Your reputation encompasses how your brand is perceived by customers, partners and the public at large. This perception has a direct impact on your brand’s bottom line. Online reputation management (ORM), as the name suggests, is aimed at managing your reputation and, therefore, brand perception.
So, if we’re going to look at the actual cost of reputation management, we’re essentially looking at the very survival of your business.
Still, many business owners, some perhaps due to budgetary constraints, are skeptical about hiring reputation management experts. While a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach is doable, proceed with caution.
This blog will highlight why online reputation management costs are true investments as we unpack:
- The Advantages of DIY Reputation Management
- The Advantages of Hiring Reputation Management Experts
- An Analogy: DIY ORM vs Professional ORM
- Online Reputation Management Strategy
- The Importance of Online Ethics in Managing Your Online Reputation
- Manage Your Online Reputation With Rize Reviews
The Advantages of DIY Reputation Management
Here’s the upside of DIY reputation management:
Learn As You Go Along
Reputation building and management demand time. This also means you should have the allowance for errors as the learning curve may be steep for most business owners. But the return is you learn the intricacies of ORM and continuously refine your approach.
With time investment, you might find yourself giving other entrepreneurs online reputation tips in no time.
Maintain a Direct Involvement
You’re the one who knows your brand best. This may mean you’re in the best position to establish a direct and personal connection with your online audience. Moreover, when customers realize that they’re interacting with the owner or manager of the business, it often instills a greater sense of confidence and reassurance.
Satisfied customers are more likely to share their positive experiences with others.
Save on Professional Online Reputation Management Costs
For businesses with limited budgets, you can manage online reputation in-house, which is a more budget-friendly approach. You spare the financial responsibilities that come with hiring external reputation management experts, which can add up over time.
The DIY approach to manage your online reputation certainly has its merits, but it’s not without its limitations.
While you may save on hiring expenses, the potential cost of reputation management without expertise can be significantly higher for your brand.
The Advantages of Hiring Reputation Management Experts
Here are only some of the benefits of professional reputation management services:
Achieve a Complete Reputation Analysis
While you have a deep understanding of your brand and its values, you’re likely unaware of every online mention of your brand. Conversations about your business occur in various corners of the internet, from social media platforms to review sites, forums and blogs.
Professional internet reputation services teams are equipped with tools designed to scan the internet for mentions of your brand, products, services or even key personnel. You save time compared to manual data collection and analysis.
Embrace a Streamlined Process
To professionally manage online reputation means embracing automation. As with reputation analysis, experts use automation to strategically send review requests to suitable customers at the right time. This timely approach increases the likelihood of favorable feedback, as the customer’s experience is still fresh in their mind.
Experts also employ tools to categorize and prioritize feedback based on sentiment and relevance. This allows you to focus on addressing the most critical issues first.
Have a Crisis Reputation Management Plan
A crisis reputation management plan focuses on navigating and mitigating reputational damage during times of crisis or adversity. It involves strategies and actions taken to protect, repair or restore your brand’s image when facing damages and threats.
Related article: Can a Data Breach Affect Your Brand Reputation?
As such, professional online reputation management costs may be an added expenditure, but you get more than better online credibility. With expertise, you proactively safeguard your brand reputation, which directly factors into your profitability.
An Analogy: DIY ORM vs Professional ORM
Here’s a quick analogy to help you better contrast the different approaches to your online reputation management strategy.
What Managing Your Online Reputation In-House Looks Like
Picture this: You’re a coffee lover who wants to learn how to brew the perfect cup of joe. You buy premium beans, watch barista tutorials and experiment with various grind sizes, water temperatures and brewing methods. You might spend weeks, or even months, refining your technique before achieving that perfect, cafe-like brew.
That’s what it’s like when you manage your online reputation in-house, and this is only if you don’t give up along the way.
What Hiring Professional Reputation Management Services Looks Like
Now, envision yourself strolling into your favorite coffee shop, which never fails to deliver expertly crafted brews every time you visit. You place your order, eagerly await your coffee and, with the first sip, you’re transported to coffee heaven.
That’s the level of satisfaction you can expect from professional reputation management services.
Either of these approaches to internet reputation services is extremely rewarding. But if you’re a busy business owner who wants convenience and expertise, the latter is the wiser choice.
Online Reputation Management Strategy
Here are online reputation tips to help you get started:
1. Know Your Brand Inside-Out
Start by giving your brand a thorough online audit. Review your website, social media profiles and other business accounts. Then, see what pops up on Google when people search for you by looking up branded search terms.
2. Keep Your Ear on the Ground
As you audit your brand presence, stay alert for any time your brand gets upcoming mentions. Tools like Google Alerts allow you to receive timely notifications for brand-related keywords. And remember, monitoring brand mentions is not a one-time thing but a regular one.
3. Turn Negatives Into Positives
Rather than dismissing negative feedback, view it as an opportunity to showcase your dedication to customer satisfaction. Go above and beyond in rectifying issues for your clientele. You can do this by always offering practical solutions to issues and making sure to follow up afterward.
4. Make Tools Your Best Friends
You can do a lot without fancy tools, but let’s be real; they make life easier. These tools centralize mentions, provide real-time alerts for customer feedback and facilitate prompt responses to reviews. Utilizing tools is the only way to streamline your reputation management process.
5. Supercharge Your Local Presence
You want both online credibility and visibility in check. So, include local search engine optimization in your strategy. This involves optimizing content, generating backlinks and maintaining your business listing information on various platforms, including social media and third-party review sites.
In the next section, we talk about online ethics to enhance your strategy to manage online reputation.
The Importance of Online Ethics in Managing Your Online Reputation
Online ethics, also known as internet or cyber ethics, are a set of moral principles and guidelines defining proper conduct in the digital world. It covers a wide range of areas, from respecting privacy and practicing digital security to being mindful of the impact of one’s online actions on others.
In internet reputation services, being mindful of your actions means considering how your online messages influence customers’ choices. It’s about ensuring your messaging is straightforward and aligns with the actual benefits and features of your products or services.
Conversely, this means avoiding deceptive reputation building practices that may yield quick but often short-lived gains and can lead to severe repercussions to your online credibility in the long run.
Online ethics, in turn, contributes to building and sustaining an authentic and favorable online reputation.
Strategically Manage Your Online Reputation With Rize Reviews
Whether you choose the DIY route or opt for expert services, taking proactive steps to manage your online reputation is an investment that pays dividends in credibility, trust and, ultimately, your bottom line.
Should you decide to try professional reputation management services, Rize Reviews is here for you.
Talk to our team about how our ORM solutions can help your business.
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