Why businesses must fine-tune their 'Online Reputation'
Zoom and Google Meetings have replaced client meetings, exhibitions have taken a virtual avatar and webinar is the new seminar. It is evident that it will take a while for the world to function like in the past and till then, digital seems to be the obvious choice for all of us.
Most of us are aware of the perks of being present on digital platforms, the reason why almost 90 per cent of B2B companies, today, own a website as a point of contact. Unfortunately, that is not enough. Most companies are oblivious to their presence on the internet popularly known as Online Reputation. In simple terms, your online reputation is what your customer or anybody sees as a result of their search of your company name/ product on Google or similar search engines. It's a total of your digital footprint appearing on search engine results pages (SERP).
Google search results showing images, videos, media coverage, social media handles, location maps, customer reviews, ratings, among others, all lead to creating positive or negative affinity towards any company or product. It can be a make-or-break situation if you take your online reputation for granted. Because, as per a recent study, over 90 per cent of purchase decisions are made based on the user-generated content available online.
Likewise, Online Reputation is equally important for individuals. Gone are the days when companies hired people based on their scores and credentials. New age
HR policies stress validating the incumbent's behavioural analysis, especially on social media platforms. And it just doesn't end at hiring. Even top management teams and professionals are put under the scanner and evaluated based on their online reputation. Their past statements to the media, online portals, response to customer escalations, HR policies, and political views often come across as critical points of validation and assessment. And all these can be critical if you plan to diversify or looking for funds from potential investors or financial institutions.
The roadmap to manage effective online reputation is an ongoing process and one should treat it as an autoimmune condition. You just have to keep managing it with care and attention and consider it a work in progress department.
Let's remember that Online Reputation Management is an ongoing, long-term process and one must put in dedicated efforts to see the results. As a word of caution, we must keep in mind that 'Undoing on the internet is tougher than doing', so everything that goes online must be vetted and inspected thoroughly.