically notify you as soon as it comes across your name or any other keywords you select such as your competitor names, and even product names.
- Create optimized social media profiles on selected channels so that you can respond to any comments before it turns into a snowball.
- Have an escalation plan in place on how you are going to react to any of these mentions.
