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6 online reputation management mistakes businesses should avoid

A business with a strong Online Reputation Management (ORM) strategy is hard to beat. Nowadays, almost every company, organization, brand, or celebrity has a solid ORM. The task requires a team of experts who can help handle negative feedback and concentrate more on the good. Despite its importance, some business owners make the following errors while planning an ORM strategy. It can impact the development and success of the business to a great extent.

Relying on the existing reputation
One of the most common mistakes businesses can make is to avoid their ORM strategy. Most often, business owners assume that their company doesn’t need ORM since the existing reputation is highly reliable. Just because the business has received a high volume of positive results and reviews in the past does not save it from future changes. Moreover, if the business does not have a heavy web presence, it might be even more vulnerable to the impact of negative comments and reviews. Having an ORM strategy in place can help businesses have more control over how consumers view their brand, both online and offline. This helps them control the narrative of the products and services even when negative reviews are received. Search result algorithms can pick up on negative reviews, negative press, and other bad attention depending on where it has been posted. Controlling this can help throw a fresh, positive light on the business and protect it from sinking under the weight of these reviews.

Disregarding consistency
When businesses fail to consider consistency in their voice, branding, and visuals, it can come across as a lack of online reputation presence. This absence can also make it difficult for search engine users to be presented with the business’s online results. Furthermore, it also impacts how a business’s target audience perceives and recognizes them online. Consistency maintained across online marketing channels can help business owners make their brands appear more authentic and prevent confusion. It also helps maintain brand loyalty among users and gives business owners a consistent brand visual and voice.

Ignoring or responding aggressively to negative feedback
It is prudent that business owners do not let their personal views and feelings impact the way they respond to bad reviews. No matter how hard they work, receiving unsatisfactory feedback regarding their profession or business should be taken with a pinch of salt. The internet is a democratic platform where everyone can freely express their views. Responding to negative reviews with an angry or authoritative email might do more harm than help save the business’s reputation. Responding with angry rants to such reviews will only further push the review author to justify a smear campaign and shine a bad light on the business. In addition, further engagement with negative content can reflect the data during search engine results. Engines like Google work on ranking systems that factor in things like how often the business is being discussed, the tone of discussion, website visits, and more. So when business owners engage with negative comments and reviews, they give search engines more reason to display these and potentially mislead other customers. Therefore, adopting an ORM strategy can help business owners negate the impact of bad reviews and comments online and position the businesses so that the content does not impact the process and loyalty of other customers.

Not taking care of the brand tone
It is a proven fact that engaging with negative comments can be a tedious process. Taking care of inflammatory content regarding businesses can be frustrating and a little complex because no business wants to deny the complaints of their previous customers, nor do they want to harm their reputation. Instead, it is recommended that businesses spend some time and effort to create responses carefully and thoughtfully. Carefully engaging this content can help leave behind a better impression of the organization. Statistics suggest that businesses generate a better average revenue when they take the time to respond to the reviews. While positive reviews can be simply handled by acknowledging the customer’s support, negative reviews need a problem-solving attitude that offers the person a solution while acknowledging their complaint. It is important to avoid being defensive or publicly angry with the consumer.

Using fake reviews
Today, most users research reviews to learn about a business’s performance, product quality, or services. Since reviews can drive a business’s revenue rates, many business owners attempt to use fake reviews to drive sales. However, this is not necessarily a beneficial technique. Search engines have their algorithms and practices that help weed out fake reviews. This can negate the efforts of businesses. Furthermore, these reviews can only initially increase sales. Instead, businesses can use this time and effort to earn genuine customer reviews and loyalty. Customers today can identify businesses that either post or purchase fake endorsements. This can result in a stark decline in the credibility of the business and customer satisfaction.

Using masking method
Business owners can frequently be approached by companies that promise a better search result rating on top search engines. These results can come at a fee. However, before opting for quick-fix solutions, businesses need to ensure that it benefits their service. Instead, they should focus on building their online reputation and organic search results. Some companies may use Black Hat SEO to help bring their website to the top of search engine results. However, this is only a temporary fix and is among the worst SEO practices that can seriously impact a business.

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