Online Credibility & Reputation Management

Online Credibility & Reputation Management Presented by Karen Porter Department of Marketing School of Business Administration The University of Montana

Why Reviews are Important • Traffic to top 10 review sites grew 158% during 2012 (compete.com) • 92% of consumers trust online reviews over what a salesperson says (Wall Street Journal) • 75% don’t believe companies tell the truth in advertising • 70% consult reviews before purchasing

Why Reviews are Important (cont.) • 7 in 10 who read reviews share all or some aspects of those reviews with friends • 45% of buyers say the are influenced by reviews (Harris Poll) • 34% of people turn to the internet to air their feelings (Harris Poll) • 46% feel they can be brutally honest on the internet (whereas they may not be in person)

Dealing with Negative Comments • Fact: You WILL get negative comments • Fact: Negative comments will NOT kill your business IF you respond / react correctly You can’t control what people say about your company. But you CAN exercise some control over the larger conversational context that they say it in. ProactiveORM is all about making sure you’re adding enough to the conversation to ensure that the ratio of positive to negative is in your favor.

What is Online Reputation Mgmt? ORM is … The process of proactively using tools, processes, and systems to be aware of and influence how you are perceived online and the conversation that is occurring online about you and your business.

Who Would You Buy From?

What is at Stake? • 74% of U.S. consumers choose to do business in whole or in part based on online feedback. Source: Society for Communications Research

Keys to Effective ORM • Be proactive and reactive • Ideally 90% proactive • Immediacy in reactiveness is important • Combine marketing, SEO, public relations, branding, sales, social media, customer service and everything you do online • Cut across ALL core business functions (it is not “only” marketing)

5 Core Principles of ORM • Listen to what your customers are saying • Contribute to the conversation • Delight customers by exceeding expectations • Collect feedback, referrals, & testimonials • Plan how you will respond before you need to

Listening – Set up Google Alerts Get email updates on the latest relevant Google results on your name, company or industry keywords

Listening – Monitor Social Media • Tools of the trade: • TweetDeck • Hoot Suite • Social Mention

Contribute – Why There’s a Need • You can’t control what people say about your company BUT … • You can make sure you’re adding enough to the conversation to ensure that the ratio of positive to negative is in your favor! • THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Contribute – Social Profiles • Set up profiles in your key networks, directories and social profiles • Google+ Local – important if you’re bricks & mortar • Yelp • Trip Advisor • Urban Spoon • LinkedIn • Facebook • Twitter

Contribute – Start Blogging • Establishes you are a credible “expert” • Add social media sharing buttons • Post on subjects that will help your clients/prospects • Use posts to populate a monthly newsletter • Great for SEO • Add Google Authorship to your blog

Contribute – Use YouTube • Any given video stands about a 50x better chance of appearing on the first page of results than any given text page in the index.Source: Forrester • Google owns (and LOVES) YouTube ; )

Contribute – Everywhere! • Whitepapers • Podcasts – online radio • Reports • Webinars • Online teaching (Udemy and similar) • Guest blogging • Social media shares

Contribute – With Consistency • Share a steady supply of online material • Maintain a consistent professional brand • Develop your own voice / persona and use it consistently • Be careful of what your share personally online • Remember that the online world is a giant glass house -- you’re easy to find! • Remember that what you say will be “out there” forever! (no online eraser!)

Delight Your Customers • Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon “If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” • BUT….there’s more to the story… • Expected experience • Great experience • Unsatisfactory experience

Delight – Gather Customer Input • Informal focus group • In person survey (just a very few questions) • Online survey – Survey Monkey • Ask while they’re shopping (is there anything you couldn’t find that you were looking for?)

Delight – Say “Thank You!” • Say it verbally (and train your staff to do so, too!) • Handwritten notes … you’ll be remembered! • Gift certificates for something special • Referred several new customers • Wrote a stellar blog raving about your product • Have been a long-time customer and you want to give special recognition and thanks • Etc.

Plan Ahead to Respond • Develop a process for responding to negative comments (before you need to!) Decide whether to: • Listen • Decide whether to engage • Apologize • Affirm • Take it offline • Move on • Act to appease customer • Act to prevent future occurrence

Plan – How to “Fight Back” • Claim your Google + Local listing • Respond to reviews • Have a system to collect reviews • Encourage customers to submit reviews to review sites (note: NEVER pay for good reviews) • Continue to monitor your reputation • Stay in touch with customers

Plan – System to Collect Reviews • Ask questions that encourage a positive response • Leading questions that put the customer in a frame of mind to leave a good review • What do you like BEST about …… • What is something you would tell a friend? • Always state that responses may be used in promotional material • Optional – offer a reward for completion • Note: NEVER collect online reviews on premises of brick and mortar locations!

Plan – System for Submitted Reviews • Encourage customers to submit reviews – good/bad • Add a review plugin to your site • Example: WP Customer Reviews • Add a link on your site for customers to place reviews • If they do, ask them if they would be willing to leave a review for you elsewhere online – provide them with alternatives • Review your customers/vendors and ask them to do the same for you

Reputation is More than Reviews • Reviews • Social media • Facebook – Likes • LinkedIn – endorsements • Twitter – retweets • Connecting with customers & prospects • Overall visibility online • Online “authority” and credibility

Connect with Customers • Use a system to stay in touch with customers • Email communications – do you have a list? • YOU control the list even if other things disappear • MUST be permission based • 18% average open rate • Email must have WIIFM element • Snail mail cards and notes • Automate with SendOutCards.com • Blog that educates – RSS feed

Establishing “Authority” Online • Develop and expert status by sharing online • Focus on your area of expertise • If more than one topic, try to keep them related • If totally unrelated, consider using a pen name • Get published on major sites to you can display “authority” credentials

Want Authority Credentials? • New service I offer for qualifying individuals • In-depth interview about you and your business • Custom written piece following specific guidelines that position you as a person/business of interest • Guarantee coverage in a minimum of 20 major media or payment refunded, no questions asked • Complete reporting provided

Thank You for Attending This Class! Karen Porter406-529-8931karen@ImpactOnlineMarketing.com If you’re so inclined, I would appreciate it you would:*LIKE my Facebook page: http://facebook.com/ImpactOnlineMarketing.com *LIKE my website: http://ImpactOnlineMarketing.com

Online Credibility & Reputation Management