What is Online Reputation Management?
Your online reputation is your image on the Internet.
Online reputation management (ORM) is about improving or restoring your name or your brand’s good standing.
This is by countering, weakening or eliminating the negative material found in the Internet – defeating it with more positive material to improving your credibility and customers’ trust in you.
Why is ORM Important to your Business?
Potential customers change purchase decisions when they see bad reviews, negative blog posts and comments which can spread in various channels such as in [geo] search engine results and in social media networks.
These can gravely affect your brand and your business.
That’s why it’s important to have your online reputation monitored and have these negativities mitigated—while proactively building positive reputation.
Do you Google yourself or your company and you don’t like what you see?
Your reputation in [geo] is important.
You cannot afford not to do ORM!
- 44% of online adults have searched for information about someone whose services or advice they seek in a professional capacity, like a doctor, lawyer or plumber
- 50% of ALL Internet users over the age of 18 have left a review online
- 78% of Internet users conduct product research online; they believe reviews are the most credible form of advertising
- 80% of people surveyed had changed a purchase decision due to a bad review they saw online
– comScore Local Search Study 2012, MarketingSherpa, PEW Internet, Core Communications
- {geo} Online reviews are crucial for today’s businesses.
- Several studies show that reviews can greatly impact a brand’s reputation, and consequently sales.
- They are widely read and can influence people’s purchase decisions.
This means rebuilding or reinforcing your online reputation is about the promotion of positive reviews:highlighting what’s good.
“Online Reputation Management will avert negative buzz, safeguard and nurture your brand equity, impact sales and revenue.”
“Reviews Represent Reputation”
– BIGresearch, Google, Nielsen, eTailing Group, Forrester, BizRate, JupiterResearch, TechCrunch
- 59% of their users considered customer reviews to be more valuable than expert reviews
- 60% of online shoppers provide feedback about a shopping experience, and are more likely to give feedback about a positive experience than a negative one
- 70% of Americans now say they look at product reviews before making a purchase
- 70% of global consumers trust online consumer reviews, making them the second most trusted form of advertising behind earned media like word of mouth
- 71% of online shoppers read reviews, making it the most widely read consumer-generated content
- 71% used keyword searches to find products
- 80% of online shopping time is spent researching products rather than buying them
- 92% deemed customer reviews as “extremely” or “very” helpful
- 5% of adults regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a store
Online users search for local business in [geo] via social network:
This makes social media a very good venue to build brands, customer loyalty, and word-of-mouth or viral promotion.
It is a perfect platform to build your online reputation.
Online Reputation Management will avert negative buzz, safeguard and nurture your brand equity, impact sales and revenue
- 70% read others’ experiences
- 65% learn more about businesses, brands, products and services
- 53% compliment brands
- 50% express concerns about brands, products, and services
– Nielsen
- Facebook has over 1 billion monthly active users in 2012 up from 600 million in 2010.
- LinkedIn has 87 million users, welcoming in 2 members per second
- Twitter has 200 million monthly active users in 2012, surging from only 15 million in 2009
- Expected in 2015: Acceleration of local search volumes due to unprecedented smart phone adoption.
- Expected in 2015: Mobile Internet Users will outnumber desktop computer internet users
Social networks continue to grow today and this trend gives people more opportunities to interact with each other, as well as research about products and services on the Internet.
The growth in mobile adoption means it will be easier to stay online and leave or read product reviews.
Your business can either suffer or benefit from this trend, depending on how well you manage your online reputation.
More and more companies are buckling up for negative social media buzz, which can threaten a brand’s online reputation.
