Technology and social media platforms have consistently grown and continue to embrace businesses, encouraging the showcasing of products, services, and what makes the brand unique.
But with that growth comes the opportunity for individuals to share their opinion of the product, service, or any other matter relating to the brand. It could be positive, neutral, or negative.
Consumers who have a negative experience are more likely to leave a negative review — three times as likely, actually.
Whether the online chatter about the brand is positive or negative, digital reputation management is essential. And if you aren’t sure what this means, take a moment to review what online reputation management is before reviewing our checklist.
Online Reputation Management Checklist
Business owners and brand managers often get wrapped up in what the competition is doing and tend to lose sight of what consumers are saying about the company. It’s understandable but should be avoided.
The same can be said for thoughtful and tactful responses, rather than fighting fire with fire. To help keep your brand in a positive light, keep this checklist in mind.
Establish a Brand Vision
To successfully build and maintain an online reputation, there should be a collective understanding of the brand image.
This image is more than a name, logo, or website. How should consumers feel when they hear the brand’s name, see the logo, or come across a post online? A well-established vision can help shape this perception.
Define the Brand Voice
After establishing a brand vision, it’s time to define the voice of the brand. This voice will vary from business to business, depending on what is offered.
For some, it might be obvious. A business that deals with medical treatments may have a formal, educational voice. Whereas a company that offers beauty products would have more of a playful tone.
For those that are less obvious, take some time to listen to community conversations. Meaning, how does the audience talk when discussing products or services similar to those found at your company.
This technique can help brands create a voice that aligns with and resonates with the audience.
If you aren’t sure who the audience is for the brand, then you will need to determine buyer personas, first.
Create Brand Guidelines
Brand guidelines are a cohesive document that establishes what is expected of those who represent the brand. It will help to ensure people are on the same page, utilizing the same voice, and verbiage.
Ideally, the guidelines would incorporate:
- Target audience(s)
- Focus topics
- Brand voice and tone
- Content goals
- Post-publication protocol
- Sample topic sharing
- Sample content idea
- Sample social media messaging
If an online reputation management agency is in charge of maintaining the digital presence of the brand, it’s important to share the guidelines with the team.
Establish Media Relationships
Effective monitoring will help identify brand mentions, allowing businesses to build valuable relationships.
Monitoring key terms or phrases related to the business will help to identify journalists, news, and media outlets who would be interested in talking about or shedding a positive light on the brand.
One such way of doing this is to establish an Advanced Twitter Search with specific key terms that would identify queries and related stories on Twitter.
Identify Where the Brand Should Appear
Listening to the brand’s audience will provide a key indication as to where the brand should appear online. This primarily relates to social media platforms, as brands should always utilize features like Google My Business or Located In by Google.
Compile a list of places that the brand should have an active presence and making an active contribution. This list may vary from business to business, but it will likely include social platforms, forums, blog post contributions, and news websites.
Monitor What the Audience is Saying
Arguably the most important aspect of digital management reputation for brands is to monitor what is being said.
If the company’s digital image isn’t being monitored to some extent, then you could be missing opportunities to improve the image or interact with positive messaging. Not joining the conversation, whether it’s to acknowledge a job well-done or an area needing improvement can be harmful to any brand.
Professional Online Reputation Management
Maintaining the digital presence of a brand is a fulltime job and as such, it tends to be the last item some business owners want to deal with. But that doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
To maintain your brand online, it might be worth enlisting the help of a dedicated team of professionals. If you’d like to learn more information about the online reputation management services offered by Elevation Ten Thousand, contact our team of experts today.
We’ll be happy to have an open conversation with you about our expertise and how your business can benefit from a partnership.
