Only a few years ago, companies were scratching their heads in efforts to optimise their rankings in search listings. And rightly so, Google’s dominance was reason enough for investing in SEO.

With the rise of social networks there has been a shift in the way which people access and consume information. More and more reliance is placed on the recommendations of online communities. In March this year, Facebook even overtook Google as the most visited website in the US.

For businesses, there seems to no longer be any question of whether or not to engage with social media.

“Unless you literally run your business with your ears plugged and your eyes covered, you are aware of the importance of social media and its impact on both brand and bottom line”, digital analyst Brian Solis wrote in his blog recently.

“The socialisation of business is comparable to the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland or the red pill in the Matrix. If ignorance is bliss, awareness is awakening.”

Changing browsing habits

People accessing information more readily through Facebook and Twitter is one the biggest reasons behind the new emphasis on Online Reputation Management (ORM).

A recent post in Ion’s Online Marketing blog argues that online reputation management is fast becoming more important than search engine optimisation, especially in service-based industries.

“Regardless if you supply stag weekend clay pigeon shooting in Brighton or zorbing in Ballymena, your online reputation management and what is said about you on review sites, forums and blogs is having an enormous influence on your bookings.

“ORM takes effort and means focusing on leveraging customer’s good experiences and getting them to publish their positive experiences.

“It requires a deep understanding on where your customers or potential customers are taking their influence from and understanding how you can influence that process. ”

Content is king

The internet is bursting with advice for brands on how to engage with their customers online. But the only advice that matters (unfortunately for some) is that openness and honesty are essential.

Online communities are alert 24/7 to spot any mistakes – if something goes wrong, you can count on it to be broadcast to online communities within hours, if not minutes. And the only way to deal with that, is getting involved in the conversation yourself. A quick, and genuine response to a negative comment can turn into the best  PR, demonstrating a commitment to your customers.

And furthermore, as search specialist Epiphany Solution’s Shane Quigley notes, social networks are invaluable to brands in terms of SEO.

“Google loves content, and the hardest thing to do when trying to get high search rankings is to build content quickly without spending a small fortune”, he said.

“Original content created by users free of charge that is constantly building and reflecting the latest trends or news is absolutely invaluable for two reasons. Firstly, search engines love it, people love it, and they both keep coming back to get more.

“Secondly, the more readily you’re creating content, the more often readers and Google will visit your site, increasing your chances of exposing your views and opinions to a wider audience.”

Case Study

One of the most recent examples of an attempt to use Online Reputation Management (ORM) to handle extremely negative PR was BP’s response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more…

BP tries to ORM its way out of trouble