Why It’s Important to Manage your Online Reputation

Increasingly brands and individuals are beginning to understand the impact of Online Reputation Management or ORM as some call it. As consumers increasingly use search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing to search for information (to the tune of 400M searches per day by the way) the content they view whether company issued, mainstream media reported, or consumer generated represents a portrait of that brand or individual.

For many the challenge is does your brand look more like a Dali when you want it to be a Van Dyck? The way I think of ORM and that brand portrait is that it more like a Chuck Close. The picture that people see is actually hundreds, thousands, or millions of individual snapshots that when viewed in aggregate reveal the total picture of your brand.

A recent study by Brand Reputation, a brand communications firm, surveyed over 800 consumers to determine if online reviews influenced their buying behavior. The answer was overwhelmingly yes, but varies interestingly enough by vertical or product type. These results demonstrate the need for brands to monitor, manage and protect the brands related to online chatter – be it positive or negative. The survey revealed that around 84% of consumers were more likely to search the Internet for reviews before making a purchase. This isn’t surprising given the increased desire for reliability, a good deal and value thanks to overall economic climate. If marketers aren’t already monitoring their online reputations this should serve a wake-up call considering 4 out of 5 US adults are online.

The survey found that, in particular, consumers relied on online reviews when investigating the following items:

• Consumer electronics - 56%
• Home Furnishings - 33%
• Apparel - 21%
• White Goods - 45%
• DIY & Garden - 18%
• Entertainment Products - 12%
• Sports Goods - 9%
• Food - 2%

The amount of social content from sites like Twitter, Facebook and blogs that consumers are creating which now appears and ranks in search engines any amplifies the importance of managing ones online reputation. Not only are a lot of other consumers or potential prospects viewing your portrait every day but is it actually constantly changing snapshot. Brands and individuals must constantly be looking at that portrait to ensure it is align with the brand, the realities of their offerings and managing information that is inaccurate. Like adjusting the painting a little or adding something new to the portrait to keep is to date and accurate.

To get a picture and score of your reputation - check out our truReputation score tool - it gives you a start about visualize what your portrait looks like.

Blake Cahill

Visible Technologies