There are so many elements of small business marketing to keep up with that it can be easy to let some things slip. But if there is one area you don’t want to neglect, its your reputation – it’s too important not make sure stays in good condition!
Why It Matters
The way you manage and control your small business’s reputation is one of the most important things. A company’s reputation can be a deciding factor for potential customers when they decide to convert with them or not, which means that having a poor-reputation could mean missing opportunities. It may take just some minutes before people go online to check out how good their reputations are but it will have an effect on whether or not they choose your services in the future!
Start By Googling Your Company
It’s essential to know what your company is up against before you do anything. First, google the name of your company and see if there are any negatives in that search result (or on other social media). If so, think about how you can address those issues or ways for customers not to experience them again in the future. Make a note of which sites they appear on as well so that these points will be addressed specifically during an online reputation management strategy
You may want to focus your review strategy around responding directly when you find negative reviews from one site because it seems like this problem deserves more attention than others could need at some point later down the line.
Claim Your Listings and Domains
A simple step that you hopefully haven’t overlooked is to register and list your business on all of the major directories. At the very least, make pages on Google My Business, Yelp, Bing, Facebook (or any other social media platform), LinkedIn; add a page for Snapchat or Twitter if they’re still available. The more platforms you can claim pages on – like Instagram (@[yourcompany]) or Pinterest ([url]www.[your company].com[/url]), TikTok (@[name], etc.), and even gmail address [email protected] )-the better!
Setting up an online presence is the first step for any company. Expanding your business and communicating with customers in a way that continues to connect you may seem daunting, but it can be done!
Put yourself on autopilot by setting up social media profiles or website pages like Yelp or Facebook. These free platforms are just as important as other advertising tools because they help make sure new potential clients find out about what’s going on at your establishment while also allowing them to share their experience through word of mouth marketing too—just think how many more people will know about all of the great things happening there if even one person tells five friends?
Businesses can now protect their brands from being hijacked by other companies with similar names and bad intentions. It is not uncommon for a business to get confused as the one tweeting something inappropriate or controversial, simply because they have an identical name that leaves customers unable to distinguish who it actually came from.
Encourage and Respond to Reviews
Reviews are one of the best ways to build your online reputation. Think about reviews as a modern-day extension of referrals from family and friends, because few people buy products or services without looking at what others have had say in their review first.
If you don’t already have enough reviews for yourself, there are certain steps you can take before trying anything else out that will help increase them: send thank-you notes when receiving feedback on any service; encourage your customers to leave positive praise with an incentive like discounts or freebies if they want another purchase later on down the line so they feel more obligated than just doing it “for nothing”; offer rewards points/rewards; refer someone who writes an awesome review.
When a customer leaves you feedback, it is important to respond. Both good and bad reviews should be acknowledged! When responding to positive feedback, try something as simple as “Thank you for your kind words!” or tell them that we are looking forward in working with them again. If the review mentions an issue they had with quality of product then offer a replacement if possible- this will show others that when problems come up our team works hard to fix any issues which creates excellent support for other customers considering buying from us too!
Don’t Create Fake Reviews
It can be tempting to use fake reviews for your business. This is especially true with so many fake reviews online and if you are a smaller company that does not have much of an established reputation yet. However, it will hurt you in the long run because someone eventually realizes these are false testimonials and they will plummet your already shaky repute even lower than before.
Create a Reputation As an Expert
One of the most important steps to managing your reputation is creating and posting content that frames you as an expert. Share recent research, guides, or stories related to what makes you great at what you do so people start associating these qualities with your company when they want a product or service it offers.
