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Online Reputation Management (ORM) (3)

28 min read

What Is Reputation?

By Reputation X on 7/5/18 9:05 AM

What is reputation

Reputation is the subjective qualitative belief a person has regarding a brand, person, company, product, or service. Reputation is a belief that is socially transferred from one person or system to another.

Reputation is best defined as a third-party perception of your, or your brands, character and attributes. Reputation evolves over time, but it can be engineered. Every time you see an advertisement or press release about a company it's an attempt to somehow change how you think of the company's brand.

Reputation is perception

Reputation is perception, put another way - it is subjective. Reputation is a malleable thing. Malleable by others, or to some extent by the subject. Reputation perception in a small social circle is less changeable than it is in a large network because it is perceived on a one-to-one basis with no intermediary in-between. How you (person A) feel about the way your friend (person B) treated you is between you and your friend. No person or entity stands between so your friends' reputation is through direct knowledge you have of them.

Reputation is indirect knowledge

Most reputation perception is through indirect knowledge. An example of this might be how you (person A) feel about your friends' (B) friend (C) whom you've never met. Everything you know about the person you have yet to meet (person C) has been communicated by the friend you do know (person B). If you friend (B) says bad things about the other person (C) you will probably come to the conclusion that the person you don't know is not a great human being - whether it's true or not. That person in the middle (B) is the intermediary.

The intermediary controls how you perceive the reputation of person C. In the case of a large network like the internet, where you have no direct knowledge, Google is person B. 

Reputation perception within a large network (such as the internet) is often easier to change than in a smaller network (a group of friends) because today people depend on search engines like Google, or Amazon, to make decisions for them about the reputation of people, products, services, or companies. 

These companies are in effect, person B, and they color the way you feel about things for which you have no direct knowledge. Every time you look at an Amazon rating you are experiencing the opinion of an intermediary. And in most cases you probably trust it. The same is true of Wikipedia articles, Instagram, or Google search results, most people trust them even though they can be manipulated. 

Reputation can be manipulated

In a large network reputation can be improved or damaged by manipulating the intermediary. Reputation intermediaries can be a search engine like YouTube, Bing, Google, Amazon, or Duck Duck Go. Reputation can be improved, or destroyed, using intermediaries because there is no direct knowledge of the facts. 

Whether you're selling bottled water or running for President, your online reputation precedes you. By changing how Google portrays a brand you can change one of the main ways people perceive reputation.

In today’s digital environment, reputation is more important, more pervasive, more unforgettable, and more meaningful than ever. It's difficult to build, enhance, sustain, and protect a reputation that'll last (even for a reputation management agency). It’s also easy to neglect, abuse, reject, or shred a reputation in a short amount of time.

A disaster can happen in minutes, circle the globe within hours, and live on to haunt your search results. That's why it's so important to maintain an active reputation management strategy.

Let's unpack what reputation really is.

TOPICS: Online Reputation Management (ORM) Reputation Protection Reputation Marketing

7 min read

Spend less on marketing by telling better stories.

By Kent Campbell on 1/19/18 1:09 PM

good-story-cheaper-promote

Less-than compelling content won't generate user signals to improve branded search results. Higher engagement reduces marketing costs. 

A great brand story improves click-rates, increases dwell time, reduces bounce rate, helps branded content rank better in search results, and lowers the cost of promoting online content because it gets people to do much of the work.

TOPICS: Online Reputation Management (ORM) Reputation Protection Reputation Management Cost

7 min read

Prospective customers read between two and ten reviews. Why it matters.

By Reputation X on 9/4/17 8:34 AM

Have you ever bought anything online without looking for customer reviews first? If you’re like most adults in the U.S, your answer should be a straight “No!”. 

Studies suggest that 72% of online consumers read between two and 10 customer reviews and testimonials before actually making a purchase.Having no online reviews about your company is not a choice either.

Because, according to research, even if you get one negative review from a dissatisfied client (or a shrewd competitor who hires fake reviewers to defame you), you’ll need about 12 positive reviews to counter its effects.

TOPICS: Online Review Management Online Reputation Management (ORM) Defamation

9 min read

How long does reputation management take? Weeks to months.

By Reputation X on 8/18/17 11:29 AM

One of the first questions we get from most of our reputation management clients is, “How long will reputation management take?” (The next question is of course "How much does ORM cost?")

Their anxiety is understandable considering that more than 80% of consumers now search Google before doing business with a company. What Google’s first page says about your business practically determines how potential clients and partners see you. And this is why determining just how long it will take to conquer that first page and secure your brands online reputation is not as simple as you might think.

TOPICS: Online Reputation Management (ORM) Reputation Management Cost Reputation Strategy

16 min read

How to delete something from the internet

By Kent Campbell on 8/7/17 1:02 PM

How do you get something removed from Google search? Well, there are five ways to remove content from Google search - or to effectively remove it. Content removal can be a tricky thing, but this guide should help. 

