Best Practices for Social Media-Based Brand Reputation Management
Social media is a key component of any business’s marketing strategy. A strong, cross-platform presence can protect your brand identity, boost your leads, and improve your digital marketing ROI.
However, the billions of active users on social media are unpredictable and you may find that your brand reputation is damaged if you don’t try to exercise some control over the conversation.
You can’t manually dig through all the mentions, likes, and comments that you get online. Instead, you need to leverage social listening tools to keep up to date without getting lost in data.
You can make the most of social media by using brand reputation management tools that build community, address negative reviews, and improve customer satisfaction.
The Importance of Reputation Management
Businesses live and die by their reputation. Failing to attend to negative reviews or slanderous content will tank your brand and meaningfully impact your bottom line. Fortunately, there are plenty of brand reputation management techniques available to you.
Start by creating a robust reputation attack monitoring system. This will help you spot spam and inauthentic social reviews before they turn into a major problem. You can’t ignore bots and slander. Instead, address the issue publicly by flagging fake accounts and reviews. Consider issuing a public statement if the reviews are a serious issue, and report negative SEO attacks to Google Search Center.
Effective reputation management can bring more opportunities to your business, too. Influencers are more likely to work with your brand if you have a strong reputation, and other businesses will want to align themselves with you, too. You’ll also find that your engagement rates go through the roof if you’re seen as a trusted, people-centric company.
Social Listening Tools
You can’t manually dig through all the mentions, likes, and comments that you get online. Instead, you need to leverage social listening tools to keep up to date without getting lost in data.
Use tools like those offered by HootSuite, Brandwatch, and Talkwalker. These programs are designed to highlight the conversation happening on social media and can help you better understand the voice of the customer (VoC). This means you can address small issues before they spiral out of control on social media.
Social listening tools can help you anticipate consumer trends, too. This is particularly important in the digital age, as social media trends change on a daily basis. An effective social listening tool can help you post engaging content that protects your brand image.
Engaging Content
Investing in social media is a great way to drive organic traffic to your website. However, users on social media don’t want to see hard sales techniques. They want to be entertained, engaged, or informed about ideas and trends that relate to your business.
Posting engaging content is a great way to control the conversation and improve your brand reputation management. Commenters are more likely to leave positive reviews if your content is informative or entertaining and negative responses will be counter-weighted by positive ones.
If you’re struggling to post engaging content, follow some brand leaders in your field. The biggest brands all post content that is both trending and designed to engage followers. Follow suit, and post more content that directs the conversation in ways that benefit their marketing strategy.
Addressing Negative Reviews
Negative reviews are unavoidable. Whether you sell apples or service aeroplanes, you will have folks who speak poorly about your business at some point. You cannot afford to leave negative reviews to go unaddressed — even if they are uncomfortable.
Avoid the temptation to defend your business in social media reviews or comments. Instead, focus your efforts on resolving the issue and helping the person who left a poor review. This will make your business look more caring and socially responsible.
Addressing negative social media reviews can improve your customer satisfaction, too. This is important, as disgruntled customers are unlikely to return to your business if any alternatives exist. Connect your customer with the relevant department of your business, and offer refunds when applicable.
Influencers
Technological advances have transformed influencer marketing into a fast-growing form of brand reputation management. 5G helps influencers by giving their followers access to high-speed internet that drives engagement with interactive video and mixed-reality experiences
Partnering with trusted influencers can do wonders for your brand reputation. When an influencer advocates for your business, their followers are far more likely to see your business in a good light.
Choose influencers who are reputable — even if they have a smaller following. You can even use micro-influencers and nano-influencers to test the waters and trial-run your influencer marketing strategies. Trusted influencers won’t post content that conflicts with your core values and have higher engagement rates than folks who will say on behalf of the highest bidder.
Conclusion
Social media is a minefield for your brand. One small misstep can damage your reputation and undermine your marketing strategy. Utilize brand reputation management techniques to nip problem posts and negative reviews in the bud. Direct the conversation by posting engaging content and hiring a few influencers to build a positive brand reputation.