The Internet has elevated consumers to a position of power when it comes to online reputation. Gone are the days of word-of-mouth referrals; instead, consumers turn to social media and review sites to decide where to spend their money. It is up to you to shape the information your customers see online and take the time to connect with customers within these networks.

Why is Online Reputation Management Important?

It’s honestly the oldest form of advertising, just online.  It is the power of ‘word-of-mouth’ on steroids.  We, as humans, trust user-generated content (reviews) far more than we trust traditional advertising.

If you actively manage your online reputation, you will thrive and build trust within local online communities. 

The average consumer reads 10 reviews before trusting a business enough to make a purchase. 

97% of business responses are read while consumers are browsing through reviews. 

Clearly, the opinions of a few can impact the perceived reputation for many. Maintaining a reputable image online is essential for your business to drive sales and maintain a competitive advantage.

There are 3 simple elements of online reputation management that make a big impact

• Listings must be accurate, consistent, and abundant. This helps consumers search and find your business over the competition and helps establish trust. Make sure vital information is correct such as name, address, and phone number. 
• Reviews should be positive, frequent and plentiful. Positive reviews help you rank higher during search, and helps potential customers make an informed purchase decision.
• You should respond and engage in social activity and interact with user-generated content that relates to your business. Engaging in online communities and conversations help establish trust and boost overall online presence

Now that you understand why reputation is critical for your business’s success, let’s explore how a reputation dashboard can help you manage online reputation all in one place. 

Watch the video below to learn how you can use your Raine Digital Reputation Management Dashboard to establish trust and credibility among customers and prospects. 

https://youtu.be/VJ5HSyQ_Ejo

Managing Your Reviews

Explore in-depth information about your business’s online word of mouth. Monitor for reviews on influential sites like Google and Facebook. We also cover sites for specific businesses like Cars.com in the automotive space, Zomato for the restaurant industry, and RateMD’s for health & medical! From this dashboard, easily see which reviews you need to respond to and even respond to Google and Facebook reviews without leaving the page.

The Insights tab allows you to analyze online reviews and dig deeper into customer sentiment. The Insights page showcases:

• The top keywords used in your review sentiments.
• How many times that keyword has been used in online reviews.
• How customers describe that keyword (i.e. customer service is slow).
• All the reviews that include that keyword.

Google Q&A encourages meaningful exchanges of information between you and your customers.

Google Q&A enables any Google user (so a very large population of your current and potential customers) to ask or answer any question about any business in the world – on Google. This process is a form of shared knowledge transfer that appears on Google Business Profiles and provides potential new customers with valuable information about your business.

In summary, by using our reputation dashboard, you can use Google Q&A to:

• Receive notifications immediately as a new question is left
• Respond to questions right from the dashboard
• Ask yourself question to help populate some helpful FAQs

Best Practices: 

• Monitor and answer every new question. Just like responding to reviews, answering public Google questions is an important part of online reputation management.
• Be the voice of authority. Incorrect answers from the public can damage your business’s online reputation. Make sure incorrect answers receive a response from you.
• Ask yourself some questions – then answer them! Populating Google Q&A with FAQs helps potential customers find information about your business, faster. Typical FAQs should be about Specialty services, menu options, accessibility, business hours, etc.

By understanding why your online reputation is critical for the success of your business and exploring the tools to make this possible, you’ll be well-positioned for customer success.