Your online reputation impacts trust, credibility and sales. Good reviews inspire consumer trust, bad ones or false statements can drive away potential clients. Reputation management lets you steer the conversation, address concerns and make the most of your brand.

The textural mentions of your brand online can really help if those mentions link to your website, especially in terms of search engine rankings. Even though mentions may not be linked, they still help increase brand authority (Google uses the number of unlinked brand mentions when ranking search results). In the most simplest of terms, brand mentions help search engines look at your brand a little more like a trusted, credible one.

Positive mentions are endorsements, reviews, or accolades that boost your brand reputation. Negative mentions are any complaints, criticism or misinformation that can damage your reputation. Both have value: positives can used for marketing, negatives provide useful feedback for improvement and proactive reputation management.

There are a few ways to track mentions — Google Alerts, social listening tools such as Hootsuite, Brand24 and Mention and software specifically designed for PR. The point is to monitor across channels and get immediate alerts that enable you to promptly respond.

You can’t control what people say, but you can engage in proactive reputation management that can minimize the damage. By addressing your audience’s concerns, resolving complaints and asking for positive feedback, you can mitigate the significance of negative reviews and potentially convert unhappy customers into brand advocates.

Respond courteously and professionally, Always do so! Admit the problem, say sorry and present a fix. Avoid defensive or aggressive responses. Demonstrating that you care about customer happiness can turn negative mentions into an affirmation of your brand’s values.

Not at all. Reputation management includes social media, forums, blogs, news sites, influencer mentions and employee reviews. Everything that contributes to public perception counts, and an all-encompassing offensive ensures your digi-identity is kept safe throughout the broad spectrum of digital space.

Best to be monitoring brand mentions within 24 hours if not in real time. Since the sooner you catch mentions (especially negative ones) the sooner you can react and limit damage. Regular monitoring allows to recognize and draw trendlines, locate possibilities and threats.

Absolutely. It’s by answering, engaging or addressing notes from concerned customers that you not only have the ability to tell the customer “I care”, but also show it publicly. Businesses that listen and respond thru social media are memorable to their fans, resulting in long term relationships and repeat business.

You can record positive mentions as a testimonial, screen content you could use in one of your social media campaigns or case study articles or develop it into something to include on a press release? Your are establishing trust with potential customers through the demonstrating social proof and credibility through sharing unscripted praise.

Small brands can rely on the DIY tools, but professional services allow for strategic insight, quicker monitoring and the ability to manage crises. Professionals can detect subtle patterns, develop solutions to delicate situations and generate coherent brand stories, all in a timely manner while also protecting your reputation.