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Posts Tagged ‘Reputation Management’
Friday, April 19th, 2013
Samsung is in hot water. And the sad part is it was completely avoidable. All they had to do was – nothing.
Instead, someone in their marketing department thought it would be a good idea to buy fake reviews. Very bad idea.
Not only did they buy positive reviews of their own products, but they purchased negative reviews of the competition. That’s a double whammy. I’d like to take this time to save you the trouble and expense – indeed, the experience – that is affecting Samsung’s brand.
Don’t buy fake reviews!
Fake reviews will hurt your reputation. All it takes is for it to go public that you purchased fake reviews and you’ll lose trust among the very people you are trying to engender it with. Is it worth the risk? Perhaps you should ask Samsung. I think they would answer in the negative.
Once you break trust with your audience it is hard to get it back. You have to work three times as hard to win back trust that you’ve lost than you did to earn it in the first place.
That’s why you never want to purchase fake reviews. Instead, try to come up with creative ways to encourage your customers to post honest reviews of your products. If those products are good, they’ll get good reviews. That’s the best online reputation you can get.
Tags: fake reviews, online reputation, online reviews, Reputation Management, reviews
Posted in Reputation Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013
One of the biggest mistakes YouTube marketers make is thinking they’ll get a rush of traffic from their uploaded videos. More often than not, the referrals from YouTube are pretty low. That’s because people go to YouTube to watch videos. They are not looking for websites to visit. They want to be entertained or informed.
That doesn’t mean, however, that marketing through YouTube has little or no value. It actually has a lot of value.
But what about rankings?
If you think that uploading vidoes to YouTube and then embedding them on your website is going to improve your website’s rankings, then you’ll be disappointed by that too. More than likely, those embeds will help YouTube rank better. If you own the channel those videos are uploaded to, then your YouTube channel could see a rise in rankings based on number of video embeds and social shares. That’s not a bad thing as it means your brand will have one more ranking than it did before. That’s great for reputation management.
The real benefit to marketing through YouTube, however, is in branding. YouTube is one of the top 5 most trafficked websites online and the second biggest search engine. That means you have a powerful marketing medium.
If you can get your YouTube videos in front of a lot of eyeballs, that’s powerful branding. And it’s the true value of marketing through YouTube. Forget about rankings and traffic.
Tags: Branding, online marketing, Reputation Management, search rankings, traffic, Video Marketing, website rankings, YouTube
Posted in Branding | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 19th, 2013
Amazon recently fired its security company in Germany.
It’s an interesting story because Amazon reacted quickly. As soon as the controversy reared its face in public, the company made a decision to end its relationship with the company. That’s hard-nosed. It’s also respectable, and I would argue it was the best decision for the company’s reputation.
The public isn’t very forgiving when it comes to allegations of abuse and discrimination. If there is any hint that your company is involved in anything like that or that you allow a contractor to get away with such abuse, then you’ll be in hot water. That’s why it’s important to take harsh measures early. In other words, you have to guard your reputation carefully.
Amazon seems ready to do that. Are you?
Here are three hard and fast rules about reputation management in the 21st century:
- If a negative event hits the media and has the potential to erupt into a full-fledged reputation issue, then you MUST act quickly to address any concerns the event brings up.
- Whenever possible, side with the public sentiment.
- Stand up for the abused, underprivileged, and disaffected. You can’t go wrong if you are defending the defenseless.
Reputation management is more than simply providing good customer service, though it does begin there. In today’s business climate, it means guarding your public image in every endeavor – including employment practices.
Tags: Amazon, reputation, Reputation Management
Posted in Reputation Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Reputation management begins with customer service. But with Amazon, the Internet’s largest retailer, it begins with the competition. That’s what I get out of the new Harris Interactive Reputation Quotient Study.
Last year, Amazon ranked No. 4. Apple was No. 1 and Google was No. 2. The Coca-Cola Company fell in at No. 4. This year, it’s Amazon, Apple, The Walt Disney Company, Google, and Johnson & Johnson rounding at the top 5.
