3 Categories of Tactics for Effective Online Reputation Management

In the field of online reputation management, there are three main building blocks: earned, paid and proprietary content. The word “media” is also interchangeable. Here's a useful way to visualize them. A successful online reputation management strategy doesn't take place without a bit of magic. Your primary goal is to appear in the SERPs of your brand's keywords.

The best way to get there is to have a website that ranks high. Additionally, focus on optimizing your official social media channels, as these sites typically rank in the top 10 for brand searches. According to the ReviewTrackers survey, 94% of consumers admit that a negative online review may discourage them from choosing a particular business. Reputation management refers to the efforts that a company makes to control its online reputation. It's essentially the actions, content and damage control that a company takes to influence what people think about their brand and how they do it.

Just a few years ago, the Internet was very different. Companies didn't attract customers, they were only selling (or trying to sell) to a passive audience. People could not express their voice in a powerful way, and the overall picture of communication was very “top-down”.Tracking your reputation is an important part of reputation management and, ideally, is a practice that will continue once your major reputation remediation efforts end. While focusing on your brand's reputation may seem superficial, it's as relevant today as it was fifty years ago.

But the way you're going to improve your reputation will be thanks to action, the steps you take next. The other is what I define as “online reputation bombs” which affect your reputation and sales in the long run and can seriously harm a business. From individual entrepreneurs to large corporations, no company or company can afford to neglect online reputation management. A company's efforts to drive a positive digital reputation are evident in every online interaction. So, you need to focus on all channels where your brand is mentioned and try to manage your reputation across all of them.

Proactive reputation management is for companies that want to establish a positive reputation because they are starting to grow or for those who want to maintain the reputation they have developed. Despite their efforts, both companies still saw a significant decline in their reputation and market values. While United Airlines and Samsung were well-known and established companies within their respective industries, their crises did not prevent them from needing some damage control (reactive reputation management). To fulfill this, you need the support of online reputation management services (although you can try without one). In the end, reputation management allows a business owner to take greater control of the perceived value of their company. To avoid any potential problems, here is an extensive guide on online reputation management for companies of any size and industry to help digital marketers discover effective ways to manage their brand's online reputation.

Without healthy SEO practices, your site won't rank in the SERPs and won't receive more organic traffic or improve your brand's online reputation. Here are three categories of tactics for effective online reputation management that will benefit you on many levels beyond customer service on social media.

Earned Content

Earned content refers to any content that is created by customers or other third parties about your brand or products without any direct involvement from you. This includes reviews, blog posts, articles, videos and more. Earned content can be both positive and negative but it's important to remember that it's out of your control.

Paid Content

Paid content refers to any content that you create or pay someone else to create for you with the intention of promoting your brand or products.

This includes sponsored posts, ads, influencer marketing campaigns and more. Paid content gives you more control over what people see about your brand but it can also be expensive.

Proprietary Content

Proprietary content refers to any content that you create yourself with the intention of promoting your brand or products. This includes blog posts, videos, podcasts and more. Proprietary content gives you complete control over what people see about your brand but it can also be time-consuming. To sum up, there are three main categories of tactics for effective online reputation management: earned content, paid content and proprietary content.

Each has its own advantages and disadvantages but all three are essential for creating an effective strategy for managing your online reputation.