Why You Need Local Business Reputation Management
Every brand needs local business reputation management these days – especially local companies that seem to forget how important the internet really is.
Yes, your local business might be focused on a small niche market and only have “local” customers within your area, but guess what? All those local customers are using the internet to find information, reviews and coupons for your business.
The real question is, do you know what appears on Google when someone searches for your business name? Or, do you know how many negative reviews you have on Google My Business or TripAdvisor?
Even better, who responds to your brand’s social media activity and answers questions when customers are seeking more details?
If you don’t have answers to these questions, then you may already be hurting your company, especially without a local business reputation management plan in place.
Here’s what you need to know…
- 1.3 billion users are on Facebook
- 60 million unique users are on TripAdvisor
- 60 million tweets are sent per day on Twitter
- 1 million new Google+ users created daily
With over 2 billion users spread across all major social networks and review sites, there is a very good chance your local business is getting A LOT more mentions and reviews than you think.
And in regards to how important and influential those reviews are…
Two-thirds of people are more likely to buy from you when they find positive comments about your brand. At the same time, more than half of consumers are less likely to buy from your business when what they find is negative.
It’s also not just about “what people are saying.” It’s also about how many stars you are rated on popular review sites. Star ratings are not only a way for people to evaluate your business. They also decide how well your local business ranks on sites like Google My Business and TripAdvisor when compared to your competition.
In fact, a single-star improvement on review sites can result in a 5-9% increase in business!
So what’s the best way for your local business to better control what’s being said about them online? And to do so while also improving your image and reputation in the process?
Implement a local business reputation management strategy!
Here are some of the most effective ways to set your local business in the right direction:
- Create an online presence
- Build your own website or blog
- Get active on social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
- Search for your brand online and see what people are finding
- Browse review sites like TripAdvisor to see how you rate among the competition
Once this is done, you can start pulling your findings together and plan a monitor, repair and protect approach for your local business. The goal here is to provide a positive customer experience any time someone searches you and your business online.
In short, you want to own every listing on the main page of Google. You also want to create content-rich websites, blogs and social media profiles that give your audience what they’re looking for and provide value along the way.
For small businesses reading this type of information for the first time, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.
But, don’t worry! We work directly with businesses of all sizes to clean up online problems and restore trust in their brands online.
We’ve even built powerful monitoring software to make it easy to know when and where a new brand mention goes live!
To learn more about growing your brand and protecting your reputation on the web, call 941-259-4554 for a free consultation.
