Online reputation management (ORM) is vital in handling your company’s image in a digital world. As people increasingly turn to Google as their first port-of-call when searching for a supplier, any negative reviews or search results can have a harmful effect on how your company is perceived and essentially, your bottom line.

As well as tackling negative reviews, online reputation management can help positive business news and client interactions reach the more popular search results pages.

Google has given a helping hand by posting advice on how to manage your reputation.

Some of our tips for online reputation management:

Manage your name: It is time to choose which social media networks are going to be most beneficial to your business. No-one would recommend taking an account on every platform! Claiming your company name across appropriate platforms is essential - be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ or YouTube. Aim to have the brand name written in the same format for each platform.
Monitoring: Using dedicated platforms such as Trackur or Naymz, or free tools such as Google Alerts, can help make monitoring online conversations a less time-consuming task.
Great customer service: By responding to customers and being helpful, customers will become brand evangelists and help promote your company in turn.
Transparency is key: Addressing criticism publically is generally more useful than trying to bury it, and often your brand evangelists will chime in with support. However you must be ready to face criticism promptly!
Respond: the best way to respond to negative publicity is to publish quality content, and lots of it. Whether it is client testimonials on your blog or social media accounts, these ‘web assets’ can act as promotional tools to hide negative commentary.

If you need help with your online reputation management, contact us on info@shawandunderwood.co.uk.