Last Updated on February 11, 2021 by Bright Past
Protecting Your Brand Online
As most webmasters already know, just one negative review can wreak havoc on your brand. It is sometimes frustrating for marketers when an enraged customer makes a comment that can tarnish years’ worth of reputation building. As a marketer, you should be armed with the tactics of How To Protect Your Brand Online.
As much as social media and other digital marketing tools are essential in promoting your brand, they may also lead to your brand’s downfall. The image you portray online is significant to potential customers.
Research shows that 97% of customers in the US search online for local business reviews before purchasing products or services. In other words, if you have a tainted online image, you are less likely to attract new customers.
Fortunately, we have compiled a list of the top eight hacks you can use to protect your brand online.
Hack #1: Create Content That Ranks
The first tool for protecting your brand online is your content. What do you want people to see when they search for information regarding your brand? Customers searching the information about your brand can either find the content you have created, or they can first stumble upon content created by other parties.
To ensure that the information web searchers find is positive, create content that ranks high. You should run a website, a blog, and several social media platforms with your brand name. This way, any person searching for information about your brand will find your content. Create positive content about your brand daily and update your websites to ensure that they all rank.
If the first three searches on the search engine represent your website, blogs, or social media handles, you may never have to worry about negative comments. Statistically, 25% of web users click on the first search result in search engines. Adittionally, 78% of all web users never browse past the first page of search engines. If you can produce content that fills the search engine’s first page, you may just save your brand from negative perceptions.
Hack #2: Respond To Reviews Promptly
Reviews have become an integral part of business branding today. While the digital space might help you push your brand, the same area may also kill your brand if you do not take caution. Positive reviews are fair and will promote your business. However, a single negative review might outshine the thousands of positive reviews you receive.
To avoid a situation where negative reviews damage your reputation entirely, develop a routine of checking customer reviews, and responding immediately. If a customer posts a negative review about a product they have purchased, you should give them several options to get the matter resolved.
You may ask them to have the product returned if possible. It is prudent to maintain clear and transparent communication with customers. Responding with a message that asks the customer to contact your brand for help might inspire hope in other customers. In case the issue is resolved amicable, you may also ask the customer to update their review to show that your brand cares.
Hack #3: Interact With Your Customers on Social Media
Most marketers rely on social media to push their products and popularize brands. While it is okay to use social media as a marketing channel, you should always remember that the sites are called ‘”social media” for a reason. They are not meant to be marketing channels but rather social platforms.
Do not turn your prospective and current customers into recipients of your products without offering them social interactions. Customers will relate and associate with brands that show care and concern. If you wish to protect your brand from negative reviews, try being social on your social media pages.
Respond to customer questions, and comment on their posts too. Instead of promoting your products all the time, you should also try creating content that educates customers about your products and services. In most cases, negative reviews are a result of miscommunications between the customer and the marketers. Creating educational content will help iron out most issues that are likely to result in negative reviews for your brand.
Hack #4: Leverage Employee Reviews
What your employees say about your brand is just as important as what the customers say. To maintain a good reputation for your brand, ensure that you handle your employees well. If employees write positive reviews on sites such as Glassdoor, they will attract more customers to your brand. Negative employee reviews can also turn away from sympathetic customers.
Hack #5: Avoid Confrontations With Your Customers
There are many situations where you might find yourself entangled in a confrontation with your customers. This might happen if a customer comments negatively about your products or services. In case of a negative comment on your products, be polite when responding. If you notice that the customer is trying to create a confrontation, answer politely, and remain professional in your response. This way, you can avoid conflicts with customers and prevent a negative perception of your brand.
Hack #6: Trademark Your Brand and Content
Besides customer reviews and public opinion, the other factor that can damage your brand reputation is legal battles. If your brand is involved in lengthy court battles over the legality of your online content, brand name, or logo, you will lose your reputation.
According to research, 85% of all US businesses experienced brand infringement of some sort in 2019. To avoid such a situation, it is prudent to ensure that you trademark your brand. After choosing your brand name and website domain name, have them trademarked.
If you do not trademark your brand name, another entity might register a business with the same name and start providing substandard products in your name. In such a situation, your brand will suffer the consequences of the substandard products being provided.
Hack #7: Monitor Competing Brands
Monitoring competitors will help you protect your Internet reputation management in various ways. First, you can learn about the marketing techniques they use. Some brands violate marketing ethics to tarnish your brand’s reputation. In case you spot any brand that is deliberately posting content to degrade your content, take the matter up with legal authorities.
Besides using dirty marketing tricks, some brands may also steal content that was initially your creation. If you create content, and it ends up being sold out as a production of a different brand, your brand suffers. Constant monitoring of other brands will keep you informed about the possibility of such dirty practices.
Hack #8: Focus On Providing Quality Products and Services
Most importantly, brand reputation is about the quality of the products and services you offer. While you may put in place strategies to protect your brand reputation online, the way you serve your customers will determine the outcome. If products are not delivered on time, or they are substandard, the chances are that you will lose your customers.
Research shows that 33% of US customers will consider switching brands after a single instance of poor service. You can avoid such situations by providing better services and products to your customers.
BrightPast Restores Online Reputations and Protects Your Online Brand
Many loopholes can lead to a damaged reputation online, as we have seen. You may not be in a position to prevent all the possible negative feedback on your brand. However, you can protect your brand by hiring an expert in brand reputation such as BrightPast. Here at BrightPast, we restore online reputations and go through rigious tactics to protect your online brand starting today and well into the future.