11 April 2021
Online reputation management has always been important. After all,
consumers prefer to work with companies they trust, and with values that
closely mirror their own. With a solid reputation, attracting and converting
new clients is easy. Moreover, retaining the ones you already have takes
virtually no additional effort. Although most business owners recognize
the importance of amassing large numbers of positive reviews, few
understand why having a multi-pronged, proactive reputation marketing
plan is absolutely essential. In fact, right now – these efforts matter more
than ever.
Proactive vs. Reactive Reputation Management
Reputation marketing goes beyond soliciting positive feedback from
satisfied customers. It is instead, the efforts that you make to proactively
build your commercial image and bolster it against attacks. While there
are myriad proactive reputation management strategies that you can
leverage, the overarching goal is to provide consumers with value by
offering helpful information, addressing their pain points, and appealing
to their interests. For instance, you can:
● Use social media platforms to talk about trending, industry-related
issues that matter to your clients
● Launch giving campaigns via your onsite blog or social profiles
● Produce and share funny and insightful advertising videos that
answer important pre-purchase questions
● Offer engaging newsletters via your email marketing campaigns
that supply details on product maintenance, offer troubleshooting
tips, and more
When your business solves problems for people at no additional cost,
this fosters trust and positions you as an industry authority. Think of it as
lifting your commercial reputation up. This way, if your company ever
experiences unwarranted attacks on its reputation, those launching
these attacks will have to work far harder to successfully bring your
reputation down.
Conversely, reactive reputation management is simply waiting for
attacks to occur, and then responding in the best ways possible.
Although good PR can help you mitigate damages from unwarranted
attacks, reactive strategies are far less effective than proactive ones.
Staying Ahead of Cancel Culture: Why Right Now Is The Time To Stay
On Top Of Reputation Marketing
Cancel culture is something that every business has to be leery of. A
single, opinionated person can hone in on something that your business
does or once said, and then use it to drive your company into the
ground. This could be as minor as choosing not to go paperless in a
highly eco-conscious market, having an unpopular political opinion, or
choosing to support an unpopular cause. Companies that have fallen
victim to cancel culture for these and other reasons have largely been
unprepared for the ongoing social media attacks that they've faced.
However, those that have had proactive reputation management
campaigns in place consistently fared well. These entities had already
convinced their markets of their value and their trustworthiness, and their
efforts to do so had already established adequate loyalty for keeping
their reputations and their bottom lines protected.
The key thing to remember when comparing proactive and reactive
reputation management is that you never want to make protecting your
business image something that you only think about in hindsight.
Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you implement an
effective, proactive reputation marketing campaign that prepares your
company for the challenges and demands of an increasingly digital
world, and an increasingly opinionated public.