Online Reputation Management
According to sources like Nielsen International, eConsultancy, and eMarketer, consumers trust online reviews and recommendations in social networks far more than company advertising:
- More than 50% of consumers now use the Internet to check reviews before leaving home to buy a product or consume a service, up 84% from last year
- 3 out of every 4 consumers report being influenced by online recommendations when making a buying decision – from friends (90% trust) and even unknown users (70% trust)
That means that positive endorsements at sites like Yelp (a social website devoted to customer reviews of products and services, with 31 million visitors last month), and personal support in social networks like Facebook (450 million members strong) can drive customers directly to your door – for many businesses, an increase of 50% or more.
But potential customers aren’t interested in taking a risk on a business with a negative reputation (or no reputation at all), when there are competitors with strong support from other consumers like themselves. That’s why it’s so important that you act now to create a dynamic online presence that reflects your true standing in the community.
In fact, a recent New York Times article declared that Yelp has “the power to make or break” your business.
We employ a three-pronged approach to ensure that your online reputation contributes to growth for your business: managing your profile at online review sites, creating and enhancing your presence in social networks, and encouraging your clients to generate positive activity online for others to see.
Managing Online Social Review Sites
We locate, create, and manage your profiles at the most popular online review sites, including sites targeted specifically to your industry. Using social review sites to their fullest potential is critical for gaining new customers.
We also use the business-only tools offered by these review sites to ensure that you’re doing all you can to build your online reputation:
- Thanking customers for positive reviews
- Responding appropriately to attempt to resolve negative reviews
- Posting coupons and other promotions
Getting the Most out of Social Networks
We create and enhance your corporate presence in the appropriate social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc), and design a measured plan for engaging these communities without offending your market with overpromotion or off-topic content.
Actions include:
- Letting customers know about happenings in your industry and at your company
- Delivering holiday messages
- Announcing upcoming events and posting pictures or video afterwards
- Posting coupons and special deals for online users
- Soliciting ideas for new products and services
By developing a deeper relationship with customers, you encourage them to turn to you for additional purchases, and to recommend your business to their friends.
Encouraging Clients to Generate Activity
The key to making social networks and review sites work for you is getting your customers to go online and write an honest review of your service.
The Cogent New Media Instruction Card is designed to help move that process along, with elements including:
- A quick link for joining Facebook and other social networks
- Clear instructions for posting reviews at Yelp and other social review sites
- Often, a coupon or other incentive attached
You just hand out your customized card when customers do business with you, or email it directly to their inboxes when possible.
With your profiles created, social networks built, and customers engaged, you’re well on your way to enhancing your success – but getting established is only the beginning. Like any living thing, your online reputation requires constant attention or it will suffer.
Cogent New Media takes care of all the details, freeing you to grow your business:
- Monitoring activity on your review sites / social networks and letting you know if anything requires immediate attention
- Operating the latest technology on your behalf, so you don’t have any learning curve
- Reporting back regularly with straightforward conclusions and recommendations