Quick-Start Guide to Reputation Management
This online reputation management (ORM) guide is based on trusted research and a focus around a few important statistics:
- 64% of people trust search engines for research. In fact, the internet is the number one place for people (and naturally, businesses) to conduct research, confirm or deny claims, and read honest reviews. [1]
- 91% of N. American consumers read online reviews to learn more about a business.[2]
- 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.[2]
- 74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more. [2]
- 90% of people read less than 10 reviews before forming an opinion about a business
- 73% say reviews older than 3 months are no longer relevant. [2]
- 87% of people say a business needs a minimum of three stars before they consider using them:
- Consumers aren’t looking for perfection, they are looking for trust. [2]
- 7 out of 10 people will leave a review for a business if asked to. [2]
While many of the above statistics mention consumers, remember that businesses are run by the very consumers that also use your products. So, while they make decisions in the best interest of their company, if two vendors have the exact same service and price, they will ultimately choose the one they personally feel the most comfortable with. That trust starts with reputation, use the following to get you started in the right direction.
Search Yourself and Your Business Online
Go, ahead. I’ll wait.
Once a month, run a google search for your name and your business name. Be sure to enclose your name in quotation marks to ensure you are getting results for the entire name.
In addition to general search results, also pay special attention to results from the following domains:
- Google Places/Reviews
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
- Angie’s List
- Yelp
- Yellow Pages
- Glassdoor
- Medium
We know that is a lot of sites to watch — so here are a few simple ways to keep an eye out without searching 24/7:
- Sign up for Google Alerts for your business and personal name.
- Run searches on aggregate social tracking sites like Social Mention or Nuvi
Check Your Privacy Settings
- Make sure settings for your personal pages are locked down. This means ensuring that only people from whom you’ve accepted requests can see your profile. Don’t allow anyone to post on your profile or page without approvals (yes, this is an actual setting in Facebook).
- Also check that you have “claimed” your business on public review sites. Most of them have a button that says something like “is this your business?”. Click yes, answer a few questions and voila, your page on that site is now official and controlled by you. This prevents any unauthorized person from taking control — if that happens it becomes more difficult to get it back so it’s better to be proactive.
- Change all important passwords every few months — and don’t make them all the same. If they are all the same, and somehow your password is compromised, that person then has access to EVERYTHING. Be sure to avoid using words or number sequences that could be found in public records. Refrain from using birthdays, housing numbers, or middle names.
Think before you post
For Positive Reviews and Posts: Take the time to like, respond, say thank you and offer to answer any questions personally to start developing a connection. That single person may not be your next client, but your next client may take notice.
For Negative Reviews and Posts: Read the post more than once. Your instinct will be to be defensive, after all, it’s your name and your business under attack, but don’t. Take a step back. Walk away from the computer, go outside and take a lap. Come back and re-read it with a clear head and determine if the post author has a legitimate complaint. Negative posts and reviews should always be taken seriously. The way you respond will not only determine how that single person views you and your business, but also how potential customers and clients view you. Craft a thoughtful response where you acknowledge their displeasure and do what you can to rectify the situation, publicly.
If the post is meant to intentionally harm you or your business or is blatantly untrue — you will need to address that as well, but with a different strategy. Acknowledge that you’ve seen their complaint, politely address it publicly and take any necessary actions (blocking, reporting as spam, etc.) to protect your reputation. If needs be, take the conversation offline once you’ve publicly acknowledged it. For example, state that you take their concerns seriously, and would like further information in a private message in order to get the full story and better handle the situation.
Note: Do not block comments or posts simply because they are negative. Part of establishing trust is letting everyone know that if something does go wrong, you are willing to step up and handle it.
Take Immediate Action
If you find pages, profiles, etc. that are attempting to impersonate you or your brand, report them immediately. While major sites don’t immediately remove profiles without a review (because then your competitors could spend all day reporting your pages and having them taken down) — they do take spam, bullying, and false information very seriously and will take appropriate action.
Control Your Story
You can control what is said about you and your business by telling your own story. The more positive content you personally publish, the more control you have over your reputation. Ultimately, positive posts, comments, reviews and shares benefit your online reputation. Bad reviews will happen, spam and malicious content is bound to surface at some point. But knowing how to spot it, and how to deal with it is of the utmost importance. Tip: Don’t be afraid to ask your clients for a review.
Do you have a specific question on how to manage your online reputation — or a piece of advice that we missed? Hit me up in the comments.
[1] 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, http://www.edelman.com/global-results/
[2] 2016 Local Consumer Review Survey, BrightLocal, https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-consumer-review-survey/
