Research shows that 45% of business owners aren’t satisfied with their online presence. Unfortunately, most of them who feel this way don’t know how to deal with the fallout from a negative customer review, poor user experience, or poor customer service. When not handled properly, these situations can severely damage your brand reputation and image. They can be one of the causes why you’re losing lots of qualified leads. It’s essential that you know how to respond to them to protect your brand.
Your brand represents who you are to your consumers. It’s your greatest and most intangible asset. If you don’t take consistent action to protect your brand reputation and image, your capital, social proof, and influence may suffer. When you’re attempting to develop social proof as a business strategy, for instance, you have to keep in mind that social networking has its pitfalls. A simple phishing attack can quickly ruin your reputation and make it difficult to recover.
If you are having trouble protecting your brand online or just want to improve your reputation management plan, we’re here to help you. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to protect your brand online.
What Is Reputation Management?
Before we discuss which actions protect your online brand, let’s get the basics down and define reputation management first.
While business trends may change, what is posted online about your company can stay with you forever. It’s for this reason that you need to be proactive in following and implementing the best reputation management practices and presenting your company’s best face to the public.
Brand reputation management means engaging positively with the public, deleting inaccurate or false information, and dealing with negative comments or reviews head-on in order to promote a win-win relationship. It requires transparency, authenticity, and some retroactive PR.
We all know that everything we say and do can end up online. Hot mic mishaps, holiday parties that were caught on video, and people who are just looking to cause discord for payback or fun are some of the best examples. As a business, it’s essential to avoid getting involved in things that can damage your reputation.
Tips on How to Protect Your Brand Online
We’ve gathered some of the most practical ways you can incorporate into your brand protection strategy to control public perceptions and make a positive impression on prospects and regular consumers. Here’s how to protect your brand online:
1. Google your website once a week.
How many times have you Googled your company in the past few weeks? You can discover a lot of information by simply typing your company name or professional name into the search bar once per week.
When you Google your business from time to time, you will see online reviews you don’t know about, gossip about your business on social networks, and other public comments that pop up when someone mentions your name or your business.
Take note of the date and location of any misleading information, and then delete it. Talk to the site owner if you’re unable to remove the information. You can also put out positive content to hide it on the second page of search results.
Negative reviews and complaints are the only negative mentions you shouldn’t remove since they come from your customers and are legitimate. These issues should be resolved publicly, promptly, and with a satisfactory result as the goal.
2. Create your own good press.
Aside from customer feedback, most of the information about your brand comes from you. You can even control comments and reviews to a certain extent by engaging online and remaining active in forums.
Your social media accounts and other online platforms can also be used to show happy customers and behind-the-scene photos of your team and solicit positive reviews or testimonials.
Some of the other things you can do include creating evergreen content that links your brand’s journey to the buyer’s journey and addressing any negative reviews and complaints as soon as you can.
3. Keep an eye on your digital footprint.
Control brand perception by monitoring key metrics. You should be alert for sudden changes that could be linked to negative publicity. Google and admin dashboards can show spikes in traffic and help you to analyze upward and downward trends.
There are various tools available that will alert you when people talk about you online. You can invest in such tools and make use of them to help you manage your brand’s online reputation.
4. Invest in top-notch security.
Negative press is the fastest way to sink a brand, especially if it involves security breaches that expose customer data. To prevent network intrusion, educate employees about security and reduce human error.
Although a virtual private network is a recommendation that security professionals make, this technology has its fair share of scams. Here’s how to protect your brand online:
- Utilize secure hosting platforms that offer encryption and leak protection.
- Limit access with strong encryption and access control.
- Keep your devices, software, and networks updated.
- Install a VPN on devices and networks.
5. Gather social proof.
Consumers are more inclined to trust recommendations and warnings from their friends about products or services than to believe ads or paid spokespersons. This is social proof, and it’s essential to create social proof for your brand to build trust.
Word-of-mouth advertising is free and very persuasive. You need to build and nurture advocates for your brand by engaging well-known influencers with a large audience, providing the best service, as well as encouraging social likes and shares.
Practice safety when engaging on social media platforms is among our tips on how to protect your brand online. Unscrupulous actors can use the comments and information from profiles to launch phishing attacks and spread misinformation.
6. Prioritize a customer-focused web design.
Your website is often your first contact with your audience. It should be designed with security and user experience in mind. These things don’t only bring more people to your site but also make it more likely for them to return. They also help you rank higher.
Your website’s layout should be simple and clear. It should contain relevant content and links. The checkout process must be fast, secure, and convenient. To improve performance, choose a reliable hosting provider with a high uptime percentage.
7. Connect with your prospects.
Human-to-human (H2H) interaction is becoming increasingly difficult in the age of AI and machine-learning technology. You can streamline your core functions with advanced technology and allow your staff to concentrate on customer service.
Connecting with your prospects is as easy as sending a personal email with special discounts or starting a customer loyalty program. You can also send out cars for birthday or holiday greetings.
Ensure Business Success Through Top-Notch Reputation Management
If you want to protect your brand online, it’s essential to invest in top-notch SEO and digital marketing strategies. Advanced Digital Media Service is here to help you. We provide a broad array of services, including reputation management and SEO in Denver.
Our team is committed to your success, and we will stick with you every step of the way. We will provide you with all the necessary services to ensure that your brand reputation and online presence remain robust. Give us a call today!
