Online reputation management should be part of your Internet Marketing strategy
The introduction of social networking sites and consumer‐generated content to the Web has dramatically altered the landscape. The means for customers, champions and critics to disseminate information about their experiences and opinions are now accessible to anyone with an Internet connection and a browser‐enabled PC. All this activity on the web should be monitored and online reputation management should be a part of your Internet marketing strategy and an important element of the web competitors analysis.
Despite social media being so popular as a reference vehicle, many businesses are still behind the curve. Nearly 70% of executives regard their company’s reputation as vulnerable, but they are universal in their belief that non‐traditional outlets like blogs are the least important in building corporate reputation; surveying executives found that:
- Virtually all executives surveyed regard the Web as important in measuring corporate reputation, but almost none of them believe the Internet is crucial when making important business decisions;
- Despite previous surveys that indicate the reputation of the CEO is closely linked to the reputation of the company they work for, very few executives seem to believe that, and fewer than 40% have even Googled their own name;
- Most surveyed executives say they utilize the Web more for competitive intelligence than understanding their company’s reputation positioning; and,
- Despite overwhelming shifts in consumer media behavior trends, global executives put much more stock in brand perceptions that appear in mainstream media channels than what’s said about them in online communities.
It is time to start considering online reputation management as part of your internet marketing strategy, very probably your competitors are doing it already.
