As your brand grows, so do your reviews. That can be exciting as you look forward to the positive feedback and the warm-and-fuzzies that you expect to come your way. However, the dark side of online reviewing is the possibility of negative reviews. All reviews, positive and negative, can affect your online ranking in search results as well as the decision for a client or customer to choose you over your competition. Knowing this, it’s vital to improve your company’s online reputation and position your business as the leading choice for your target audience.

Develop a Monitoring Strategy

It’s best to develop a strategy for your team to check in every month on new reviews added, so every review gets noticed as soon as possible. There are also review tracking websites available to alert you when a new one is added on any major review site: Facebook, Google, Yelp, etc. It’s embarrassing to only find out about a review when a prospective client or customer mentions it. Get ahead of the game and monitor your review sites.

Ask for Reviews

The best way to earn more positive reviews and improve your reputation? Just ask! When you have a positive experience with a client, ask them to post about it on your chosen review sites. Be sure to link them in your email to the client, to make it easier for them.

• Yelp
• Facebook
• Google
• Better Business Bureau

Lastly, ask your employees to review you on Glassdoor. These contributions can also improve your reputation in search results.

Review Your Competitors’ Review Strategies

Developing a strategy is dependent not only on what you’ve seen works internally, but also what you can see online that works externally. Look at what your competitors are doing. Does your competitor have a positive reputation in search? If so, what can you learn from what the competitor is doing? For example, how are the review-responses different? And is the competitor responding more frequently? Is there a review or testimonial page on the competitor site asking for reviews? Do you know if the competitor is asking for a review as a closing statement in email marketing? Take a look and add these strategies to yours.

Respond to All Reviews

First rule of online reputation management: No review should go unnoticed. Whether the review is positive or negative, it should receive a professional and kind response. Responding also gives your business the opportunity to clear up any discrepancies, should the reviewer leave a nasty review that doesn’t accurately reflect your customer service or team processes.

Share Client or Customer Content

If a client or customer shares a photo with you, promote that on your social channels. It establishes a positive relationship with your audience and improves your online presence. If a client or customer tweets about your business, Retweet or Quote Tweet them. Not only does more social activity improve your online reputation, but the positive reactions from your promoted content will impact what others say about you online. Users will say kind things about your business if they’re promoted.

Keep Your Blog Updated

Content is key, especially when building an online reputation. If you want a positive one, control the narrative by writing blog posts and posting regularly. After enough content is generated, reach out to media publications to get content syndicated on industry websites. Syndicated articles show up more often in search results, framing your business as an industry thought leader and framing a positive online reputation.

We know this is a lot! Most companies don’t have the time or bandwidth to keep up with all of these tasks. Contact Anvil today for help managing reviews and building out a positive reputation with our Online Reputation Management service offerings.