Why not try it and see what you find. It may surprise you what actually comes up.
In this day of the Internet, social media and hand held devices business reputation matters possibly more so. Due to the reach, immediacy and permanency of the online space, information and comments can impact on your business bottom line regardless of whether this information is accurate or not.
What is being said about your business, its employees, products and services is critical to having a thriving business. Therefore, reputation building is crucial in today’s business world. This is not a one off exercise; it is a long term process that must be part of your business.
A business reputation can take years to build, however, reputations are fragile. Reality and perception have always been blurred and today when everyone can be a publisher this can be detrimental. Creating, managing and protecting your reputation is one of the most essential things your business must do.
However, many business people, executives and boards fail to realise and understand how a poor online reputation can damage their business. What is even more surprising is that less than half of Australian businesses are online.
The 2013 Australian Bureau of Statistics annual Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business survey reveals that many Australian businesses are still not engaging online. SMEs in particular are moving very slowly. Although 91.9% had Internet access only 44.6% of Australian businesses had an online presence.
With the increase of mobile devices as the predominate means of accessing social media (Yellow Pages Social Media Report 2014), businesses who fail to engage online risk severe damage to their business reputation.
Negative comments can turn into misleading information very quickly. As it spreads through the social media world false remarks soon become fact. Being online and on social media is crucial to managing your business reputation. Conducting a Social Media Risk Audit is also a practical approach to gain information on what your risks are and where they are coming from.
Top 4 Key Reputation Management Strategies to Adopt:
Be Online & Establish a Strong Presence
When your business has established a strong online presence it may rank higher in search engine rankings meaning that negative comments don’t necessarily make it high enough in the rankings. Keep posting content consistently on all your active platforms. This tips the balance to positive content about your business.
Be Social
Social media increases your online presence so develop social media profiles and be active on them. Depending what type of business you have will determine what platforms will be the most advantageous. Be regularly active, share content and engage with your audience.
Blog
Blogging is another way to increase your online presence. It allows your business to spread its message, its philosophy and information about its products and services. It also attracts more traffic to your website.
Social Media Risk Management Plan
Have a plan of what to do when social media goes wrong. At some stage every business will go through this and it doesn’t have to be a disaster. It is how you handle the situation which will determine how your reputation will be impacted.
When a business is prepared and takes a strong, proactive approach to managing and protecting their reputation, negative publicity can be minimised.
Thanks for reading!
Not sure how to manage your online reputation? Need more information on our Social Media Risk Audit for your business or school? We would love to hear from you.
Follow Anna on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Feel free to ‘tweet’ or ‘repost’ or share this blog or leave your comments….
Tags: Brand Awareness • brand repuation • reputation mangement • social Media • social media management plan
Have you Googled your Business Lately?
Why not try it and see what you find. It may surprise you what actually comes up.
In this day of the Internet, social media and hand held devices business reputation matters possibly more so. Due to the reach, immediacy and permanency of the online space, information and comments can impact on your business bottom line regardless of whether this information is accurate or not.
What is being said about your business, its employees, products and services is critical to having a thriving business. Therefore, reputation building is crucial in today’s business world. This is not a one off exercise; it is a long term process that must be part of your business.
A business reputation can take years to build, however, reputations are fragile. Reality and perception have always been blurred and today when everyone can be a publisher this can be detrimental. Creating, managing and protecting your reputation is one of the most essential things your business must do.
However, many business people, executives and boards fail to realise and understand how a poor online reputation can damage their business. What is even more surprising is that less than half of Australian businesses are online.
The 2013 Australian Bureau of Statistics annual Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business survey reveals that many Australian businesses are still not engaging online. SMEs in particular are moving very slowly. Although 91.9% had Internet access only 44.6% of Australian businesses had an online presence.
With the increase of mobile devices as the predominate means of accessing social media (Yellow Pages Social Media Report 2014), businesses who fail to engage online risk severe damage to their business reputation.
Negative comments can turn into misleading information very quickly. As it spreads through the social media world false remarks soon become fact. Being online and on social media is crucial to managing your business reputation. Conducting a Social Media Risk Audit is also a practical approach to gain information on what your risks are and where they are coming from.
Top 4 Key Reputation Management Strategies to Adopt:
Be Online & Establish a Strong Presence
When your business has established a strong online presence it may rank higher in search engine rankings meaning that negative comments don’t necessarily make it high enough in the rankings. Keep posting content consistently on all your active platforms. This tips the balance to positive content about your business.
Be Social
Social media increases your online presence so develop social media profiles and be active on them. Depending what type of business you have will determine what platforms will be the most advantageous. Be regularly active, share content and engage with your audience.
Blog
Blogging is another way to increase your online presence. It allows your business to spread its message, its philosophy and information about its products and services. It also attracts more traffic to your website.
Social Media Risk Management Plan
Have a plan of what to do when social media goes wrong. At some stage every business will go through this and it doesn’t have to be a disaster. It is how you handle the situation which will determine how your reputation will be impacted.
When a business is prepared and takes a strong, proactive approach to managing and protecting their reputation, negative publicity can be minimised.
Thanks for reading!
Not sure how to manage your online reputation? Need more information on our Social Media Risk Audit for your business or school? We would love to hear from you.
Follow Anna on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Feel free to ‘tweet’ or ‘repost’ or share this blog or leave your comments….
Tags: Brand Awareness • brand repuation • reputation mangement • social Media • social media management plan