Those who manage to maintain a positive standing attract better talent, earn customer trust, and secure higher investments. Negative online reputations do the opposite. They limit opportunities and stall growth. Public backlash can also have severe consequences, ranging from tanking stocks to loss of shareholder confidence.
In this hyperconnected world, a single complaint can discredit months of good work. As an expert highlights in Forbes, negative reviews influence 67% consumers against making a purchase. The stakes are sky high, but the right approach can help. This article outlines actionable strategies for companies to protect their online reputation.
Tracking Brand Mentions With Social Listening Tools
Once a negative review goes viral, it’s already too late. Businesses must instead focus on nipping negative sentiment in the bud through consistent real-time monitoring of brand mentions.
Start by using tools like Hootsuite or Brandwatch. These solutions scour social media platforms, websites, magazines, and online forums to track specific keywords. They send alerts as soon as your brand name is mentioned, giving you ample time to respond to comments and reviews, or stay on top of any rising negative sentiment.
Advanced social listening tools monitor mentions in real-time. Many also leverage AI to analyze context, study demographics, and improve your general understanding of industry-specific trends. This can all be crucial in helping you preserve your online reputation.
Enhancing Transparency with Archiving Policies
One of the biggest risks to public-service organizations is transparency. This is particularly true for regulated bodies that are expected to comply with a host federal and state laws. Non-compliance is expensive. It also poses a threat to reputations.
Proper archiving policies can have several benefits. Maintaining immutable records of all communications can be used to combat bad press. It is also often used to protect organizations that are brought to trial. Companies that maintain accurate records are more equipped to deal with audits and investigations.
A solid archiving policy must be coupled with the archiving software. These tools automatically capture and store records for easy access later. This could include old webpages, social media posts, comments, interactions, likes, DMs, and more. Most importantly, they automate the process, and capture data in exactly the required format, giving organizations very little extra work to do.
Countering Modern Threats with Cybersecurity Policies
Negative reviews aren’t the only threat to your online reputation. Data breaches and other cyberattacks can be crippling too. This is especially true for companies in highly-regulated industries like healthcare or finance.
In 2023, 1.7 billion breach notices were sent out in the US. And that was before criminals had access to more advanced tools like generative AI. Today the likelihood of your organization being hit is higher than it has ever been before.
Implementing strong cybersecurity measures protect your business and your reputation. This can mean improving data security, updating IT systems, or simply enforcing stricter access controls and multi-factor authentication.
Using SEO to Change the Narrative
A BrightLocal study recently established that 98% of all customers read reviews before buying a product. When they search for your business, the first few results shape their impression of your brand. If they’re met with a negative article or review, credibility takes a hit before they even engage with your site.
Proper SEO practices let you decide what customers see first. By ranking high for keywords you want to be associated with, you can bury negativity, false accusations, or misleading content. You can also highlight services you think are relevant to the consumer. Simply solving a customer’s problem can improve your reputation.
This is not to say that the benefits are immediate. But companies that publish factual content consistently build more credibility and shift the narrative more effectively.
The Verdict: Prevention is Always Better Than Cure
Online reputation risks come from many quarters, which is why companies can’t rely on just one tool or tactic to protect their online reputations. Monitoring brand mentions won’t stop a cyberattack, and archiving records won’t fix negative reviews.
The best defense is thus a comprehensive approach that addresses each potential problem before it escalates. Companies that succeed in implementing a mix of these strategies spot problems early, stay compliant, and control the narrative. They are also more likely to succeed in protecting their online reputation in the long-term.