Your brand’s online reputation matters now more than ever. Consumers are more discerning with their purchases, making sure to consult reviews before handing their money over. Online reviews are just as valuable as recommendations from friends and family. That means positive ones can drive conversion and sales, while bad ones can tear your brand down.
Fortunately, online reputation management (ORM) can help you learn about your customers and how you can align your business with their wants and needs. Here are the top nine ORM trends in 2023 that you can include in your strategy to help cultivate a positive brand image.
9 Hottest Trends in 2023 for Online Reputation Management
Taking Advantage of ORM Tools
Online reputation management requires a lot of time and dedication. Like any relationship, building trust with customers isn’t an overnight process. Not only must you monitor and manage what people say about you on the internet, but you also have to undo any damage from negative feedback. Fortunately, more ORM tools are available to help you establish a positive brand image. It’s time to take advantage of them in 2023.
There’s a saying that what goes on the internet stays there forever. But with the help of a link removal service, you can take down defamatory content from various sources. As a result, they’ll never appear on Google or other search engines again to harm your reputation. Aside from link and content removal services, you can tap other ORM tools. For example, they can help you track brand mentions across online platforms, gauge user sentiments, and notify you of negative press.
Using AI to Enhance Brand Reputation
The unfortunate truth is that negative words spread faster than positive ones. Whether it be unsavory reviews or irate comments, they catch like wildfire. And before you know it, you have a PR nightmare on your hands. What’s worse is that brands also have to deal with fake news, which is equally damaging to one’s reputation. But now that we’re in the age of artificial intelligence, it’s easier to fight the negativity.
With the help of AI, businesses can provide a more seamless experience for their customers. And when their customers are happy and satisfied, they’re more likely to become loyal to the brand and provide positive feedback. You can also use AI to respond promptly to inquiries, gain valuable insights about your customers, and provide a customized web experience. These will win your customers over, and they’ll be happy to put in a good word for you.
Showcasing User-Generated Content
Social proof is crucial in brand building. When people see that others are raving about you, they’re more likely to trust you and try your products or services themselves. That’s why you should show off your brand’s user-generated content. That way, these positive reviews, stories, and photos can take center stage and help you present an authentic, reliable, and personable image to the public.
Carve out a space for UGC. You can embed a widget on your website that aggregates and features reviews across various social media platforms. You can also try syncing mentions and hashtags with your social media content on a dedicated web page. While you can showcase UGC manually, it’s best to automate the task for efficiency’s sake.
Driving Genuine Engagement on Social Media
You can’t expect your customers to engage if you don’t make the first move. There are various ways to encourage them to connect with your brand. For example, you can include CTAs in your social media posts, asking them to like, follow, comment, or share. You can also make shareable content to drive engagement. Users are more likely to share images and short-form videos, so you can choose to focus on those formats.
Having high engagement on social media is a boost to your brand reputation. It shows that you have a strong connection with your community and that your customers like and trust you. It also encourages others to follow suit and engage.
Setting up an Online Store
It’s not enough to have a strong presence on Instagram and Facebook. You must be searchable on the web if your goal is to establish your business’s online reputation. That means it’s time to set up an online store this 2023 if you haven’t already. It’s a crucial move because consumers’ needs are changing, and your business must adapt to survive.
You create a great impression on potential customers when you have an online store. They can easily access you, and you provide them with a more seamless shopping experience. You’ll come across as a professional and trustworthy brand.
Selecting Customers As Brand Ambassadors
Consumers are developing a distrust for large brands and the ads they put out. They’re more ready to believe fellow customers with similar backgrounds and needs. That’s why selecting customers to be brand ambassadors is a smart ORM strategy. These people already know and love your brand and regularly use your products or services.
Customer ambassadors may reach smaller audiences than celebrities and influencers, but their authenticity can drive engagement and encourage others to leave positive feedback. In addition, you can work with them in various ways to build your brand reputation.
Fostering Brand Partnerships
Creating a successful and trustworthy brand is not without difficulties. But it’s an easier climb to the top when you have partners to help you. Therefore, finding partner brands with similar goals and values is crucial. That way, you can support and vouch for each other, tap each other’s audiences, generate more income, and build a positive reputation as a team.
The first step to fostering brand partnerships is setting expectations. Be clear about what you expect from each other and come through with your end of the deal. There must also be mutual trust and respect for partnerships to work out and be fruitful.
Training Your Customer Service Team to Be Empathetic
As the old saying goes, you can’t fight fire with fire. So if an angry customer is blowing up your DMs with not-so-kind words, the best way to handle the situation is by being empathetic. The goal is to put out the fire immediately and prevent it from escalating into something bigger and harder to manage.
Customer misunderstandings are an inevitable part of any brand’s journey. But when your customer service staff can put themselves in a dissatisfied customer’s shoes, it’s an opportunity to fix the relationship and win them back.
Leveraging SEO
When a user searches for your brand, bad reviews are the last thing that should pop up. While removing content from Google search engine page results is possible, it’s better to have an SEO strategy that prevents any negative press from showing in the first place—at least not on the first page, if possible.
The first five links on SERPs should be your website and other social media accounts. It’s also good SEO practice to create profiles on review and comparison sites to boost rankings.
The Bottom Line
The internet can be a ruthless place for brands trying to make it. But when you incorporate these ORM trends into your strategy and stay with the process, you give your business the best chance to thrive online.
