Reputation management has drastically changed in the last decade. It used to be that a company would manage the way the outside perceived them through content management, customer service, brand management and transparency. Nowadays, the strategies for reputation management have changed. To stay ahead of the competition you will want to follow a few easy steps to make sure that your company is portrayed in the most favorable light.
1. Dominate Search Results.
First, perform a search on your own company and make sure the first ten to twelve pages are dominated with your own content. This could mean blogs or articles you have written, events your company participated in, or your company’s information on partnership sites. By creating content around your brand, it will be hard for other people to post content that will beat out your brand name in search results.
2. Review Your Reviews.
Set a system in place to consistently have reviews posted on Yelp!, Google+, and Angie’s List. This can easily be done by providing incentives to customers and clients that post reviews. A good defense is a good offense. By consistently receiving positive reviews, the negative review will eventually be buried.
3. Focus On What You Can Control.
Don’t get too hung up on things posted on competitor websites. If you have quality content, this will overshadow anything posted elsewhere.
4. Grammar Matters.
When you are writing on any of your company’s sites, it is important that you avoid the use of both pronouns ( we, us, about us) and proper nouns. All corporate bios should be written in 3rd person.
Local marketing specialists agree that if you follow these easy steps, you’ll build a positive online reputation in no time at all!
For nearly three decades, Chris Marentis, Founder and CEO of Surefire Social, has been responsible for driving innovation and sales growth for large media and e-commerce brands as well as start-ups. With a long-history of counseling local businesses about their marketing efforts, Marentis provides insight on what it takes for small businesses to succeed and thrive in today’s evolving digital environment. His notable career includes creating the foundational blueprints for online marketing, e-commerce and content branding for AOL’s Interactive Marketing group, where he served as Senior Vice President. While CEO of Clearspring Technologies, Marentis developed one of the most widely adopted venture-backed Web 2.0 technology platforms. Marentis is a frequent speaker at local digital marketing conferences and a contributor to SMB and technology-focused publications.
