If you are a small business owner, you’re probably no stranger to the highly competitive digital marketplace.

Online reputation management, or ORM, is critical to success because it allows you to control how your business appears on search engines.

What is Online Reputation Management?

Your online reputation is the sum of everything that mentions your business on the web. This includes anything from negative reviews and customer comments to social media discussions and slanderous materials created by your competitors.

When a prospect starts looking for product or service, they head to Google. If they’re considering your business, they enter your name into the search bar and judge you by the results on the first page.

If Google’s first-page results are positive, you’re leaving a good impression. If they are negative, however, the customer will likely move on to someone else.

Online reputation management is just as it sounds: the practice of managing and guiding your online reputation. It gives you more control over your company’s search results and your brand’s online conversation.

Why Online Reputation Management is Important

“Say no to the things that keep you on a certain level and say yes to the things that will help you keep moving on.” -Brian Honigman, CEO

When purchasing decisions are influenced by Google’s first page, the power to control search results is worth its weight in gold.

Imagine the ability to remove negative reviews from sight, or to reverse them through effective customer communication. And imagine the potential of eliminating unfavorable links on Google, and to replace those results with content you’ve created!

This is the power of ORM.

The use of ORM also sets your company apart from others with bad reputations.

The Impact of NOT Implementing an ORM Strategy

Highly trained professionals provide online reputation management services, and their expertise comes at a cost. Should you opt not to implement an ORM strategy, you might feel that you are more intelligent with your budget.

Businesses without ORM, however, are likely to take a hit to their bottom line—particularly in the long term. If you don’t have negative reviews or results about your business now, it’s likely just a matter of time.

When a search for your business yields negative results, Google’s first page can be your worst enemy. When consumers are exposed to negative information, they’re likely convinced to spend their money elsewhere, which hurts your image and your bottom line.

In short, ignoring the need for reputation management could cost you dearly.

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

Why wait for negative reviews and results to appear on Google? If you don’t have an online reputation management strategy for your small business, you’re giving your competitors the advantage.

Damage control is much more complicated than proactive prevention. Visit Reputation Sciences today before it’s too late.

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What pops up when you Google your brand?

If the results aren’t exactly flattering—or even downright embarrassing—it may be time for some online reputation management.

But how do you get started? What do you do first? Where do you go for help?

When it comes to managing your small business presence or corporate reputation, you’ll likely have more questions than answers. But as the leader of your company, there are two basic routes you can take to shore up those negative results (and polish up your brand in the process):

Reputation Management DIY

The first option in online reputation management (ORM) is doing it yourself—taking the time to ensure your brand is not only featured in a positive light, but is also compelling enough to inspire engagement and drive customers to action.

And to make sure your approach is starting off on the right foot, you’ll first need to:

Map out your online presence

Every strong reputation management strategy starts with actionable data. You can obtain it for developing a comprehensive roadmap of your reach and impact online.

This begins by identifying every article, blog, profile, social media thread and review that mentions your name on the web. It continues with an assessment of your brand’s performance for key search phrases—as well as how you stack up among online consumers (sentiment) and the competition.

Once you’ve given your digital footprint some perspective, it’s time to:

Build your strategy

With a big picture in place, you can then put together a strategy for mitigating online problems, fortifying your brand and improving engagement.

But to be successful, it’s important to build a plan that covers all your online bases—a multi-layered attack that not only suppresses negative search engine results, but that also thrusts your brand into the spotlight and gives customers a reason to take the next step.

An effective online reputation strategy combines anything from asset creation and curation to social media marketing and online review management to heighten visibility, reach and profitability.

And once your strategy is kicked into high gear, you must now work tirelessly to:

Maintain a positive corporate reputation

Whether you’re a professional, small business or global conglomerate, it’s not enough to simply establish a positive presence on the web. In an unpredictable online environment, things can change on a moment’s notice.  You must be vigilant to monitor and maintain the brand you’ve worked so hard to build.

Threats can come from anywhere and anytime. And while the internet offers a variety of tools for tracking new mentions and monitoring the conversation. you must maintain an ever-watchful eye to protect your brand’s integrity, authority and ability to feed your bottom line.

Your Other Option? Hiring a Pro

Of course, you could dedicate precious company resources to reputation management DIY—putting invaluable amounts of time, money and labor into an effort you can only hope will accomplish the task.

Or, you could hire a professional—someone who understands the digital landscape. Who has the proven digital marketing experience, expertise and tools needed to protect, preserve and promote your brand on the web.

With ORM specialists at your side, your business has the opportunity to:

• Avoid the risks of going it alone.
• Focus your time, money and personnel on what’s important.
• Build an online reputation that can withstand digital threats and create meaningful connections with your customers.

At Reputation Sciences, we offer custom, outsourced online reputation management solutions that protect your image and grow your revenue. Call (844) 458-6735 today to schedule a free consultation.

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