Your online reputation can be an essential asset or a detriment to your career, depending on how you handle it. As more and more companies move their business to the Internet, managing one’s online reputation has become vital to success and survival. Even if you’re not famous, your search results provide people with information about who you are and what you stand for, which may affect their decision to work with you. The top five strategies here will help you stay on top of managing your online reputation and making sure the right people know about the great things you have to offer.
1. Negative Content Suppression
One of your first steps toward managing your online reputation should be taking harmful content about you off search engines. However, it’s crucial to hire a professional online reputation management company like DigitalOx Ltd to avoid the risk of going against a search engine’s policy. The last thing you want is a warning from Google or, worse, your account suspension. Fortunately, experts in online reputation management can help you get rid of damaging content without incurring any consequences from Google.
Suppression of damaging content appearing on search results will protect your brand and increase customer trust. It also allows you to focus on positive content that will grow your business instead of wasting time and resources trying to fix problems that may never go away.
2. Do An Online Assessment
How is your online reputation? Are you a respected member of your community? Maybe you aren’t. The first step in managing and improving your online reputation is to assess it. What do people say about you on social media, review sites, and blogs? Do they seem happy or unhappy with your business or organization? What can you do if they are not impressed to improve their experience?
One way to start answering these questions is by taking an online assessment to evaluate how others perceive you and how effectively you manage your online presence. An online reputation management team will be able to provide invaluable insight into how other people see you online and offer suggestions for improvements.
3. Take Note of Social Media Comments and Respond Appropriately
Check your online reputation before you engage in any communication with a customer on social media. A quick online search of your name will tell you what others say about you. Listen and take note: Do they like your company? Are they upset about something? Once you’ve figured out what people are saying, acknowledge that feedback on social media, but don’t be afraid to explain yourself and correct misconceptions if necessary.
For example, let’s say someone is complaining about a product issue on Twitter. Reply quickly and apologize for any inconvenience caused. Then, assist them in resolving their problem as soon as possible—and mean it! The quicker you respond to complaints or questions, the better off you’ll be when it comes time for customers to share their experiences online. However, if a complaint turns into an argument, walk away; there’s no point in getting into an argument with anyone online. It only makes things worse. You may also need a professional in online reputation to manage your situation.
4. Practice online Etiquette and Offer Reliable Solutions
The great thing about technology is that it’s a two-way street. Hence, whether you are an employer, customer, or salesperson, you can always reach out and ask questions to understand something more about your potential situation. In addition, it is just as crucial for you to be kind and polite online as it is in real life. Even if someone responds negatively with vulgarity or sarcasm, remember that there is a person on the other end of their comments who has feelings too.
If you want to create positive relationships online, then remember to be respectful of others—even when they aren’t being respectful of you! However, it’s crucial to find the most appropriate tone for each situation. However, don’t forget that keeping communication open and honest is still vital!
5. Claim and Build Your Online Profiles
Every major search engine—Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Baidu—offers a profile management tool. You can build citations (links) to your name or company’s website that say, Jane Smith is on LinkedIn or Jane Smith is on Twitter from these profiles. These are good places to start your online reputation management.
However, it’s essential to understand that not all links are created equal. Hence, you might need an expert to help you with SEO and improve your Google search results ranking. Also, remember to use an established site like LinkedIn or Facebook when building out your online presence.
Conclusion
Managing your online reputation is one of those things that can often go neglected. It’s easy to focus on other tasks when a lot is going on. However, if you don’t keep tabs on your digital identity and footprints, you could have some bad press or unfavorable social media interactions that seriously harm you. That’s why it’s critical to pay attention to what people are saying about you in public forums and social media channels. A professional online reputation management company can help you manage your online reputation by keeping an eye out for negative posts and comments, so you can address them before they get out of hand. If necessary, they can also help remove content from various sites or have damaging content removed altogether.