Have you ever thought about your online reputation and that of your business? One of the primary goals of content marketing (and all its components) is to build your credibility and reputation. Here are my best tips for managing your professional reputation.
Never underestimate how effective word-of-mouth marketing is.
Word-of-mouth is verbal or written recommendations by a satisfied customer to the prospective customers of a product or service. This is considered to be the most effective form of promotion.
We’ve all heard of it and probably used it ourselves. You know it works so make sure you are using it effectively. Personally, my business was built on the foundation of word of mouth marketing as it was my ONLY source of new clients for the first six years.
You can’t opt out of reputation management: If you don’t control the story, someone else will.
News of bad customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for good service experience. (Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs)
Don’t give customers any reason to complain. Always provide top notch customer service and handle any issues quickly and efficiently as well as privately.
Be where your customers are. Create an online presence on social platforms and then focus on engagement.
The top 3 positions have long been held by Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But this has changed in recent years and some of the top spots are actually held by messenger apps. According to Buffer the top 3 are Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp. Instagram is #6, Twitter #12 and LinkedIn #13. Find where your favorite falls here. But remember, you want to concentrate on the one (or more) that your target audience prefers – not you. Do your research.
Once you create a social media account use it consistently. Become part of the community.
A profile with no engagement is a waste of time. It shows your audience that you really don’t care about them and their problems. Schedule time to interact with your followers every day. And INTERACT. This means doing more than posting quotes, pictures and ads for your product or service. Ask questions, respond to questions and comments and actively support others.
Get a book published. Being an author is a great way to boost your reputation online and offline.
This can be easy to do even if you don’t like to write. There are many ghostwriters who will do all the composing for you. And if you self-publish your book it can be on the shelves at Amazon for a small investment. Do your homework and build a rock star team of freelance specialists who will help you every step of the way.
When you mess up, to salvage your reputation, the best thing you can do is apologize.
And then move on. One of my first employers in the business world taught me a rule I have come to live by: If you make a mistake, admit it, fix it and do what needs to be done so you don’t repeat it. That process has served me well for over 30 years.
When faced with a critic online, the best thing you can do is avoid arguments in public.
Nothing good can come from arguing with customers in public. There have been some examples of this that end up going viral. One good example you can read about on Buzzfeed.com about ABC Baking Company. Invite the disgruntled individual to take the discussion off-line. Ignore any tirades and focus on continuing the conversation in the customer support area. Don’t let “trolls” or spammers bait you into responding.
It’s important to be yourself because you can’t maintain a fake persona forever.
Your audience will see through this very quickly and it will do more harm to your reputation than any benefit you were trying to gain.
I hope these tips have helped you in managing your online reputation. One final word of warning: There are many so-called “reputation management” companies that will claim they will “fix” any issues with your online reputation. Forbes published an article a few years ago that explains why hiring these companies is a bad idea that can actually be costly. If you decide to enlist help, please research companies and find a reputable one. However, many of the steps you need to take to manage your reputation can be accomplished by yourself or a professional virtual assistant.
Recommended Reading:
Why Brands Should Think Reputation Marketing, Not Reputation Management, To Win The Future. ~Forbes
Content Marketing and Reputation Management: What We Can All Learn from United’s Epic Fail [Content Marketing Podcast 223]. ~ Resonance Content Marketing
Top 10 Tools for Reputation Marketing. ~Entrepreneur
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