For Lori Randall Stradtman, author of Online Reputation Management for Dummies, making sure your market only sees positive information about your company is vital in winning their trust and turning them into customers.

Brand reputation plays a major role in any digital marketing plan. When you do not manage your online reputation properly, you may have a difficult time expanding your network, increasing sales and improving customer engagement.

Here are some tips on maintaining a good reputation online:

Monitor Your Brand

Reputation management strategy involves learning what customers are saying about you. Search for your brand and analyse the first few items on the results page. Form a crisis management team to handle negative feedback and complaint.

Some brands hire local SEO services to “bury” negative or wrong information. For instance, your new online shopping website may come up in the results page for the search “online shopping scam”, as customers use this phrase to verify that you’re a legitimate company. It does not necessarily mean that your market thinks of your brand as a fraud. An SEO team can help you develop an effective strategy to handle these types of keywords.

Join and be Active on Social Networks

On social networks, customers expect to receive replies from brands promptly. Check your Google+, Twitter, Facebook and other networks frequently each day, and answer as many comments or messages as possible. In general, most customers are willing to wait for a few hours to a day for your response.

Encourage Customers to Write Reviews

One of the best ways to maintain a good brand reputation online is to encourage customers to write reviews. While you may want to publish their reviews on your website, it is also a good idea to encourage them to post their feedback on different venues. Let them know that you are on Google+, TripAdvisor, Yelp and Foursquare.

With a reputation management plan, you can preserve the good name of your brand. An effective crisis management strategy also lets customers know that you are a proactive company that gives value to client feedback.