Brand Reputation Management: Maintain a Good Online Presence

A positive brand reputation is worth its weight in gold. It’s the part of growing a brand that people don’t talk about enough. At some point, people began to think that any type of PR is good PR. We’re not sure where this came from, but we wouldn’t advise that you take the bait. Instead, we suggest that you take brand reputation management very seriously. 

Those negative reviews in your customer feedback section are not serving your brand in the way that you would like. It’s worth it to put some effort into a good reputation management strategy. Positive reviews from happy customers are still the best form of promotion.

What are people finding out about you when they type your brand into their search engines? What kind of customer feedback is waiting for them? Don’t ward off potential customers because of a bad social media presence. Follow our tips to sustain customer loyalty.

Understanding What Is Brand Reputation Management

The concept sounds pretty serious. What is brand reputation management? Brands are nothing without good consumer perception. Almost every product out there has a commensurate competitor. If you don’t like one product, chances are that there is an option similar enough to take its place. 

Because of all these options, brands need to engage in a level of brand and reputation management. Reputation management for a brand involves keeping a close eye on the overall public perception of that brand. It involves maintaining a good reputation in the eyes of consumers and potential consumers.

Ultimately, good reputation management should result in retaining a good consumer base. A direct consequence of this would be profits and overall longevity.

So much of why people support brands is the reputation of the brand. Some people will swear by a product because their grandparents used it. It’s not enough to have a good product anymore. People consider how brands interact with the wider community. They care about the causes they align with and the stances they take in times of turmoil. 

Reputation management is about more than ensuring you get good reviews on your Google business page. It’s about maintaining the little conversations between people when they speak about your brand. If done successfully, you reach people before they even try to look you up.

How To Check a Company’s Reputation Both Online and Offline

Whose reputation are you interested in? Do you want to find out about your company’s reputation? Maybe you’re interested in your competition’s status. Finding out what people like about your competition can help you make decisions for your own business.

Either way, you need to know how to check a company’s reputation. People are very quick to share information about a business they don’t have a stake in. Why not? They have nothing to lose. Additionally, spending your hard-earned money turns you into a seasoned critic. This is how to check a company’s reputation:

1. Ask Customers What They Think

Yes, it’s that simple. You can be in a line at Starbucks or sitting through the intermission at the movies. People tend to be open about their perception of a certain brand. 

Let’s think of a practical scenario. You are the owner of an athleisure brand, waiting for your coffee order. You notice the girl in front of you wearing a three-piece gym set. Ask her where she got it and if she likes it. You can make a note of all the positives and the negatives. Use this information to boost your brand.

If you are open to a little acting, you could try this scenario. Casually bring up your brand to someone and then ask what they think about it. Of course, don’t tell them that you are the brand. This could affect how honest they will be with you.

There is a way to do this if your brand exists strictly on Instagram. Have you heard about Instagram polls? You can use this tool to ask your followers deliberate questions about your social media content. Find out your followers’ likes and dislikes. Then, you can curate your content to the demand if you like.

2. Check Online Reviews

Sometimes, you can’t do in-person reviews of a product. Luckily, the online space facilitates so many platforms for people’s opinions. Online brand reputation management can be pretty easy since people are willing to share. You can always check the Better Business Bureau, for example. These are a few other platforms you may have heard of:

• Indeed
• Yelp
• Trust Pilot

If you trust the reviews of other people, you could walk away with some very useful information. You can do a simple search through these reviews for specific keywords that matter to you. Research words like “quality,” “timeline,” and “customer care.” These are common points of concern that customers tend to write about.

It’s a customer going like poor customer service. Additionally, not getting a product on time can really grind some peoples’ gears. Perhaps you have specific areas that you want to find out about. Feel free to search for these online.

3. Share a Reddit Post

If you want to find unsolicited information about a stranger’s life, go to Reddit. On that site, you will leave with way more information than you bargained for. Instead of searching for a review on that website, this is what you should do.

Create a post first. Share a fictional scenario about your brand. Appeal to everyone else to share a story surrounding that brand as well. People tend to be very transparent on this site. Brace yourself for brutal honesty.

4 Brand Reputation Management Strategies You Could Try Right Now

Your online perception is so important. Unfortunately, it is a bit difficult to measure. Sometimes, you don’t know where you stand in the public eye, and that’s a problem. It’s best to regularly engage in brand reputation management strategies to boost your brand.

Doing this doesn’t have to be difficult. There are some simple steps that you can do to alter your standing. Let’s talk about four of them now.

1. Respond to Your Customers

Imagine shouting at the top of your lungs to a person right in front of you. Not getting a response is positively aggravating. Social media gives the impression that people are next to us. Your customers feel this way when you don’t respond to their messages.

Social media has also helped us become a little more impatient. Everything seems to be instant, so it is jarring not to get an immediate response. If people don’t regard you as responsive, they will take their queries to another business.

Of course, it can be difficult because people live in different time zones. You could be getting the business prospect of your life from someone messaging you at 9 am their time. You could be fast asleep.

Luckily, Instagram has some tools to prevent you from coming off as rude to people who message you. You can adjust your online status to show that you’re offline. That way, people who message you will get a quick notification that you will respond when you can.