Five methods to remove online content:

TOPICS: Online Reputation Management (ORM) Online Reputation Repair Reputation management services

6 min read

How to find the bad news in corporate search results

By Kent Campbell on 6/19/17 7:32 AM

Why did the organic for your branded search traffic just drop off? Was it a Google search algorithm change or was it the content of your results that changed? It's a nightmare situation when suddenly you find that you're ranking for negative search phrases appended to your brand name, like "fraud" or "scam." Prospects are fleeing. The sales staff are freaking out. 

TOPICS: How to Do Reputation Management Online Reputation Management (ORM)

8 min read

Discovering how prospects find your brand online

By Reputation X on 6/7/17 5:37 PM

a big megaphone

Which search phrases are killing your business? Is it [brand name] reviews? How about [brand name] complaints? Or, maybe it's just [brand name]. Check it now. We'll wait. 

Imagine your customer gets your business’s address from a friend, comes to your storefront, and every negative review from the last ten years is taped to the front window. At the same time, someone on the sidewalk yells through a megaphone, “don’t shop here even if it’s the last store on earth!” while a video showcases old footage of an employee stealing from a customer. Ouch.

You wouldn’t let it happen in real life, so why would you let it happen online?

TOPICS: How to Do Reputation Management Online Reputation Management (ORM)

4 min read

Branded vs. Non-Branded Content

By Reputation X on 5/15/17 9:20 AM

branded-v-nonbranded-2.png

What's the difference between branded and non-branded content? Branded content is clearly about you or your company. Non-branded content is not necessarily about you or your company at all, but it contains references to either.

Both types of content include your branded search phrase and assist in your online reputation strategy, but are structured differently. Both types of content require freshness updates.

TOPICS: SEO Reputation Management Online Reputation Management (ORM)

8 min read

Why do competitors outrank your brand in Google?

By Kent Campbell on 5/1/17 7:25 AM

A search result audit is part of any reputation management plan, and can make your business better by revealing the strengths and weaknesses of your online brand as seen by your prospective customers. Warning: sometimes it can be a little scary. Search results can be an excellent tool for marketing, research, and development. But their utility goes far beyond into the realm of human intent, understanding, decisions and actions. Every page of search results tells you a story about your customer and what they’re really looking for. The trick is in seeing the intent behind the search results. 

TOPICS: Online Reputation Management (ORM)

5 min read

Google has many ways to present search results today

By Kent Campbell on 11/22/16 4:47 PM

Today there are least 18 different ways for a business, or person, to be seen in search results - and that doesn’t even count social channels. Different types of search results include Adwords at the top or bottom of the page, the Knowledge Panel in the upper right, images, reviews, news, shopping, videos and of course normal blue link search results.

TOPICS: Online Review Management SEO Reputation Management Online Reputation Management (ORM)

7 min read

Reasons online reputation campaigns may not work

By Kent Campbell on 5/31/16 6:06 PM

Sometimes online reputation projects don't work. There are a number of reasons for a project not working out but a few that stand out. The number one reason is a lack of SEO, but there are other reasons like a disconnect between reality and expectations too. It's also important to note that not all reputation management companies are actually what they say they are. 

TOPICS: Online Reputation Management (ORM) Reputation Management Companies

6 min read

The 5 Online Reputation Laws You Should Know

By Reputation X on 2/18/16 5:48 PM

online-reputation-laws-1

Web reputations are fragile things. Sometimes it's necessary to invoke one law or another to support or attack a particular position. To remove slander, online defamation or libel are no different. But you need to know which laws apply. 

The secret, though, is that the law is often open to interpretation, especially when a law is relatively new and untested. Some of the body of online reputation law fits the “new and untested” heading. And while other elements are more settled, they don’t universally benefit those looking to burnish their online image or remove slander online. So while these five areas of the law may help your web reputation campaign, they may also work against it. In any event, this article will help you weigh the pros and cons, and consider the resources that might be involved.

TOPICS: Online Reputation Management (ORM) Online Reputation Repair Defamation

5 min read

Branded vs. non-branded content: What’s the difference?

By Reputation X on 2/10/16 8:23 PM

branded-v-non-branded-content
  • Non-branded content supports branded content.
  • Branded content is obviously about your brand.
  • Non-branded content is about your industry or other supporting information about your brand. 
  • Both kinds of content work together.

What is branded content?

Branded content is usually clearly about a brand and appears to either represent the brand or portrays the brand as the subject of the content. It's content that has your brand "written all over it" even if you didn't create the content.  

Whereas Non-branded content, on the other hand, is not about the brand but still supports the industry or other areas of interest relative to the brand. The brand might be mentioned, but it is not the primary, or even secondary, focus of the content. 

TOPICS: SEO Reputation Management Online Reputation Management (ORM)

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