Customer feedback, especially reviews and comments posted on social media and review sites like Google, Yelp or TripAdvisor, can greatly impact a brand’s reputation. It’s no surprise, considering 95 percent of customers read reviews before making a purchase. This is why companies need to focus on improving their online reputation marketing to generate more positive customer feedback and boost customer trust.
Unfortunately, companies fail to figure out what is online reputation management in digital marketing. In this article, we’re going to learn what is reputation marketing, why it is important for your business and some actionable tips and reputation marketing services you can use to improve and increase positive customer feedback.
What is Reputation Marketing?
Reputation marketing is a strategy that focuses on promoting your brand’s existing positive customer feedback. You can highlight or market positive customer feedback using traditional or digital marketing channels. Most reputation marketing solutions involve using online reviews and customer-generated content to highlight their best customer testimonials.
You might be wondering, “What is online reputation management in digital marketing?” You see, unlike traditional online reputation management, online reputation marketing aims to increase and generate positive online reviews rather than reputation repair. This involves proactive strategies like review response and review monitoring, using an online reputation marketing software or hiring an online reputation marketing company to collect data.
Reputation marketing services also apply search engine optimization (SEO) to content marketing strategies and social media campaigns, increasing visibility in search queries and generating leads that are most likely to convert because of positive information found online. SEO involves keyword research and understanding what search terms people are using when learning about your business. That’s why a strong understanding of your target audience is vital for the success of your reputation marketing solutions.
Why Is Reputation Marketing Important?
Once you’ve answered the question, “What is online reputation management in digital marketing?” the next point to understand is why companies need it.
When people search for your brand on Google, chances are some of the content they see comes from online reviews. This is a vital phase in the customer’s journey and brands should make a great first impression if they are to win the customer over based on what they find online. Reputation management marketing strategies can differ depending on a company and its industry, but there are fundamental principles that apply to all.
Build Customer Trust and Loyalty
The enormous impact and influence of online reviews on a customer’s decision to buy is one of the most important reasons to focus on an online reputation marketing strategy for your business.
A BrightLocal consumer survey indicates that 91 percent of consumers are likely to buy from a business with positive reviews. Even without using search engines, people are exposed to positive product reviews from friends and family via their social media feeds.
Without a doubt, the age of social media and the internet has greatly shifted people’s buying behavior. Businesses and brands should now treat customer feedback as a valuable currency that can determine their online reputation and revenue growth.
Achieve Better Conversions and Increase Revenue
There are many studies that prove the connection between online reviews and conversions. According to one study, 50 or more reviews for each product can increase conversion rates by 4.6 percent.
The same study showed a great correlation between number of reviews and conversion rate. The data showed that jumping from 25 to 50 reviews increase conversions by 18 percent, which can have a huge impact on revenue growth for any business.
This holds true specifically for eCommerce sites that display user-generated reviews for every product. A report published by the Spiegel Research Center found that customers are 270 percent more likely to purchase a product if it has five or more reviews.
If generating revenue for your business is your overarching goal, having the best online reputation management digital marketing plan is going to help you achieve this objective.
Increase Search Engine Visibility
When a consumer wants to know more about a business, they are likely to use a search engine. Search engines like Google are the most popular sources of information for most people. In fact, Google controls over 74 percent of global searches and plays a major role in reputation management marketing research.
This is why optimizing your content using an effective SEO campaign is important. It won’t be enough to generate more positive reviews with your online reputation management digital marketing. These reviews must be optimized so they appear on the first page of search engine results pages (SERPs).
When Google or any other search engine “sees” more positive and authentic content for your brand, you stand a better chance of appearing at the top of the SERPs, earning better online visibility and building a credible image for your brand.
How to Improve Your Online Reputation Marketing Strategy
As mentioned earlier, online reputation marketing focuses on getting more positive feedback for your brand so they are more visible than negative reviews. Search engines love fresh content. If more positive reviews come in, they’re more likely to get increased visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), boosting positive impressions for your brand.
Rather than focusing on changing or removing negative reviews, the primary aim of online reputation marketing is to generate more positive reviews and promote them in a company’s digital channels. Running the right reputation marketing services to consistently generate 4- or 5-star ratings for your company is ideal to achieve this goal. A 2020 consumer survey reveals that only 53 percent of consumers would choose a business with fewer than 4 stars.
Monitor All Customer Feedback Sources
To be fully aware of every customer review, you need to have a system for review monitoring. Most companies use an online reputation marketing software to manage reviews on their own. Other companies hire an online reputation marketing company to fully outsource the process. The ideal scenario is a fully managed review monitoring service overseen by a professional online reputation management team.
You need complete data for an accurate and holistic assessment of your brand’s reputation across multiple online channels, from social media to industry-specific review platforms. Having a review management team of professionals can make the review response process faster and more efficient, giving you better results.
Highlight Your Best Reviews Online
A proactive method in online reputation management digital marketing is leveraging your best customer reviews and displaying them prominently on your website or home page. You can use a review widget that adds customer reviews to your site in a beautiful and responsive layout.
You can also use content marketing strategies such as creating blog posts, video tutorials, whitepapers and case studies to promote positive customer experiences about your brand. Whether you do it in-house or hire a reputation marketing agency, it’s important to do this consistently and bring in other marketing methods like SEO and social media marketing to achieve the best results.
Respond to All Positive Reviews
Many companies make the mistake of ignoring positive reviews and focusing only on negative reviews. However, responding to positive reviews builds customer trust and makes them notice the extra effort. It makes your customers feel appreciated and you can build an emotional connection that earns their loyalty.
Responding to all online reviews can be time-consuming, so hiring an online reputation marketing agency to do this for you is a wise decision. Thrive Reviews offers personalized review response services that build your brand’s reputation.
Conclusion
Now that you understand what is reputation marketing, creating a strategy that fits your brand should be easier. Reputation management marketing need not be complicated. In essence, it is simply responding to your customer’s needs in a visible manner.
When done right, online reputation marketing can be transformative for your business. It improves the way your company relates to your customers the same way it improves the way your customers perceive your brand. While it takes time and effort, developing the right reputation marketing plan for your business is a worthy investment.
If you need a holistic approach to online reputation management, including review generation and reputation repair, consider hiring an online reputation management company like Thrive Reviews.
Our reputation marketing company provides online reputation management software and services that address every reputational challenge businesses face. Contact us today and start improving your online reputation.
