Your Reputation on Social Media: Why It is Important and What You Should Do About It

Author: Kaitlyn Partington Category: Digital & Social Media, Marketing Date: October 12, 2022

Do you ever feel like people are talking about you behind your back? We don’t mean to fan the flames of your paranoia or inspire you to put a therapist on speed dial, but the truth is, they are. And they are doing it online. Good or bad, your business is in the online ether. And like it or not, your reputation on social media matters. If you’re not doing anything about it, you should be.

How Does Social Media Affect Reputation?

You cannot afford to ignore conversations about the reputation of your businesses. According to Sprout Social, 53% of consumers “like” or follow a brand page on social media to learn about new products and services. They also probably read reviews and feedback from your prior and current customers. Research from BrightLocal indicates that 88% of people trust online reviews as much as they do recommendations from family, friends, and peers. Building your brand reputation on social media holds great marketing power, and when it is working for you, it is magic – you can grow your audience and improve your reputation by interacting with customers in a public forum. But when it isn’t, one bad customer interaction can necessitate some serious internet reputation repair.

What is Social Media Reputation Management?

Customer and client interactions have a lot to do with your reputation on social media, but it’s wrong to believe your online reputation is entirely beyond your control. That’s where social media reputation management comes in.

Social media reputation management includes monitoring, cultivating, and finessing consumer relationships using social media. It helps companies influence consumer opinion through social channels. Like other functions of your business, your social media reputation management should be strategic and align with your overarching business goals.

How Do You Maintain Your Social Media Reputation?

How do you begin managing your reputation on social media? Here are some brand building and reputation repairing strategies:

Figure out where you are. Before you can change your reputation on social media, you have to know what it is. To determine this, you should review:

• Social media posts, tags, mentions, hashtags, and comments
• Online reviews and ratings on platforms like Google and Yelp
• Mentions in industry online publications or blogs
• Digital customer feedback in surveys, emails, and website contact form responses

Make sure you are looking at everything – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And check every social media platform, even if you are not active on them. You can’t bolster or fix your online reputation if you don’t know what is out there. You can also invest in social media listening software programs to help you evaluate.

Establish a response process. Being in the middle of a potential online reputation repair crisis is the worst time to decide the best way to handle it. Set up needed protocols to address social media reputation threats ahead of time – the who, what, when, where, and how. Your response should be prompt, respectful, and as thorough as possible. It should be personalized (no canned answers!) and address how you have or will rectify their concern. Thank them for their feedback and apologize if you were wrong. Make sure all the necessary team members are aware of the policy.

Be proactive and positive in controlling the narrative. The best defense is often a good offense. Having a strong social media strategy builds good will before you need it. Post engaging content consistently. Interact regularly with your followers. Encourage your followers to write a review and leverage positive feedback by sharing them on your social media and website.

Monitor your ROI. Once you have prioritized your social media reputation, keep track of it and what it’s doing for your business. Make needed changes to your strategy and approach, and act on customer feedback.

Seek support. Your reputation on social media is important, so if it really needs help, whether it be shaping a positive one or improving a damaged one, don’t do it alone. Get help from experts. It will likely save you time and money and give you a better outcome.

Paradigm can help you with not only your social media reputation, but your overall strategy as well. No one understands your business and your audience quite like you do. And, our social media strategists have deep-rooted expertise in the social media environment. Together we make a formidable social marketing team, developing customized solutions that support your business goals. Partner with us and tap into our social media experts today