Reputation Marketing 500 word synopsis.

Reputation marketing.

Online reputation sells, and it’s astonishing how many companies don’t know that. People browsing the web for services or information usually pick the top three search results on Google, which is vital for a small company with a lot of competition. Google chooses its top searches by taking in reviews and statistics from around the web, so if a company doesn’t have a Google+ page they can forget about being in the top results.

For example; a restaurant in a large city will need a lot of reputation to make it stand out. There could be another restaurant down the road that’s getting all the customers simply because they have more Google+ reviews, so they’ll need to up their game to look better online. Reputation marketing is a great way of beating the competition, which can make or break a business, thanks to Google prioritizing high-scoring reviews. 70% of consumers trust online reviews, which is vital for small businesses when getting their company recognized. If the company does not show up upon typing in certain keywords (for example the city name and the trade) then they need reputation.

Brand	Reputation
Store Front	Web site		Social media		Video reviews		Local directories
Market	SEO	PPC	Deal site	Social media	Adverts	Mobile apps	Email	SMS

Reputation marketing is not only about getting good reviews, it’s also about looking good online. A company’s website is an online storefront, so a disused or unprofessional website turns customers away. An area to target is mobile websites, which are normally not as good as the real thing as they were originally optimized for a big screen. This is why having an app for a business is another vital point in building an online presence. This can also draw people closer to the business in question, with the use of push notifications and in-app exclusive deals. People usually have a specific favorite provider to go to for certain services, for example if I’m hungry I’ll order Domino’s pizza because I have the app on my phone, making it easier to build up customer relationships.

A lot of companies think they can make a shoddy Facebook page and leave it at that. True that means customers can find them, but only on one platform. For an effective and wide-spread reputation the company needs to be registered on multiple sites, with frequent posts. You wouldn’t talk to a friend who never talks back to you would you? Keeping in contact with the consumer audience in creative ways can help, such as video reviews and special offers. These can then be laced with keywords that show up in search algorithms, which in turn bumps up the companies place on Google. Holding a higher place means more views, which in turn means more potential customers.

This may all sound perfectly logical, but so many small companies out there are oblivious to this, meaning they’re missing out. Some don’t even have a website, and are throwing away views and reputation. All in all, having a strong online presence is key to succeeding in any competitive industry.