What is Online Reputation Monitoring?
Online reputation monitoring is checking on your brand online, out “in the wild.” This goes beyond your website, and checks anywhere else your brand could be mentioned, or be the topic of discussion. Track what the public and your customers are saying about your product or business online—and you’ll be able to pivot and address any issues before they grow into larger ones.
On Social Media
In the B2B digital marketing world, social media definitely requires online reputation monitoring. Some platforms, like Facebook, have review options, whereas Linkedin offers recommendations. Leveraging any platform you’re on by engaging with mentions and with good and bad reviews can promote your business.
Review Monitoring
Online reviews can be helpful or hurtful, depending on your vantage point. For any potential customer doing online research, reviews tell them the inside story. And if the review site, whether it’s through Google, G2, or Clutch, only has a few 3-star ratings, your company won’t look like the frontrunner . You will want to know what your ratings look like to know when to seek out new reviews from happy clients and employees. Through review monitoring, you can respond to both good and bad reviews, showing your enthusiasm to engage with clientele as well as your proactiveness in solving any problems that arise. If you never respond to a review, it may appear that you don’t care or don’t have enough manpower to handle reputation monitoring (or both).
You might be wondering: What’s the difference between online reputation monitoring and online reputation management? Online reputation management is proactive: getting reviews, keeping your accounts up-to-date, and taking advantage of new opportunities. Online reputation monitoring is observing, checking, and collecting strategies and recommendations to better engage with your clients online.
Is Online Reputation Monitoring Important for B2B Companies?
Yes—people do generally believe B2B reviews they read online. Online reputation monitoring is a must for B2B companies. Depending on where your clients are coming from (likely online) your excellent online reputation could be the key to the next click, and hopefully the next lead form. If your clients see poor reviews or no reviews, they may lose trust in you. To build credibility and maintain your brand presence monitor your online reputation, and stay engaged with the clients who are trying to reach you. Customer trust leads to better sales and business growth. (Think of it this way: If you’re not monitoring your reputation online, your competition probably is.)
Online Reputation Monitoring Strategies
There are plenty of approaches to monitor your online reputation effectively, but the options feel endless and overwhelming. Zero in on the things that matter most, and try to mitigate any added elements (like unclaimed profiles) before they become a problem.
TAKE OWNERSHIP
1. Consider the many Google My Business Listing Benefits. Get a profile even if you don’t have a physical address. The tools that come with the Google My Business (commonly referred to as Google Business Profile) listing are ideal for managing your online presence. (It doesn’t hurt that Google receives 5.6 million search requests per day—put your business out there.)
2. Address bad reviews and complaints head on (and ASAP)—work to resolve issues and you’ll help your company maintain a positive reputation.
3. Work on getting more and better reviews. If you have a new website, your Google reviews won’t likely pop up right away. Obtaining more reviews can build up your credibility along with your online visibility. You can also bring up your overall rating and balance any negative reviews with those you seek out.
SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS
1. Find 1-2 platforms that fit with your business. (We wouldn’t recommend Yelp for a B2B SaaS company, or Clutch for a restaurant—swap those!) Keep every profile updated and engage with your audience regularly, including responding to reviews and recommendations.
2. Stay focused. Request your company be removed from any platforms that either don’t make sense or are too much effort to monitor.
3. Be a detective. Google your brand and services/products enough to know where and how your listing and ratings and showing up as well as what your competitors are doing. See a competitor on a new aggregate listing site you aren’t on yet? Check it out.
STAY IN THE LOOP
1. Use tools for social listening, like Google Alerts, Hootsuite, Hubspot and Sprout Social to monitor mentions of your brand and your competitors (see what they’re doing well or not doing well, and be ready to jump into the conversation).
2. Make monitoring a habit. Regularly checking up on your online presence should be a monthly event, at the least. Checking weekly is even better. It’s never one-and-done.
3. Be aware of employee actions. Your company’s brand is represented by and through your employees. Their interactions at work can impact your reputation, yes, but today, their actions outside of work can also impact your brand’s reputation. Stay aware, and address actions as needed.
Get Help and Get Going
Feeling overwhelmed yet? It may be time to consider adding this to a team member’s responsibilities or hiring an agency to help you monitor your online reputation—depending on if your company has the manpower or knowhow to do it effectively.
As an example of how to begin, Solid Digital’s online reputation monitoring program focuses on:
- Creating an audit
- Looking at scores
- Alerting client to negative reviews/comments
- Providing verbiage to respond
- Creating strategies to obtain more reviews
- Establishing routines around monitoring
Today, online reputation monitoring is more crucial than ever, where negative reviews can send your target audience running to your competition. Work to build trust and maintain loyalty in your interactions both online and off.
