Even though it’s always important to stay true to who you are, it’s impossible to deny the impact of other people’s opinions about you. While you never want to let a mean-spirited comment get you down, it’s also natural to take a step back and evaluate how you may be perceived by others. As a business owner, this perception can make or break your company.
Your reputation as a business plays a significant role in customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. If people associate you with quality business and positive values, they’re likely to want to support your business with sales. If your reputation has some dents in it, you may lose existing customers who can pass on negative word of mouth to others. That’s why our digital PR services help you have the right online reputation management tools in place.
We’ll talk about what online reputation management is and how tools like Google My Business and Google reviews can help.
What to know about online reputation management
Your online reputation essentially refers to how prospective and current customers think about your business based on your online activity. It boils down to the impression that you leave on others from your online presence. It can be affected by:
- Type and tone of your social media posts
- Online user engagement
- News coverage
- Website design
- Brand identity
Why you should use Google My Business and Google reviews as online reputation management tools
While it can be difficult to manage your reputation in “the real world,” a business’s online reputation can be constantly monitored. Whether it’s good, bad or average, you should always be gauging how people perceive your business online. Managing your reputation online can have an impact on your traffic, conversions and brand awareness. By having the right tools, you can work to keep your business’s online reputation as positive as possible.
Google My Business — now known as Google Business Profile — and Google reviews can both be beneficial Google tools to utilize for managing your online reputation.
Your Google Business Profile is a tool that allows you to manage how your business is presented on the search engine. It boosts your visibility for relevant search pages, keeps users updated on changes and allows you to share photos. It can work as an online reputation management tool by giving you the ability to:
- Directly message Google users who interact with your profile
- Read reviews to learn about customers’ perceptions and experiences with your business
- Show reliability and consistency by keeping your profile updated
- Spotlight and share positive experiences
- Establish trust and positive brand identity through photos and videos
Google reviews is a feature of your Google Business Profile that allows people to leave their compliments, complaints or opinions about your business. These reviews can be found on your profile for all users to see. By taking advantage of this online reputation management tool, you can:
- Thank people for compliments and encourage them to return in the future
- Address negative comments to show that you value all types of feedback
- Pick up experience patterns that deserve attention, such as communication issues
- Find positive testimonials to share across social media or display on your site
- Establish rapport through responses that showcase the brand’s personality
It’s always important to put your best self out there as a business, but managing your online reputation isn’t always easy. There may be customers who blast you for something out of your control, a vendor issue that caused poor customer experiences or a disgruntled employee making you out to be the bad guy. No matter what your online reputation is, free online management tools can help you be perceived positively by the right people.
At BURG+CO., we can help online users see what a great business you are. We’ll use everything we have in our toolbox, including Google Business Profiles and Google reviews, to help you manage (and boost!) your reputation online for marketing success.
Want to attract new visitors to your website by managing your online reputation? BURG+CO. can help
Increasing traffic to your website plays a role in increasing conversions and leading to new clients. However, it’s difficult to attract visitors to your site when you don’t know what to do. Fortunately, this is what we specialize in at BURG+CO.
Our team has years of experience in helping businesses improve their digital presence to attract new leads and retain existing ones. If you’re looking to perform better in search engine results and attract more visitors to your site, we’re ready to talk to you to see how we can help. Contact our team today for more information about digital marketing or to schedule a complimentary consultation.
