Reputation Marketing: Building and Sustaining a Positive Brand Image

These days, I find it hard to keep to myself when I hear people talking about certain brands and how they feel about their products or services. Some of these reviews are really positive, but you can agree with me that bad reviews spread faster than good ones. If this article was about reputation management, I would be giving you tips on how to manage these bad reviews. But reputation marketing uses a different approach; it’s more like launching your arrow before waiting to be attacked. Here, I’ll be showing you how you can improve people’s perception of your brand with reputation marketing. The strategies I’ve outlined below will not only help you manage bad reviews when they come, but they’ll also give you an insight on how to push your brand to impress your market.

Understanding Reputation Marketing

Reputation marketing is the strategy of using brand assets from your company’s reputation as advertising and promotional materials. Examples of assets for reputation marketing include customer reviews, testimonials, online ratings, community awards, social media mentions, and more. At its core, reputation marketing is about promoting and managing the positive aspects of your brand to improve how the public perceives your brand. It’s more than just damage control or handling negative reviews; it’s a proactive approach to building a robust, positive image for your brand.

Components of Reputation Marketing

Reputation marketing encompasses several elements:

Customer Reviews and Testimonials: These are the digital word-of-mouth recommendations that can make or break your business. Accprding to research, 90% of consumers admit that their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews, while 94% said a negative review convinced them to avoid a business.
Online Presence: This includes everything from your social media profiles to your website and participation in online forums.
Public Relations and Media Coverage: You need to engage with the media and ensure positive press coverage to maintain your reputation as a brand.

How Does Reputation Marketing Differ From Reputation Management?

We’ve seen a significant shift in focus from reputation management to reputation marketing over the past few years. The reason is simple: reputation marketing has a higher impact for businesses as it uses a more proactive method.

While reputation management works to influence customer perception by avoiding and responding to negative reviews, reputation marketing involves acquiring more positive mentions online and marketing those mentions across your website, on social media, on review platforms, and more.

Thus, reputation marketing can have a strong impact on your business. You’re not playing “damage control” when your business gets a negative review. Instead, you’re using your reputation as a positive asset to drive sales.

The Importance of Reputation Marketing

A satisfied customer once gave a glowing review about my consulting services, which subsequently led to a lot of new inquiries. The work became so much that I had to look for help! But then, reputation marketing can greatly benefit your business, if done well. Here’s how:

#1. Trust and Credibility

On average, customers read ten reviews before buying and think that reviews are 12x more credible than sales copy. This tells you that a great reputation builds trust. When customers see consistently positive reviews, they are more likely to believe in the reliability and quality of your offerings. Trust, in turn, fosters loyalty and retention.

#2. Competitive Advantage

Users are 74% more likely to contact a company with customer reviews on their website than a company that doesn’t display reviews. Your reputation is what sets you apart in a crowded market. It becomes your unique selling proposition. For example, when we started receiving positive media coverage, it attracted top talent and valuable partnerships, giving us an edge over competitors.

#3. Revenue Growth

One study found that advertisements with reviews and user-generated content perform better: click-through rate (CTR) increased by 300%, and cost-per-click (CPC) & cost-per-acquisition (CPA) both decreased by 50%.

A good reputation directly impacts your bottom line. Businesses with strong reputations attract more customers, which translates into higher sales and profitability.

Strategies for Effective Reputation Marketing

#1. Collecting and Leveraging Customer Reviews

Encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews is a game-changer. I make it a point to request feedback after every successful project. Responding to reviews, whether positive or negative, shows that you value customer opinions.

#2. Building a Strong Online Presence

Your online presence is often the first impression potential customers have of you. Optimizing social media profiles and sharing engaging content regularly can significantly enhance your visibility and reputation.

#3. Public Relations and Media Engagement

Press releases and media outreach are invaluable. Building relationships with journalists and influencers can lead to positive coverage. I remember crafting a press release for a new service launch, which resulted in coverage in a major publication, boosting our credibility immensely.

#4. Consistency and Authenticity

Consistency in messaging across all channels ensures that your brand is perceived reliably. Authenticity, on the other hand, builds trust. I always strive to interact with my audience in a genuine and transparent manner.

Components of a Reputation Marketing Campaign

Competitive intelligence

Understand the current state of your brand. Take the time to feel the pulse of your company. Is your vision for your brand translating into how people feel about your brand? Are your reviews and search results positive or negative? Also, consider researching your competitors to see how they identify with their customers. This can give you ideas for improvement or things to avoid.

Online components to improve

After identifying which areas of your business need the most work, you can direct your focus to make the most impact. Here are a few areas to focus on:

Articles: You can create engaging and informative articles to showcase your expertise and establish your brand as an industry authority.
Reviews: Manage and respond to customer reviews effectively to lead to increased customer satisfaction and build trust.
Ratings: The higher your ratings, the more likely your brand is to form a positive impression on potential customers.
Wikipedia: Curating a reliable Wikipedia page ensures accurate information and adds credibility to your brand’s online presence.
Business listings: Provide consistent and accurate information for potential customers, enhancing your brand’s professionalism.

SEO

Optimize your positive content to ensure that people find them in search results. This will help you gain maximum reach.

