Last Updated on April 17, 2020 by
It goes without saying that a person’s reputation is one of their most valuable assets, especially in the business world. Whether it’s an individual hoping to work with a particular set of clients, or it’s a company looking to grow and bring in more business opportunities… a good reputation or a bad one can be the difference between success and failure. When it comes to investing in reputation marketing services that are meant to both protect the reputation a company has, as well as address negativity that could potentially alter their reputation… there is a right way and a wrong way to use these services.
Source: marketingdigest.com
Unfortunately, we’ve heard of far too many occasions where businesses have been taken advantage of by some of the vendors out there that provide these types of online marketing services. The most common is when a business owner thinks he is paying for reputation marketing solutions, but instead are only receiving reputation monitoring solutions. The difference is this:
Reputation Marketing = any time there are negative comments, reviews, or otherwise posted online… this service is supposed to address them by not only responding in a professional manner, but the vendor should also be looking for ways to promote positive publicity for their client. Additionally, some reputation marketing vendors regularly see to it that positive comments and reviews are published online as well.
Reputation Monitoring = a service that monitors when a brand has been mentioned on online, and then s alerts the business owner when that reference to the brand is not done in a positive light. From there, it’s up to the business owner to address the concerns mentioned, as well as finding a vendor that can find ways to get that content removed or hidden when consumers are doing a search for the brand online.
With that said, how can a business owner ensure that they are using these services correctly? Consider three ways:
1) Identify The Concerns You Have & Why You’re Investing In Reputation Marketing Services
Source: s3.amazonaws.com
This step is critical because all vendors will not necessarily take the time to do a thorough search for the bad publicity that is out there. Unless otherwise stated, it’s up to a business owner’s inhouse marketing team to find the issues or concerns they have, and from there they can share their findings with the reputation marketing company they plan on doing business with.
2) Tell The Reputation Marketing Agency Where Your Target Audience Is Looking For Your Business
Most vendors will only look at the search engine rankings by typing your brand name and keyword variations of it. However, do you find that your brand is also discussed in online community forums, social media, etc? If so, it’s important that you make the company you decide to hire aware of this so they can keep an eye out for mentions of your brands in these places. The fact is, no hired company will know where people have been historically looking for your products and services better than you… it’s best to provide as much background information as possible.
3) Be Willing To Share Positive Publicity & Social Media Properties That Already Exist Online
One of the keys to a successful online reputation marketing campaign is having “digital assets” already established and set up. Of course, a vendor could easily setup new ones for you or find the positive information that is already out there about your company, but when you provide this information up front… it can usually help the ORM campaign progress faster, as well as contribute to reducing the cost of the services rendered.
Source: lh6.googleusercontent.com
Now It’s Time To Properly Protect Your Reputation
With the above suggestions in mind, any business out there can get the ball rolling by working with a reputation marketing services provider to help them both protect and market their brand online. If you’re looking for assistance in choosing a vendor that is best suited for your business type, industry, and budget… please feel free to let us know which companies you’re considering working with, and we’d love to give you a few tips to find the one that best suited for you. Nomvo!