What is ORM (online reputation management) and should I worry about it?

What is ORM (online reputation management) and should I worry about it?

What is Online Reputation Management?

As more and more information is shared online in our modern, Internet-connected world, the probability that negative impressions of your business, organization, or even your personal reputation will end up somewhere on the Web. When that happens, it can have a severe impact on your personal or professional success.

Online Reputation Management (ORM) is a way of protecting the good name of your organization. The last thing you want when a prospective customer researches your business is for them to find a series of negative reviews, Facebook posts, or even news stories. It only takes a couple of unhappy clients to muddy the online waters for you. ORM can help you take control of the image that you present online.

How Does Online Reputation Management Work?

It’s difficult to actually remove negative material from the Internet, as Barbra Streisand found out when she sued to get pictures of her Malibu estate removed from a website. Traffic to and interest in that picture only increased when she went to court- in other words, her action had exactly the opposite of the desired effect. This is now called “The Streisand Effect”

ORM doesn’t try to eliminate the unwanted content- instead, it buries it below positive content that will appear first in search results. The likelihood that someone is going to go to the second or third page in Google Search is low, so the goal is to push those bad reviews out of the way with new content specifically designed to promote you and your organization in a flattering light.

Reasons to Use Online Reputation Management

If your company has a strong, positive online presence, rather than one dominated by negative comments on review sites- even if there are just a few individuals making those reviews, your sales are going to drop. On the other hand, if your organization provides its own platform to engage with customers, it’s going to be easier for potential clients to find you, and to deal with customer complaints in a proactive way.

You also then get the opportunity to present your best face to the public- you get to control the conversation, rather than letting your competitors and dissatisfied customers take charge. As well, if you are active on your own site, as well as various social media platforms, you are going to quickly become aware if there are problems in regards to your reputation and brand, and will be able to quickly act to counteract it.

In the end, you need to take your reputation on the Web into account when planning a business strategy. Whether you are warding off problems before they develop, or taking remedial action to eliminate existing negative content, maintaining a strong, positive online profile is essential to running a successful business today.

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