Online reputation management, or ORM, has become a popular term. The reason is its significance, role, and benefits. However, millions of customers have their accounts on social media, which corporate entities utilize. Various organizations, individuals, and A-list celebrities establish their own teams to optimize and maintain their reputations. They want audiences to think about them positively. Interestingly, this goal can be achieved through ORM services, which have positive impacts on businesses’ sales, revenues, and profitability. Moreover, they become highly competitive in the market as their businesses scale up.
Define online reputation management (ORM)
Online reputation management (ORM) is a part of social media optimization and marketing, which is basically related to monitoring, influencing, and managing the public perception of the company or individuals. Tracking online mentions, reviews, and social media interactions, fundamentally linked to a positive digital presence, is the essence of this practice.
So, the complementary strategies must include responding to negative feedback, promoting positive aspects, and optimizing search engine results so that favorable information can be highlighted. These practices facilitate building trust, enhancing credibility, and protecting brands from potential reputational damage due to negative information spread all around.
This post will introduce you to some of the extraordinary benefits of investing in ORM services. So, let’s get started exploring below:
Top Advantages of ORM Services
However, a business can drive multiple benefits. Here are the top five advantages of online reputation management services. Just go through it and learn its effectiveness.
Enhanced brand credibility and trust
BrighLocal surveyed and found that 87% of consumers go through online reviews for online businesses. And 79% of all customers believe in online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Spiegel Research was conducted, showing a hike of 270% in conversion rates.
These figures underline the fact that a positive online reputation can create credibility for a brand in the market, which gradually wins the trust of consumers. A successful reputation-building campaign can add a few more digits to revenue and profit. This happens because a brand tracks and manages online reviews, social media mentions, and other digital content. It immediately highlights positive information and negative feedback, which is addressed promptly.
These services enhance the brand name, which makes it committed to delivering high quality. This is simply because consumers have high expectations, which a credible brand meets by providing satisfying offerings.
Improved customer engagement and satisfaction
A report by ReviewTrackers found that 53% of consumers expect responses to their online reviews from brands within a week. Another survey finding by Podium revealed that 56% of consumers say that responses to reviews altered their opinion regarding the business.
These services narrow the gap between businesses and consumers. Consumers continue to engage by seeing positive online reviews and responses from the brand. Answering their questions or providing feedback brings the company closer to consumers’ hearts. They feel valued, which attracts them to continue engaging with it. This practice eventually builds loyalty.
Increased sales and revenue
A study by Harvard Business School revealed a 5-9% increment in revenue as one more star gets added to the restaurant’s Yelp rating. Likewise, Womply found that businesses with an average number of reviews across multiple websites add 54% more to their annual revenue.
These statistics prove that online reputation has a big role in multiplying revenue. Overall, reputation is directly connected to the company’s earnings. If it’s positive and ratings are high, it will onboard more customers. This will certainly increase sales and revenue. In essence, ORM services ensure that intended customers see positive things about businesses when they search for their offerings online. Once seen, they quickly get onboard, which means overwhelming sales and an increase in revenue.
Better search engine rankings
Did you know that Moz discovered that online reviews account for 15.44% of local businesses’ visibility on Google?
Another study by BrightLocal highlights that businesses ranking in the top three positions of local search results on Google have an average rating of 4.47 stars. These figures are extremely impressive. It clearly indicates that online visibility can go up or down because of reviews, which signal online reputation. The higher it goes in Google ranking, the more it gains reputation.
There is a technical reason behind it. Actually, search engine algorithms consider online reputation as a ranking signal, though not directly. Google bots consider positive reviews as a positive sign that they are actually helping potential customers find brands or companies that offer intended products or offerings. That’s why online reputation management services prove a milestone. These services include optimizing online content to deliver authentic and error-free information and managing reviews. These optimization techniques contribute to enhancing search engine visibility. Overall, these services add value to companies, and many successfully attain the category of “brand” from a simple business name.
Crisis management and damage control
A survey by Harris Interactive revealed that 86% of consumers will discontinue preferring a company after a bitter experience with it. On the other hand, the American Marketing Association discovered that businesses responding to negative reviews witnessed a 33% enhancement in their online reputation.
These two facts indicate that negative reviews or online crises can be the reason for the downfall of a business. Reputation is a sensitive matter that can significantly impact the scalability and revenues of a business. ORM services strongly influence a brand’s reputation. This could not be easy without advanced tools and effective strategies. The biggest challenge appears when people negatively talk about your brand, and you have to reverse it.
Certainly, this sensitive matter cannot be simply ignored because it can cause potential damage to the brand. Experienced digital marketers, especially social media marketing experts, continue to minimize such reputational damage to brands. Also, their proper management remains a frequent battle. Overall, they make your brand immune to bad reputations.
Conclusion
Online reputation management, or ORM services integrates a ton of benefits for brands. These services prove a milestone in reversing or minimizing the reputation damage if it has happened. From scaling brand credibility and building trust to satisfying customers and enhancing engagement, these services prove to be milestones. A strong online reputation can certainly increase sales and revenues. Better search rankings with effective crisis management strategies can help build a renowned brand name.
Author Bio – Alex is a creative content writer and search engine optimization (SEO) expert working at Eminenture Technologies with practical experience. He is creating incredible strategies to increase visibility, top ranking in SERPS, and encouraging leads through a website. His skills and expertise in defining success through end-to-end digital marketing have been seen in many cases across various companies.