Sometimes, people just want an acknowledgment. If you can’t give a fulsome answer, you can react to messages using emojis. You can double-tap to give you a quick response, or you can be more specific with other emojis. Simple steps like this can keep people loyal to your brand.

2. Keep Up With Your Comment Section

Think about that time you just found out about a brand. Maybe you saw some user-generated content (UGC) on the Internet, and you followed the IG handle to the IG page. You’re now perusing a very beautifully curated feed and decide to sift through the comments.

Unfortunately, the comment section is not very inspiring. You see a few comments of disgruntled customers talking about not getting responses to messages or emails. Worse than that is seeing complaints from customers about the product in question.

Maybe the brand doesn’t sell something outright. Maybe they create content for people’s entertainment. The comment section is telling you something quite controversial about the brand’s recent scandal. Now you are either not intrigued or feel completely turned off- all because of another IG user.

If someone stumbled upon your comment section, what would they think of you? You might say that your page is not that popular right now, so the comments aren’t scathing. However, people could conclude from the fact that you don’t respond to comments.

As you continue to build your Instagram page, try to respond to as many comments as possible. This develops the impression that you are responsive and engaged with your followers. It encourages other people to comment, knowing that they would likely get a reply. Your engagement rate will thank you.

You need to control the narrative as much as possible. You can’t have people seeing all the negative comments go unanswered. At the very least, you need to respond to the comments in a neutral way. Don’t be accusatory, and don’t gaslight the customer. You can defer the conversation to the Instagram DMs. There, you can keep the same energy.

3. Google Your Business on Occasion 

Do you know what people see when they try to research you? What is Google telling people about your brand? You need to start googling your brand the same way you google that person you’re about to date.

Your Google results history can be your first and only means of leaving an impression on a potential customer. There is a reason some people even set up Google alerts to let them know what their standing online is. This is a simple form of online brand reputation management that can achieve so much.

Find out what people see when they get curious about you. It’s easy to see what they find when they look you up on Instagram. Now, you need to take it a step further and use a wider search engine. 

If you don’t like what comes up on a Google search, consider employing a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist. Experts in SEO can ensure that the results from a Google search are favorable. 

4. Do Some “Trendjacking”

To keep your name in people’s mouths, you may need to hop on a few trends. Keep an eye open for the viral trends that are taking over Instagram right now. Assess whether it aligns with your brand. If it does, enter the conversation with some very good hashtags.

Trendjacking is a great way to reach more people. A fun, lively trend could be the first impression someone has of you. There are so many Instagram challenges that you could take part in. Maybe you can even incorporate an Instagram influencer or existing customer.

Brand Reputation Management Case Studies You Should Be Aware Of

Online influencers know that they are one scandal away from returning to obscurity. So often, they have to walk on eggshells for fear that the public will cancel them. Some of them have the most lighthearted brands. Still, the public demands for them to take stances on very serious issues. 

Making a wrong step in front of your potential customer base could be the end of your brand. Sometimes, it won’t even be a case of your poor judgment. Someone may have a personal vendetta against you. In a case like this, you may need the help of a professional crisis manager.

Yes, that sounds particularly expensive. Well, so does the cost of your brand fading into a memory of yesteryear. Let’s talk about three brand reputation management case studies that could apply to you.

1. The Disgruntled Employee

Some workspaces get away with convincing their employees that they are part of a family. In the age of Millennials and Gen Z, that’s a much harder sell. Employees are very quick to leave their jobs if they no longer feel fulfilled. Leaving without the dramatics is the ideal situation. However, some brands are not that lucky.

What if you have to lay off an employee? They may not take your explanation about financial constraints very well. Instead, they may plaster confidential trade secrets online. 

Ideally, you would want to have a preemptive measure in place. Don’t ever think that your brand is too small to require people to sign an NDA. They are good for preventing your confidential business from getting into the public sphere. If an employee spills the beans anyway, at least you will have legal recourse.

2. The Resurfaced Old Tweets

Yes, we were all young. Still, that excuse may not fly in this day and age. How often do you see that a celebrity has a misogynistic or racist past? How often do you see the apology video of an influencer who started crying before recording for effect? Tweets are like that ghost that haunts you at inopportune times.

Before you try to expand and grow on the Internet, address and erase your previous content. If you have a burner account, make sure you have not popularized its existence. People can easily trace that back to your main account.

There are some things a huge donation or a #BLM simply cannot fix.

3. The Sexual Harassment Claim

You always think that this couldn’t happen to you until it does. And this is the kind of reputation assassination that can sink a company. It may not be enough to cover yourself in legal documentation when it comes to an allegation like this. You may have to hire a professional reputation manager and Attorney, of course.

Grow Your Page With the Right Reputation 

Now that you have your reputation under control, it’s time to expand your reach. Is your public notoriety a good one? If so, there is no reason why you can’t have the benefit of a greater following. But how do you get these followers? Good brand reputation management on its own isn’t enough.

You will need the help of a professional growth service. Plixi has years of experience in this field. We have tools in the form of an in-house platform for Instagram influencers. 

Additionally, we have a propriety AI targeting algorithm. We’ve been working on it for a decade, and our online brand reputation speaks for itself. Start growing and gaining Instagram followers today.