The surprising part is why consumers see Amazon so positively. The results this year are based on the following criteria:
- Outperforms the competition
- Admirable and respectable
- Trustworthy
- Plays a valuable social role
- Good company to work for
- Good feeling about the company
What it really boils down to is, people feel good about Amazon. They’re beating the competition, people respect them (obviously) with their private information like contact information and credit card numbers, they make a good employer, and their company policies engender respect and admiration. Plus, they contribute to society.
We can learn how to make our own companies more respectable by watching the larger companies’ reputations and seeing what creates a positive perception in the minds of consumers.
So what can we learn from Amazon this year? I think it boils down to three things for Amazon: technology, customer service, and fulfillment. All of these things are intrinsically tied together – at least, from a customer service perspective. On Amazon’s social roles, I think it boils down to the company supporting good causes and not having any bad PR. Then, there’s the whole thing about being a good company to work for. If you can check ‘yes’ in each of those three boxes (customer service, social role, and employment satisfaction), then I think you can create a positive reputation for your company as well.
Tags: Amazon, customer service, reputation, Reputation Management
Posted in Reputation Management | No Comments »
Friday, January 25th, 2013
Do you know how your reputation is perceived online? There are several factors that can help or hurt how others see you. They are not trivial matters. These factors actually get to the heart of what your business is all about.
- Customer treatment – If you consistently deliver bad service or treat your customers badly, that will hurt your reputation.
- Website design – I’m not merely talking about attractiveness, though it does help to have an attractive website. But just as important is website architecture. Is your site easy to navigate? Can users find what they need easily? Does it do its job of selling your products and services?
- Social media persona – Do you use social media as yourself or do you use an alias. It matters. Furthermore, how do you conduct yourself on social media? Are you professional? Consider how people see you on social media. Do you talk bad about the competition or other professionals in your industry? That will hurt your company in the long run.
- Negative SEO – Negative SEO is any search engine result that puts your company in a bad light. If you have enough negative results associated with your company, then that will reflect poorly upon your reputation.
Everything you do and say online today can be a reputation enhancer or a reputation killer. Make the necessary adjustments to your online reputation to prepare it for the best future outlook.
Tags: customer service, online reputation, Reputation Management, Social Media, website design
Posted in Reputation Management | No Comments »
Monday, December 24th, 2012
The best reputation management you have as a small business is customer service. One bad customer service experience can have huge repercussions in the age of social media. UPS discovered this the hard way.
A few years ago an incident like this could have gone months before the company saw any negative publicity – if at all. But with social media, and everyone you know having accounts at all the major social media websites, you can bet that your customers will use it if they have to.
All you have to do to stop the social media negative PR campaigns before they start is provide good customer service. That doesn’t mean flawless execution of your service or flawless products. It means addressing concerns when they arise.
Once you sully your reputation it’s hard to get it back. That’s why you need to train all your employees on how to handle customer complaints when they happen. And be sure that no one drops the ball on any customer complaint. If you fail to do this one time, you could end up like UPS and have a video go viral, making your company look like it doesn’t care about its customers.
Social media is the great equalizer between customers and large businesses. What do you think it could do to a small business in a small town if this kind of thing happens to one of your customers?
Tags: customer service, Reputation Management, small business, Social Media
Posted in Reputation Management | 4 Comments »
Thursday, November 15th, 2012
Online reputation management is as much social as it is anything. That is, you can manage your online reputation using social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. Rich Gorman at Marketing Pilgrim offers three suggestions to help small business owners more effectively use social media for reputation management. Here are his suggestions:
- Use the right social media platforms
- Create more content
- Use keywords more effectively
Every social media platform has its advantages. What are you trying to accomplish? You don’t have to use Facebook just because everyone else is using Facebook. If it doesn’t make sense for your business, then use the social networks that are going to help you enhance your reputation more.
If you aren’t creating social content, then you aren’t really networking and you aren’t managing your reputation. Online, it’s all about the content. You have to use your content on social networks to engage other users and build relationships. That’s the only way to keep your reputation alive and encourage a positive view of your personality and your business. Create more content.
As you create more social media content you should also be aware of how it will be received by the search engines. You can rank your social content in the search engines by optimizing it around specific keyword phrases.
Reputation management, social media, and SEO are all intertwined. They are no longer separate menu items on the same dinner plate. They go hand in hand. Savvy online marketers understand that and act accordingly.
