A reputation takes years to build, but only seconds to tear down—or at least, that’s the conventional wisdom.
And it’s true enough. At the same time, though, there are some simple online reputation tweaks you can make to give your brand an enhanced level of prestige among potential clients and search engine users.
These aren’t necessarily quick or instantaneous fixes, but they are fairly straightforward steps you can take today, putting in a preliminary effort as you seek to undo any damage that’s been done to your online reputation.
A Quick Reputation Management Action Plan
Some basic steps that we recommend:
Start by doing a Google search for your company name. There are actually two components to this. First, just type your company name into the search bar and see what the “suggested search terms” are, specifically noting your company’s name used in connection with complaint, fraud, or other negative terms. Then, actually complete a search and see what you can see on the first page of search results. (Anything past page one doesn’t really matter, quite honestly.)
Make a note of any negative terms you see. If you do see your company name mentioned in the same sentence as fraud or hoax or scam, or whatever else, write down what the term is, and start using that term as a keyword in some of your content marketing. This will take a bit of time and it will also take some creativity—you may have to write some articles that “debunk” the “scam” allegations, for instance—but in the long run it can be an effective way to suppress some of those negative search listings.
Read your reviews on Yelp, Google, and other online review services. Take a few minutes to do this each week. Say thanks for the good ones, offer customer service to customers who have issues, and don’t get involved with trolls or flamers. It is important to check your reviews regularly, lest negative reviews start to spiral out of control.
Scan social media—especially Facebook. Spend some time searching for mentions of your company, thanking people who say nice things, and, again, offering customer service to those who have complaints. You might consider deleting comments and blocking users if you have repeat offenders or obvious trolls—i.e., people who don’t have real problems.
Brainstorm some fresh content ideas. In the end, the best way to ensure a positive online reputation is to take the time to create new, value-adding content—not necessarily self-promotion, but useful stuff, stuff that connects your company to real-world benefits and industry expertise.
Start the brainstorming process today—with our help. Contact Grammar Chic at 803-831-7444, or www.grammarchic.net.
The Red Ink 