Managing Your Reputation despite Negative Reviews

Reputation management is a public relations term that focuses on influencing an individual or group about a person’s or a company’s character. With the prevalence of social media and Internet usage, reputation management has become primarily an issue of influencing search engine results and monitoring social media activity. Known as online reputation management (ORM), this dynamic form of internet marketing can help suppress negative complaints and content online, and give positive content a more prominent place in search engine results pages (SERPs).

ORM is no longer the exclusive reserve of multi-billion dollar corporations, celebrities, athletes, and politicians, as even ordinary citizens and small and medium-sized businesses have become victims of libel. In other words, a dynamic ORM strategy needs to be incorporated into a company's internet marketing strategy to build a coherent brand image and engage with the target audience.

More than 78 percent of Internet users state that they perform research online before they decide to invest in a product or service. Additionally, 80 percent say that they have decided not to purchase a product or service from a particular company after browsing negative reviews online. If companies do not manage their online reputation, they could lose prospective clients and revenue.

An effective online reputation management strategy will boost a business's online visibility. This ensures that only SERPs with excellent reviews and content are what Internet users see, while damaging or libelous reviews and content can be discreetly pushed down SERP rankings.