Tags: online reputation, online reputation management, Reputation Management, SEO, Social Media, social networking
Posted in Reputation Management | 5 Comments »
Monday, October 29th, 2012
When it comes to off-site marketing and content publishing, few tactics provide as many benefits as guest blogging. The gurus and the ninjas are right about one thing: Guest blogging produces a lot of benefit for small business owners who want to expand their businesses and build their brands. Here are 5 benefits to guest blogging you can’t overlook:
- Your online reputation’s flag is raised – All you have to do to enhance your online reputation is to associate yourself with a well-recognized blog within your niche.
- Expand your audience – By guest blogging on the right blogs you can focus your efforts on reaching the audience that matters to your business. You will reach people who otherwise might never hear about you.
- Drive traffic to your website - Website traffic is getting harder to come by. At least, high value targeted traffic is. But you can tap into the best traffic in the world when you guest blog on the right blogs within your niche.
- SEO value – Guest blog posts are great opportunities to link back to your website and get that coveted inbound link. Don’t abuse it. Use this tactic judiciously and it will serve you well.
- Build your brand’s expertise – Become a perceived expert in your topic and drive up the value of your brand.
Take advantage of the guest blogging trend by choosing the best blogs in your niche, writing great content that will benefit their readers, and you will enjoy the benefits that this online marketing opportunity brings.
Tags: guest blogging, link building, Reputation Management, SEO
Posted in Blogging for Small Business | 5 Comments »
Thursday, October 11th, 2012
More and more, companies are starting to use social media for more than straight up marketing. In fact, you can use it for a number of purposes, including customer service. Here are three very powerful ways to use social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, et. al.) for customer service.
- Acknowledgement Of A Problem – Yes, you will have complaints about your business on your Facebook page, on Twitter, and who knows where else? Don’t delete them. If someone sees them there one minute and gone the next, then you’ll have bigger problems. Save yourself the reputation issue and deal with the problem head on. Respond.
- Apologize – Nothing says you’re taking responsibility more than a sincere apology. After you’ve acknowledged your customer service problem, apologize for it. Do it openly so that everyone following you can see that you are a company that takes customer service seriously.
- Make It Right – The best customer service in the world is when the customer leaves happy. Most people don’t just complain because they want to complain. They complain because there was a real issue. That’s an opportunity for you to make the customer happy again. Offer a refund, a discount, or a freebie the next time they visit. Again, do it openly so that everyone can see your awesome customer service right out in the open.
Customer complaints are a customer service and reputation management opportunity. Do social media wrong and it will backfire on you. Do it right and you’ll gain many more years of business as customers recognize that you care about their concerns.
Tags: customer service, Reputation Management, Social Media
Posted in Social Media | 8 Comments »
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012
Blogging, more than any other kind of marketing, is multi-dimensional. In fact, I’ve identified 5 key dimensions of your blog and they have all equal value. When you blog you should keep each of these 5 dimensions in mind.
Here they are, the 5 dimensions of blogging:
- Search engine optimization – Every blog post is a separate web page. Since search engines rank web pages, if you blog every day for a year and each blog post is optimized for 3 key phrases, then you’ll have 1,095 potential No. 1 rankings for your blog alone. And that’s not counting the benefits you get from internal link building, photo and image optimization, video embeds, etc.
- Social media – Your blog is a conversation. That conversation starts off site at places like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Savvy marketers figure out how to get the conversation from these social media outlets to their blog.
- Branding – The best bloggers create a brand. Your brand is your message. Speak it loudly, speak it boldly, and make it memorable.
- Customer Service – Customer service begins at first contact. For many marketers, that first contact is through a blog. Build your customers one conversational piece at a time. Readers become customers, customers become evangelists.
- Reputation Management – Your reputation is everything. By keeping your blog posts focused on your core competence and mission, and because you promote your message through the various social media outlets, every time you present yourself in some corner of the Internet you build your reputation. Do it one step at a time.
Blogging is multi-dimensional Internet marketing. Create a strategy and stick with it. You’ll be glad you did.
Tags: blogging, Branding, internet marketing, Reputation Management, search engine optimization, Social Media
Posted in Blogging for Small Business | 2 Comments »
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