This post first appeared in Anthony Bullick’s Daily Post column.
Perception is reality, and how your organisation is perceived online impacts your goals such as increased sales or stronger recruitment.
Meanwhile, a neutral presence of your company can adversely affect it in two ways.
Firstly, there is a missed opportunity to build trust with your stakeholders.
Secondly, a drop of negativity such as one bad review has a greater influence thanks to the lack of positivity.
The battle to position your brand favourably online is therefore two-fold: what exists already that shapes opinion in a way that doesn’t reflect who you are, and what risks are there that could hamper success.
At the outset, conduct an audit to map where you currently sit as well as spot threats to your reputation.
Put your business name into search engines. What results come back?
Analyse the data in Search Console, a free Google tool, to discover all phrases typed into search bars that contain your company name.
Look at the websites beyond page one. Are there underlying issues bubbling away? Could any negative site move up and therefore be seen by more users?
As well as receiving notifications for social media posts you are tagged in, set up processes to track your organisation being named without a tag. In addition, monitor for groups and threads on platforms such as Facebook and Reddit that may be set up in opposition to your products and services.
How do reviews impact your name? As well as Google’s star-rating system in the search results, independent sites including Trustpilot and Tripadvisor carry a lot of weight in a consumer’s decision-making process.
Is there a common pattern with criticism that can be built into operational changes. For example, if a lack of compassion or empathy from customer service advisors is mentioned frequently, training may help alleviate some of the public feedback.
If you have multiple locations, assess all regions in your digital footprint audit as some may have different outcomes.
Consider all stakeholders. If your objective is to recruit to support growth aspirations, how are you positioned as an employer? Investigate sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed to spot concerns from previous and existing employees.
Is the bulk of content about your company online neutral? How much of a risk does this pose for you? Will one bad review or news article, whether genuine, rogue, or a mistake, severely affect your journey?
Many harmful articles and ratings have escalated from being offline issues to the online world. Align your digital efforts with behind-the-scenes activity. For example, encourage your sales team to provide you with anecdotal comments and reasons for not buying.