Online success is built on trust and dependability. By establishing a solid relationship with their target audience, companies may establish a reputation that people can always follow and trust them.
Nowadays, marketers are becoming increasingly concerned with what they post online. Businesses in the past may have only cared about the quick sales that could be generated from any marketing efforts, including their content strategy. Or they may have only been interested in tangible ROIs. However, today’s businesses place a higher value on their internet reputation than just making a quick buck. Because social media has a high cancellation rate, businesses must double-check what goes out online to avoid becoming a victim of their own content.
A good business reputation is a highly sought-after thing, especially in the age of being able to reach anyone anywhere at any time. Many big companies have suffered from having a bad online image and have lacked the ability to save themselves from the damage they’ve caused. In order to maintain a positive standing online, savvy businesses know that they must proactively build a strong reputation.
But overall, why is reputation important for every organization?
What Does Reputation Mean in Business?
A good business reputation is more than just garnering likes on Facebook. It’s about creating long-term, positive connections with your target audience through content marketing and establishing yourself as someone who can be trusted. Just like any other business activity, it takes time to establish a solid online image.
Reputation is an abstract concept of how a society composed of customers, stakeholders, employees, and the general audience sees a business or individual. Measured on a qualitative scale, the only options include “good” and “bad”—never in a numeric score. Since reputation is based on people’s opinions, there are various factors that influence it like statements, actions, associations, third-party commentary, social media, and search results.
The Importance of ‘Good’ Reputation
The internet culture influenced how important reputation is. Most of the time, online users tend to judge content based on their personal background and the content a company has produced in the past. Therefore, it’s vital to invest in public relations to ensure high-quality engagements.
The effects of good PR show through the consumers’ response about the product. For example, any material people see on Google will influence how they think about companies selling specific products or offering services. It’s vital for PR companies to reshape any bad image an online search may have done to ensure that the companies involved stay untouched.
Online Reputation vs. Offline Brand Perception
If online reputation is vital for companies as it shapes the people’s view on the company and its products, how does a bad image affect how people without access to the internet see brands? It’s important to consider the idea that online platforms like social media are echo chambers—they only influence within their reach, not beyond. However, with social media’s extensive reach nowadays, there’s no way that the online reputation for most brands is any different from people’s offline brand perceptions.
At least 50 per cent of consumers will question a brand’s efficacy once they read about the company’s negative reviews. On the other hand, 95 per cent of consumers look through websites for guides or reviews that influence their buying decisions before committing to a purchase. A whopping 69 per cent of job seekers wouldn’t push through with submitting their application to a company with terrible reviews. Lastly, reputation affects revenue growth as believed by 54 per cent of executives.
Conclusion
Online reputation management has become more important for businesses worldwide. As reputation is becoming a more important asset for most companies, it’s only vital to invest in good PR management to take care of crumbs that may taint a business’ reputation. Companies should know how to manipulate the online platforms’ algorithms to yield better results.
However, reputation management helps by maintaining a company’s standing on the online space making it invulnerable to tainted online image. In a way, reputation management firms also protect brands and generate beneficial or favourable content to increase customer engagement.