95% of Consumers Used the Internet to Find a Local Business in the Last Year 85% of Consumers Say That They Read Online Reviews for Local Businesses 79% of Buyers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations
Call us at 619-871-9297 or dan@DSIDev.com or visit us online at www.SanDiegoInternetMarketing.com
3 Helpful Tips to Make Sure Your Online Reputation is Protected Your business’ online reputation can literally make or break your business success. Why’s that? Because, statistically speaking, around 95 percent of all consumers use the Internet to research businesses when they are looking for a product or service. Your online reputation will determine whether those consumers choose you or one of your competitors. You can also be sure that if you do not manage your online reputation, it will be managed by other people, who will inevitably post reviews, comment on your business in forums and social media sites, publish blog write-ups concerning your business, and more. For this reason, you need to do everything you can to ensure that what people see when they find your business online is as positive as possible. How do you do that? Here are three helpful tips to make sure your online reputation is protected: Monitor your reputation. Make use of social media monitoring tools like HootSuite, and web monitoring tools like Google Alerts, to find out what others are saying about you, when they say it. When you know what you are facing, it makes it much easier to address it in a timely manner, and also to assess your best approach. Be aware that most users do not use your companies’ name in online reviews so Google Alerts won’t work. You can either use subscribe to our specialized review alerting tool as part of a reputation package or check the major review sites manually on a regular basis. Participate. It is inevitable that people are going to talk about your business (if you are doing things right). Your best bet is to involve yourself in the conversation. Make it a point to respond to both positive and negative feedback, and also to volunteer information that will help keep online conversations about your business going. Establish your social media presence, maintain a website, write a business blog, or more – the possibilities are really only limited by your imagination (and the amount of effort you are willing to put in). Just remember that participation is key. Optimize your responses. Once you have developed the habit of monitoring your online reputation and have established yourself as a willful participant in the development of your online reputation, you need to make sure you are participating in a way that is most conducive to bettering that reputation. As previously mentioned, participation is key. However, there are some best practices to consider, especially when it comes to handling negative items: respond in a timely manner (NEVER ignore negative feedback), be diplomatic and fair, avoid using a defensive or demeaning tone (stay positive!), and offer viable solutions. Online reputation management/marketing is a complex process, but it is also tantamount to your business success. To make the most of your online reputation, you may want to enlist the help of qualified and competent professionals like us, DSI Development. We can be reached by phone, at 619-871-9297, by email at dan@dsidev.com or on the Web at www.DSIDev.com
Call us at 619-871-9297 or dan@DSIDev.com or visit us online at www.SanDiegoInternetMarketing.com
Are you worried about your online reputation? Do you either have Bad Reviews or No Reviews and are NOT sure what to do to improve your business and get your phones ringing again? Do you want to improve your online presence with Google and other review sites? Would you like a FREE Strategy Session with us? If you haven’t already done so please visit www.SanDiegoInternetMarketing.com today and sign up for your complimentary session.
Call us at 619-871-9297 or dan@dsidev.com or visit us online at SanDiegoInternetMarketing.com