It is said that it takes 20 years to build a good reputation, but only five minutes to lose it.
In today's world, the digital landscape has undergone significant changes. When it comes to growing and enhancing a business, having a good PR strategy that includes online reputation management is crucial.
As PR professionals, we are frequently asked why online reputation is so important and how to manage it effectively. Here, Cherelle Jones, Senior Account Manager at Partners PR, offers insights into how you can take control of your online presence and grow your business by incorporating reputation management into your marketing strategy.
Why does reputation management matter?
A 2020 report prepared by Weber Shandwick highlighted that 63% of a company’s market value is directly related to its reputation, and 87% of executives consider reputational challenges more important than other strategic risks.
While reputation management may sound like a new phenomenon, it has always been understood by high-profile or public figures that a positive reputation is vital to overall success.
Regardless of your company's size or industry, people buy from those they trust, and your company's reputation plays a huge part in building that trust.
In highly competitive markets, such as manufacturing, where quality, reliability, and consistency are paramount, a strong online reputation helps to maintain trust and credibility among potential customers, partners, and stakeholders which in turn helps to set you apart from competitors.
A positive online reputation can also help in recruitment and staff retention. Prospective employees often research a company's reputation before applying for a job. A good reputation helps to attract skilled workers, and existing employees are likely to remain loyal when associated with a reputable company.
Your reputation can also impact collaboration with suppliers and partners. A strong reputation indicates professionalism, which leads to better partnerships.
What impacts online reputation?
In today's digitally dominated world, public perception can be shaped by several online sources, including social media comments, news articles, and customer feedback.
Having negative online comments and a poorly managed reputation can unfortunately lead to a public relations disaster that can impact your business financially.
It's important to continually work on building and maintaining good relationships with customers and a positive reputation. That's why we recommend incorporating reputation management into your overall PR strategy.
Keeping track of your reputation
The first step to effective online reputation management is to monitor your business's online presence and understand its digital footprint.
Ensure you are regularly checking social media platforms, online forums, and review sites that can provide you with valuable insights into your customers' opinions and feedback.
By staying informed, you can quickly identify any potential issues that require immediate action, as well as areas where you can make improvements to enhance the overall customer experience.
This proactive approach not only helps you build a stronger brand reputation but also fosters customer loyalty and engagement.
Managing negativity
Sometimes, negative comments are inevitable, but how you handle them determines whether your reputation is impacted.
As PR professionals, we always advise our clients to acknowledge and address negative reviews professionally. You must demonstrate concern and commitment to resolving any issues you face. Ultimately, this helps you to safeguard your reputation.
You should also ensure that all responses are issued promptly. Again, this shows you are taking the situation seriously and helps to harbour that element of trust among your customers and other partnerships. Where possible, we also advise you to try and take the conversation offline.
Once you have handled negative comments, it's time to start thinking about the bigger picture, and your overall PR strategy. Remember, most negative stories cannot be removed completely, but it is possible to control just how much is seen.
Research shows that 75% of people only look at the first page of search engine results to form an opinion. Besides helping you to monitor and maintain your digital footprint, a PR professional will be able to control your narrative and weaken negative material to promote the positive.
As PR strategists, we can curate shareable content including press releases, thought leadership pieces, blog posts, and social media posts to help ensure your company is seen in the best possible light. Ultimately, this helps to fill search results with positive messages and push any negative content down in search engine rankings.
Alongside online reputation management, we also advise you to consider building a well-thought-out crisis management plan to help safeguard your reputation in the event of an unplanned crisis.
Whether it’s to help counteract the impact of a product recall, a cyber security threat or a natural disaster, a crisis management plan is a strategic document that outlines the procedures, responsibilities, and actions to be taken by an organisation in response to a potential crisis.
It will also establish both internal and external communication protocols, including media relations to manage the narrative and stop the potential spread of misinformation.
If you are looking to take charge of your reputation, we are happy to help. At Partners PR, we pride ourselves on being a talented bunch of wordsmiths, creative thinkers, and PR strategists.
We work with B2B organisations across the UK in the manufacturing, engineering, food, and drink processing, building products, construction, and professional services sectors, helping them tell their story to the right people, at the right time to build, maintain and enhance their reputation.