Read Also: How To Measure Reach: Effective Tools and Strategies

Monitoring and improvement

The best brands consistently monitor their reputation to ensure things are still going well. If you’re doing a good job monitoring your brand, you will be able to take action quickly whenever negative reviews or comments pop up.

Read Also: What is Brand Monitoring, and Why Is It Important For Your Business?

Reputation-Marketing-Campaign-Checklist Download

Download this checklist

Tools and Technologies for Reputation Marketing

There are several tools that can aid in reputation marketing, from review management to social management and PR and media monitoring. Here are some of the best I’ve identified:

#1. ConsumerAffairs

With over 5,000 listed brands and more than a million consumer reviews, ConsumerAffairs offers brands some of the most diverse and advanced features to build a strong online reputation and generate increased revenue. The consumer advocacy group’s website offers free and unpaid business plans, and their third-party accreditation program, coupled with a powerful software as a service (SaaS) platform, offers brands a variety of resources to convert customer engagement into additional revenue.

#2. Cision

Cision is a powerful public relations resource that gives brands the tools they need to get their message out. With more than 1.6 million contacts and outlets, Cision provides the perfect opportunity to connect your brand with important journalists, bloggers, and social influencers who might otherwise be inaccessible.

#3. Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) serves as an intermediary to help resolve disputes between customers and brands, and with reviews for over 4 million companies, the BBB website is one of the most popular and trusted consumer resources available. Ideal for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to personally interact with their customers, the BBB offers a variety of networking opportunities at a convenient price.

#4. BazaarVoice

BazaarVoice was created to extend the online marketing potential of customers’ voices to shopping portals, offline channels, and natural search. Customers are able to leave reviews, ratings, questions, answers, and other customer-generated content on client websites, which BazaarVoice then shares on social media and across the internet.

#5. Yotpo

Yotpo is a powerful plug-and-play solution for ecommerce with a sleek, mobile-first design. Customers who make purchases on sites using Yotpo receive an email after their purchase asking them to review the product(s) they received. This Mail-After-Purchase (MAP) technique leads to more reviews, and since the requests go directly to the consumer, all of the reviews are automatically verified.

#6. Reputation Loop

Designed to empower small business owners and allow them to expand their businesses, Reputation Loop is similar to Yotpo in that it works primarily by automatically contacting recent customers for reviews. However, additional features like real-time reporting and review monitoring on sites like Yelp and Google+ provide valuable tools for brand managers.

#7. TinyTorch

TinyTorch is a social platform that helps brands build their online profile through social influencers and user-generated content (UGC). It allows brands to identify, monitor, and manage their online presence. This platform helps find your best, most influential customers and cultivates their stories and photos to redistribute across multiple marketing channels.

#8. Percolate

Managing all of your brand’s marketing efforts in one place is easy with software from Percolate, whether it’s planning campaigns, storing files, collaborating, or creating content. The planner takes into account all your details, such as your target audience, brand identity guidelines, and business objectives. Percolate provides a cross-channel marketing calendar that helps you plan accordingly. It is designed to make it easy to share content with consumers across social media, the Web, and other traditional methods.

#9. HootSuite

HootSuite is a social media management platform that allows brands to monitor and sync all of their social media accounts in one simple interface. With support for popular networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more, HootSuite makes it easy to share content across multiple accounts and schedule posts in advance for blanketed marketing. From a reputation management standpoint, you can use HootSuite to monitor customer feedback posted to your social media accounts and share positive reviews and comments across multiple social media networks simultaneously.

#10. TrustPilot

Like other third-party review websites, TrustPilot allows users to leave reviews for businesses on its website while offering free and paid brand listings. More than 100,000 companies are listed, and more than 13 million reviews are currently available — with more than 500,000 added each month. With its simple, easily navigated site and a basic assortment of analytics and engagement tools, TrustPilot is a good pick for businesses seeking simpler options.

Measuring the Success of Reputation Marketing

Tracking the success of your reputation marketing efforts is crucial. Here are some key metrics to monitor:

Key Metrics to Track

Review Scores and Volume: Higher scores and more reviews generally indicate a better reputation.
Social Media Engagement Metrics: Likes, shares, comments, and overall engagement can reflect your brand’s reach and impact.
Media Coverage and Sentiment Analysis: Positive media coverage and favourable sentiment analysis results are good indicators.

Analyzing Data and Making Improvements

Regularly monitoring these metrics allows you to identify areas for improvement. Implementing changes based on feedback can further enhance your reputation.

Here’s a video on how you can monitor the success of your overall marketing campaigns:

Challenges in Reputation Marketing

While reputation marketing is powerful, it comes with its challenges:

#1. Handling Negative Reviews

Negative reviews are inevitable. Addressing them promptly and constructively can turn a negative experience into a positive one. I recall a time when a client left a negative review due to a misunderstanding. By addressing it openly, I not only resolved the issue but also won back their trust.

#2. Maintaining Authenticity

In an age where fake reviews are rampant, maintaining authenticity is critical. Ensuring that all interactions are genuine and transparent helps build a trustworthy reputation.

In Conclusion

Reputation marketing is not just about managing your brand’s image; it’s about building a legacy of trust, credibility, and authenticity. It is a journey, not a destination. By focusing on building and sustaining a positive brand image, you can create a lasting legacy that drives business success.