Top 6 Reasons Your Online Reputation is Important

by | Jun 4, 2020 | Blog, Branding | Graphic Design, Content | Social Media | Email

Today’s Post is from Wendy Dessler of Outreach Mama.

There is no doubting the importance that being online has for your business. It helps you reach more customers and helps you communicate with the masses. However, while putting out content and using social media, you need to keep in mind your online reputation. 

Nearly every small business is aware of the importance of an online reputation. While you can control what you post and say online, you can’t control what others are saying about you. So you need to be careful and try to create the best reputation for your company as possible. Putting out valuable and quality content, being transparent, and utilizing good business practices is a good start.

But why exactly is your online reputation so important and what are the reasons for this importance? Well, that is what this article is going to take a closer look at. Read on as we look at 6 reasons why your online reputation is important.

It Can Directly Impact Your Sales

As a business, there is a lot that can impact your sales. Everything from your marketing, to your packaging, to your customer service can impact the number of customers you have. For example, using a provider like Deepking Labels can help your packaging really shine and give your customers a great experience when they open your product. This can lead them to share the packaging or unboxing, which will in turn entice others to become customers.

While these types of factors are important, few things have as large an impact on your sales as your online reputation. People trust people, and if your reputation is that of a low-quality company with subpar products, you can lose a ton of customers. Nearly everyone starts their buying journey online (including 90% reading online reviews), so if your reputation is bad, many people simply won’t consider buying from you.

Your Brand Loyalty Will Suffer

Having brand loyalty is a great competitive advantage and something that every company strives for. Having people loyal to your brand means they will normally consider your product or service over your competition, because they like or are familiar with your brand. Unfortunately, developing a higher level of brand loyalty with a bad reputation is far from easy. 

People may be hesitant to trust your company in the first place, let alone become loyal. It can be done, but will be significantly tougher than if your reputation was good. Even customers that have been loyal in the past could jump ship if your reputation begins to drop.

It Will Follow You Everywhere

Your online reputation will essentially follow you everywhere. While this is great if it is a positive reputation, it’s not so great when it’s a negative one. So wherever you try to market and sell, your negative reputation will hurt your ability to sell as effectively as you could with even a neutral reputation.

Even if your bad reputation started on Twitter or Instagram for one reason or another, there is a good chance it will also find its way to Facebook, Google Reviews, and other platforms or services you use. There is no escaping a bad reputation, other than taking the time to slowly improve it, which can be a battle.

A Good Reputation Can Help You Rank Higher 

Your online reputation can also be helpful in increasing your rank on search engines. Google and other search engines are more likely to recommend and rank highly companies or websites that people see value in.

If your reputation is bad, you can be certain that the search engine algorithm will be taking that into account. Having a strong rank on search engines can drive a lot of business to your website, so you should be doing everything you can to improve your SEO efforts.

Brand Awareness Can Be Affected

The better your reputation, the more people will be aware of your brand. If people like a product or brand, they generally tell their friends about it or mention them on social media. Doing this increases how many people know about you, as well as improving the amount of potential customers you could have access to.

However, people are going to be less likely to see or learn about your brand if your reputation is bad. And if your brand is mentioned and people are aware of it, they likely won’t look past your bad reputation to actually try out your product or service for themselves. So even if people are still aware of your brand during these trying times, it will likely be for all the wrong reasons.

It Can Be Hard to Build Back

It can sometimes take a business decades to build a solid reputation. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication to your craft, and providing some great customer service. Unfortunately, this same reputation can be ruined in seconds with negative reviews, a scandal, or something else entirely. 

Not only that, but digging yourself back out of a bad reputation can be a long experience, and there is a good chance you’ll be met with some resistance. As a result, you need to do all you can to maintain a positive reputation, as building it back can be very difficult. This includes monitoring your reputation, as well as listening to the concerns and criticisms of the public.

looking for help with your online reputation?

This content is brought to you by Roundpeg, an Indianapolis marketing strategy company.

 

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