When it comes to digital marketing, social media is no less than a boon. Various digital marketing techniques such as Search engine optimization (SEO), Pay per click (PPC), and Online reputation management (ORM), are incomplete without it. Not many, particularly new business owners, know that social media plays a key role in improving and maintaining online reputation of a business which has an online presence. That is the reason why a good online reputation management strategy always includes social media. Here are the seven ways social media can improve your online reputation management and earn the trust of the people.
1. Promote good reviews.
Positive reviews are gold. It is really hard to gain positive reviews, but when you get some, you should make sure your potential customers notice it. There is no better way to spread positive reviews than social media sharing. That is because no matter what size or type of business you own, all your customers are on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and others. When you share the positive reviews of the former customers, your potential customers see it and develop a positive image. This positive image of the business will help you in converting your visitors into clients or customers.
2. Build customer relationships.
Building a great relationship with the customers is an important aspect of online reputation management. However, a customer relationship is not built over a night; It takes time. For that you need to be active on various social media platforms, where your customers are present in a large number, and resolve their issues. That is the reason why all the popular brands have an active presence on Facebook and Twitter. In the long run, it does develop a solid relationship with the customers and strengthens brand loyalty. After all, a good customer relationship is fundamental to retain all your existing customers.
3. Establish yourself as an expert.
People usually go for those brands, which are industry experts. Canon, a DSLR camera manufacturing company, is the best example. It has successfully established itself as an expert in the camera industry by educating, communicating, advising, supporting decision making, inspiring, and engaging customers throughout the world before and after the purchase. As the result, it now holds more than 50% of the world market share. As a business owner, you must establish yourself as an expert. If you do, your potential customers will tend to prefer you over your competitors. And there is no better platform than social media to do so.
4. Encourage your customers to leave a review.
Gaining more and more reviews is one of the main goals of an online reputation management company. That’s because Google usually prefers quantity of the reviews over the quality. Therefore, you can use social media platforms to ask your customers to review your products, services or the whole business. Here, the advantage of social media is that it reaches more people. As the result, you tend to get more reviews. In addition to that, you will come to know what is the word on the street. You can make required changes in your business to avoid future negative reviews.
5. Obtain better search engine ranking.
Social signal is one of the most important search engine ranking factors. A better search engine ranking improves your online reputation. What if one of your potential customer searches for a product or service, and finds your business website at the first position in the search engine results page? What he might think? He will think you are the leader in the industry. He will believe you are the best in the game. One of the main purposes of search engine optimization is to win the customer’s trust. Social media can ensure you exactly that.
6. Sales and reputation.
Why did you start your business at the first place? Why did you build a website? Why did you invest in SEO, PPC, and ORM? There is this one simple and common answer – to gain more customers and sales. Social media is something, which can make almost every business owner’s dream come true. People tend to like something that is liked by others. The same thing is reflected in social media. A couple of good product reviews will positively influence the purchase decision of a new potential buyer. Along with that, your brand recognition, brand awareness, brand loyalty, and brand reputation are automatically improved.
7. Take things under your control.
Your customers are more likely to express their experiences or thoughts about your business on the social media platforms like Facebook, twitter and Google+. Having an active social media presence will give you more control. You can join the conversation, reveal your side of the story, express gratitude, thank customers, hear customer issues, communicate, ask reviews, or take a survey. Social media gives you more control and ensures the bridge between you and your customer is intact. With the better control, you can build, manage, or maintain your reputation easily.
