Sales success is made up of many things, starting with the rationality of the manager and the responsibility of employees and ending with customer service and website capabilities. Among these factors is the way in which reputation management is carried out in social networks, although this important tool is still ignored by many. In any case, each company appears on the Internet with the sole purpose of making the brand recognizable and increasing sales. Given this, in the struggle for public attention, it is simply foolish not to use such an important tool as company representation and brand promotion in social networks.
Where does the negative come from?
In any social networks, various critical messages, indignant comments or negative reviews are sure to appear. A dissatisfied and upset client is very active, so he will try to communicate various problems to as many people as possible:
- with a price;
- delivery;
- quality of service;
- equipment, etc.
Reposts of such messages, the meaning of which is a call not to get involved with such and such a company that can ruin the life of anyone, are immediately indexed by search engines, and a crowd of like-minded people appears at the frustrated client.
Competitors often use similar unscrupulous methods. The Internet space is seething with emotions, where aggressive users receive more support from the same dissatisfied customers or their friends. They call for a brand boycott, write angry reviews, and may even form hostile groups. As a result, the company may lose control over its reputation, because it is known that notoriety overtakes everything. Brand awareness may even increase, but sales will definitely fall. Reputation in the network is not too important only for companies that have monopolized the market.
But there are very few monopolists, and for other companies, PR in social networks is very important, because they are also talked about there. The task of reputation management is to get people to say what is beneficial to the company.
Social media reputation can be regulated by:
- managing the mood of visitors;
- transformation of visitors into customers;
- adjusting the company’s image;
- effective smoothing of the negative;
- increase loyalty and retention of existing customers;
- search for a common language with the audience, taking into account its specifics, which are different in each social network.
Many of our entrepreneurs still think that if their company does not appear on social networks, then you can give up on them. Such a position often costs such businessmen their business reputation, the loss of hundreds of followers. Network dwellers are accustomed to trusting the reviews of their friends, so very often a purchase decision is made based on the opinions that dominate social networks. The danger of the social Internet lies in the fact that, by blabbing too much, a person can easily destroy his own, and at the same time, the reputation of the company. However, even inaction can lead to loss of clientele.
Social media reputation management measures
The set of measures related to reputation management in social networks can be conditionally divided into two areas: audit and correction. During an audit, brand mentions and reviews can be collected either automatically or manually. After the collection, all mentions are evaluated for emotional coloring (negative, neutral, positive), and then they begin to be corrected by specialists. Not only negative reviews are processed, because by responding to a positive or neutral review, you can significantly improve the positioning of the product.
Negativity can be dealt with covertly or overtly. In the second case, communication with respondents is on behalf of a company whose representative:
- resolves conflict situations;
- answers the questions;
- promises compensation;
- encourages users.
In covert work with negativity, communication with the user is carried out on behalf of pre-created fakes (virtual characters). Personal lawyers of the company will praise the merits of the company, the excellent quality of its products and services, neutralize the negativity, gradually reducing the discussion in a favorable direction. Hidden methods also include the distribution of customized comments and rebuttals on sites with reviews, the writing of articles that demonstrate to visitors the company’s sensitive reaction to criticism.
If funds allow, then reputation management is best left to specialized agencies and companies that have extensive experience in this area and have developed effective strategies. The essence of their activity usually lies in the detailed study of information posted on the network, one way or another related to the company or its website. The work associated with the correction of reputation is very time-consuming and requires an integrated approach. You can try to do it on your own, but this will take time, which business people always lack.
In a broader sense, this activity includes the development of an effective strategy based on the results of monitoring. The study of the social network will demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the enterprise, on the basis of which it will be possible to understand the direction of movement and the nature of the measures taken, it will become clear what customers like and what not. In order to progressively improve the reputation, it is necessary to constantly increase the reach of the audience, for example, by introducing different types of information (audio, video, photos, etc.).
Social media users are especially active, so it would be unforgivable to ignore such a large layer of potential customers. Reputation management needs to be approached wisely, it will help increase sales, the company’s popularity and set up favorable customers.