Online reputation management is very necessary all of a sudden.
By MediaStreet Staff Writers
Businesses say they plan to allocate more resources to their online reputations in response to the growing popularity of social media and online reviews.
According to a new survey from Clutch, 40% of businesses will increase their investment in online reputation management (ORM) this year.
All this is due to the growing power of social media and third-party reviews sites, which impact businesses’ control over their online reputation.
Clutch surveyed 224 digital marketers and found that more than half of businesses (54%) consider ORM “very necessary” for success. As a result, 34% said they allocated more resources to ORM in 2018, and an additional 43% said they plan to hire a professional public relations or ORM agency in 2018.
Businesses already invest a significant amount of time observing their online reputation, Clutch found. More than 40% of digital marketers (42%) monitor their companies’ brand online daily, while 21% monitor their online reputation hourly.
According to public relations experts, businesses frequently monitor how their brand is portrayed online because they know even one negative media mention can quickly damage the public’s perception of their company.
“When people search for brands online, they tend to search for stamps of credibility,” explained Simon Wadsworth, managing partner at Igniyte, an online reputation management agency in the UK. “If potential customers find anything negative, that could end up being a significant amount of leads the business won’t get from people who are put off from using the service.”
Social media also has shifted the ORM landscape because it gives consumers free-reign to share their opinions and experiences quickly and frequently: 46% of businesses look to social media most often to monitor their online reputation.
By using professional agencies that have expertise in online reputation management, businesses can minimise losing new customers who may be dissuaded from purchasing their product or service.
To read the complete report, click here.
Do you supply services to the Irish Media Industry? Have you listed your company in our Media Directory? It’s free! Everyone’s favourite price! Click here to do it now.