Reputation Management Changes and Trends
Mike Paffman, CEO, VIRGO PR
As the digital age continues, companies are more in need of digital reputation management than ever. We're living in a time when people can be judged by the posts they make on social media, or even by the number of followers they have on those platforms. Everyone's identity is tied to their online presence, which means a company's brand reputation is incredibly important to manage in the digital space.
Customer Engagement
Since many consumers are becoming less trusting of brands, and are looking for additional social proof before they make a purchase, companies have to invest in new ways to positively engage with those consumers. Many buyers use search engines to look up information about products, services, or even companies they're interested in purchasing from. A business can have an ideal product or service and invest countless hours into perfecting it, but at some point, that business has to acquire new customers and make them fall in love with the solution. One way to attract consumers is to create a community group on a social media platform, where buyers can interact and help each other with the solutions from a business. This strategy creates a safe space where consumers can share positive content, talk to others, and develop a positive relationship with a business.
Artificial Intelligence
With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), companies can monitor what their consumers are saying on social media or review forums. Since social sharing is improving across all platforms, companies have been facing a challenge when it comes to understanding what their consumers are experiencing or thinking. However, with the help of AI, companies can protect their brand reputation and get ahead of potentially bad news or even misinformation that's being spread on those platforms.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
To ensure a positive reputation, many companies use ads as their primary tool of promotion However, the top brands actually use content that their consumers have created to support their promotional efforts. In fact, most consumers trust content created by other consumers a lot more than content that's created by brands themselves. o Consumers tend to create a lot of content, such as that which shares positive experiences with products or services, reviews, or attention-grabbing stories. Thus businesses can greatly benefit from utilizing a UGC platform. These types of platforms can auto-generate and share any positive reviews and social media content created by consumers.
Digitization
When it comes to making everyday decisions, many consumers tend to rely on search engines and social media. Companies have to get into the digital sphere to meet the changing needs of their consumers since that's where consumers are congregating. Those digital efforts provide buyers with a better customer experience since companies can stay on top of what consumers are saying, and remain in constant communication with them.
About the Author: Mike Paffmann is CEO of Virgo PR, a leading PR agency.
