Source: Unsplash | Brooke Cagle

A major service offered by the top digital PR firms is online reputation management. Online reputation management, ORM for short, is becoming an increasingly popular business tactic, especially for companies hoping to expand and experience growth. Many people assume that it is only necessary to invest in online reputation management when something bad happens.

This is a common misconception, though, and investing in ORM is a smart idea no matter the state of the company’s reputation. Actually, some people say that there should be a focus on ORM as soon as a business is created. A major mistake made by startup companies is failing to focus on ORM. Not only is it essential for reputation repair, but also reputation growth.

Businesses Must Frequently Monitor Their Online Reputations

This has not always been the case, but now more than ever is the time to keep tabs on online reputation. This statement is even true for individuals and their social media accounts, but it is even more true for businesses. But why is it so important to constantly keep tabs of online comments and reviews?

The main reason is that online content is circulating the internet at an insanely rapid pace. Companies have experienced major scandals in a matter of hours due to a lack of focus on ORM. You can prevent this from happening to you with a solid ORM strategy. This doesn’t just apply to preventing a scandal, but you can also prevent a few negative reviews from circulating the online world.

Using ORM for Social Media Accounts is Crucial

According to Clutch, “most digital marketers consider social media the most important platform for monitoring online reputation: 46% of businesses use social media the most for ORM.” In other words, there is no resource that quite compares to social media for monitoring and managing brand reputation.

ORM of search engines is also important, but a specific focus should be placed on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Companies have a certain level of control for what is said about them on Google, and most companies are creating their own Google content. However, social media is an entirely different animal.

Unlike on Google, a company has very little control over what is being said on social media platforms. Social media has been proven to be very beneficial for some companies, but it can be very harmful to a reputation at the same time. With ORM, there is very little risk involved in reputation negativity on social media.

Online Reviews Speak Volumes

Consumers follow one common trend before investing in a product or service. They take advantage of online reviews left by the other consumers of the world. Reviews serve as an amazing resource, but they can also be detrimental to a company’s image.

With proper ORM strategies, you’ll be able to monitor reviews much more closely and respond to any negative feedback right away. Review monitoring is thought to be the most important aspect of ORM, and it is the first step in keeping a reputation intact.