Today, building a brand and reputation online have become important measures of success. However, many organisations are not clear on what it takes to effectively manage their reputation in the digital space. Here we outline four tips, which can would be key inputs into well-developed brand and reputation management plan.
In a world that is becoming increasingly connected, where everything can be found online, it is important for businesses and organisations to maintain a presence in that space. However, unlike crockpot cooking, that you ‘set and forget’, it is crucial for entities to actively manage their brands and reputations – especially online.
To that end, it is no longer acceptable for entities to not have a website and/or social media accounts. However, reputation management is more than just having a website or a Facebook page. Here, we outline four key things you should be doing to better manage the online reputation of your organisation or business.
1. Establish a presence on all relevant online properties
Although not having an online presence – no website, no social media accounts – might appear give an organisation some semblance of control over its brand, that is really not the case. It just means that whatever might be its reputation online, the organisation does not have the channels through which to shape and manage its reputation in that space.
Hence, organisations ought to create a presence on all suitable web properties. Setting up social media accounts tends to be quite straightforward. The challenge might be deciding which platforms are best suited for your industry, and/or the products and services offered. Setting up a website is also not difficult, as there are numerous resources available online – many of which are free or modestly priced – to help you register, design and build the site.
2. Know what is going on with your brand
Although it might be considered vain to Google yourself, it is important to regularly check the status of your organisation’s brand. Some of the questions that should drive these checks include:
- What is being said in the public domain?
- Are the view favourable or unfavourable?
- Is there any truth to the less than favourable views?
- What can be done to manage those situation?
Brand monitoring tools are available that would include such features. However, it may also be useful to set up a Google Alerts with your organisation’s name and other key words, in order to monitor what others might be posting about your brand.
3. Keep your website, social media channels, etc., updated
Having established a presence online, it is crucial that all of the websites and accounts are kept up to date. It is quite disconcerting to visit a company website and notice that it has not been updated in over a year. No new content, whatsoever, has been added.
It is also important to engage visitors to your site and your social media followers. It is rare that over a period of a year, for example, an organisation has absolutely nothing it can share with its audience or consumers. Having said this, more frequent updates would be encouraged, in order to remain relevant and top of mind with your audience.
4. Build a relationship with audience
Finally, and in addition to keeping your organisation’s online properties updated, it is absolutely vital to build and maintain a relationship with your audience. Your audience can become your organisation’s cheerleaders and advocates for the brand. Hence, it is important to seek ways and means to foster engagement, and to strengthen that community.
Image credit: narciso1 (Pixabay)
In terms of building relationship with the audience and keeping the social media channels active, there is always a tendency by senior management to “step in”, be the ones “updating” the channels when things get rocky.
I have always thought keeping a team responsible for social media and PR is a better way of managing such channels. Senior management’s role is to supervise that team rather than take on the role of front-people.
But I could be old-fashioned in this respect. Social media evolves rapidly, bringing new perspectives and eroding/redefining the ethos along the way.
I think there is always a role for senior management to play in an escalation process. The question might be when exactly do they come to the fore…
Also, while it is indeed beneficial to have a dedicated team managing social media and PR, in small organisations, that might not be possible. However, what I think is crucial is that all members of the social media/PR team – be they dedicated staff or otherwise – are consistent in the manner and tone of their messaging, for and on behalf of the organisation they represent.