In 2017, United Airlines faced a massive reputational blow. A video circulated of a passenger being forcibly removed from an overbooked flight. The incident was captured on a passenger’s phone. It quickly went viral and sparked outrage across social media and news platforms.
The fallout was immediate and severe. It led to the following impacts.
- United Airlines’ stock prices decreased
- Its customer trust decreased
- The company faced a lot of negative media coverage.
The airline gave many apologies. However, it faced significant damage to its reputation. The incident also highlighted how quickly a brand’s reputation can be damaged.
This guide provides the strategies and tools necessary to protect and enhance your brand’s reputation. Read ahead to learn how to manage your brand’s reputation effectively.
What is Brand Reputation Management?
Brand Reputation involves active monitoring of how your target population perceives the brand. It includes a range of strategies that aim at shaping and maintaining a positive image of the brand.
This includes managing:
- Online reviews
- Engaging on social media
- Optimizing search engine results
- Handling public relations
Effective online reputation management helps build trust, increase credibility, and foster strong relationships with customers and stakeholders. By continuously monitoring brand sentiment and proactively addressing issues, businesses can protect their reputation and ensure it reflects their values and goals.
Need for Brand Reputation Management
Companies act quickly when it comes to their brand’s online reputation management. But why is this so important? What is the need for such extensive brand reputation management?
| # | Reason | Explanation |
| 1 | Maintain Trust with Users | Managing reputation ensures that a brand maintains a trustworthy and credible image. This is crucial for customer loyalty and retention, as around 57% of consumers are likely to spend on brands they are loyal to. |
| 2 | Attract and Retain Your Customers | A positive reputation helps attract new customers and retain existing ones, as people prefer to engage with brands they perceive positively. This can be part of your remarketing strategy. |
| 3 | Reduce Negative Publicity of your brand | Proactive reputation management can help mitigate the impact of negative publicity. It can also protect the brand’s image during crises. |
| 4 | Increase the value of Brand | A well-managed reputation can significantly enhance the overall value of a brand. This can lead to a higher market valuation and competitive advantage. |
| 5 | Improve Engagement with Customers | Effective reputation management allows positive customer engagement. This can lead to better reviews, recommendations, and organic growth. |
10 Types of Brand Reputation Management
A well-developed brand reputation management strategy is important for maintaining a positive public image. If you are thinking of building a good brand reputation management, here is how.
1. Develop a Content Strategy that Aligns with Your Brand
Start by developing a content strategy that aligns with your brand’s values and goals. Create high-quality and relevant content that provides value to your audience and reinforces your brand’s expertise.
This includes blog posts, articles, videos, and infographics. Regularly update your content to keep it fresh and engaging.
2. Optimize Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Rank your Website
As part of your organic SEO practices, Optimize your website and content for search engines. This will ensure that positive information about your brand ranks higher in search results. Use relevant keywords, optimize meta tags, and build high-quality backlinks.
Implementing effective SEO practices will improve your brand’s online visibility and push negative content further down in search results.
3. Social Media Reputation Management
The year on year growth on social media platforms is 8%. As part of your online reputation management, try to actively engage with your audience on these platforms. Do these three things regularly.
- Post content
- Respond to comments
- Participate in conversations.
- Use social media listening tools to monitor brand mentions
4. Use Micro Influencer Management to send a Positive Brand Message.
The next step is to partner with micro social media influencers who align with your brand’s values and target audience. Influencers can help amplify your positive messaging and reach a broader audience.
Choose influencers based on their credibility, relevance, and engagement metrics. You can also collaborate on content that shows your brand in a positive light and allows for authentic endorsements.
5. Online Review Management to Monitor and Respond to Comments
For effective brand reputation management, monitor and respond to online reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and industry-specific sites.
Acknowledge positive reviews and thank customers for their feedback. Make sure you address any negative comments because around 60% of consumers say that when they see negative reviews, they do not feel like using a brand.
6. Public Relations (PR) to Manage Public Perception
Develop a PR strategy to manage media relations and shape public perception. Try to use press releases and media inquiries to build a relationship with journalists.
Address any negative press proactively by being transparent and authentic. Building strong media relationships and handling public relations effectively can help maintain a positive brand image.
7. Crisis Management to address damages to Reputation
Prepare a crisis management plan to address potential reputational issues. Identify possible scenarios that could impact your brand and develop response strategies for each.
Establish a crisis management team and outline clear communication protocols. During a crisis,
- Respond quickly,
- Be transparent and authentic
- Be consistent with your message
8. Customer Experience Management to increase Repeat Customers
You need to enhance the customer experience so that they return to your brand. Invest in training your staff to provide exceptional service, streamline processes, and address customer concerns promptly.
Gather feedback through surveys and reviews to understand customer needs and improve your offerings.
9. Brand Monitoring to Review and Improve
Next, you need to continuously monitor brand mentions and sentiment across various platforms. Use brand monitoring tools to track discussions, reviews, and social media mentions.
Analyzing this data helps identify trends, address emerging issues, and gauge overall brand perception.
10. Employee Advocacy that trains Employees
Encourage employees to act as brand ambassadors. Foster a positive work environment and provide training on representing the brand effectively.
Empower employees to share their positive experiences and engage with the brand on social media.
When is Brand Reputation Management at Risk: How to fix it?
| Scenario | Explanation |
| Product or Service Failures | A product is released with defects or doesn’t meet expectations. The customer is dissatisfied. |
| Public Relations Crises | Involvement in a scandal or controversy. This can include offensive remarks by an executive, resulting in negative media coverage. |
| Customer Service Failures | Poor customer service, including unresponsive support or unresolved complaints. This can lead to negative reviews and social media backlash. |
| Social Media Missteps | Posting insensitive or inappropriate content that is widely criticized on social media. |
| Data Breaches and Security Issues | A data breach exposes sensitive customer information, leading to privacy concerns and loss of trust. |
Build an Excellent Brand Reputation Management Strategy with Market Pro
The market today is highly saturated. To stand out, you need to ensure that you adopt a proactive brand reputation management strategy. You need to ensure your brand marketing receives no backlash, bad press, or reputation damage. This can be exhausting to do in-house. This is where Market Pro comes in.
Market Pro offers diverse services such as social media management, PR services, and content marketing. By creating a fool proof strategy for you, we ensure that your brand is protected at all costs.