Please remember that in this internet age, you are judged by your search results. The onus is therefore on you to protect and preserve your online reputation.
The Internet is likened tithe digital Wild West and all sorts of things – good, bad and ugly appear. Critical articles, unsubstantiated allegations, outdated news, misleading blogs, and inaccurate reviews all appear instantly (even posted anonymously) and persist for years unless you act fast.
It is reported that nearly 75% of people believe it is very important to look up info about people and/or businesses online before deciding to interact or do business with them.
There are several worthwhile online reputation tracking tools that you can use to your advantage. If you work at a startup and no one has heard of your brand, or if you’re an individual who has just started blogging, these tools are still useful to you.
If your brand is new to social media and aren’t known by many people, then these free tools might be a better suited for you.
Reputation management is absolutely imperative for both individuals and companies. The more popular your brand is, the more critical it will be to defend your reputation and the more time it will consume out of your day.
You may consider paid ORM services if you are unable to manage and keep your pulse on your online reputation. Besides, paid services help you analyze and understand the magnitude and nature of conversations around your brand. In fact, this will take you a lot of time and efforts if you were to do it manually.
If you decide using a paid service, select the one that best matches your current situation and scale up as your requirements grow.
You need to initially decide if you want software for tracking conversations or if you want to pay a professional agency for consulting and reporting. You might want either or both.
Startups should involve all stakeholders while making the decision of selecting an agency. The key for success is to figure out what groups within your company can benefit from this type of services. The obvious groups would be in marketing research, public relations, advertising, and then executives that are conscious how their corporate brand is being portrayed in the media.
Remember that your vendor should also track your competitors, your own products or personal brands within your company.