Are you looking for a simple way to repair your online reputation?
A solid online reputation is essential for your business’s success. You can harness the power of social media and intelligent web design to maintain positive associations for your brand image, which in turn lead to an expanded customer base and higher profits.
As important as social media and online reviews are, however, they can also easily damage online reputation. One negative review or post can quickly undermine all of that hard work you’ve put into building your brand.
Luckily, reputation repair can be straightforward. You can actually use your blog posts to rebuild your brand image in no time. Read on to learn more about how blogging can save the day.
1. Write Content That Targets and Responds to Your Audience
This is the best way to manage reputation repair with your blog posts. You’ll want to write every blog post with your target audience in mind.
Be as specific as possible when identifying your audience. Try to engage with your readers on an intimate and empathetic level in each post. Respond to the feedback you are receiving in comments through the blog topics you choose.
A simple example of this is writing a blog post about the pros and cons of going to culinary school after reading a comment from a reader with this exact question. You may write a post that provides tips for urban cat owners after reading a review about your product.
The more your readers and customers see of your authority and engagement in your blogs, the more likely they will be to leave positive reviews and recommendations.
2. Provide Relevant and Frequent Content
It’s always important to write content that is relevant to your target audience. Your content should be useful to readers and data-driven.
Beyond that, when it comes to reputation repair, you should write blog posts on a scheduled basis and frequently. Don’t put up a new post a day, as this can overwhelm readers and minimize authority.
Do schedule out, say, a blog post a week. Always publish at the same time. More content, and more engaging content, will quickly bury negative reviews and shift your audience’s attention to new horizons.
3. Maintain A Strong Social Media Presence
In addition to maintaining new and relevant content that promotes a positive reputation for your business, build a powerful social media presence.
Post links to your blog posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and make sure your readership is aware of when posts come out and how to comment on them. Get a LinkedIn profile so that your professional connections can also be looped in on your blogging.
The stronger your social media presence and the more frequent your blog content, the higher your ranking will be in traditional Google searches.
4. Write Guest Posts and Use Affiliate Links
The best way to bypass negative reviews or content is to associate your blog posts with positive content. You can do this by writing guest posts and using affiliate links.
Guest posts involve publishing a blog or article on another website. It is a fantastic means of expanding your audience and connecting with new readership. Plus, it associates your online image with another brand, company, or product.
Affiliate linking works similarly to guest posts. Basically, it means that another site agrees to link your products to their site, and vice versa. If a customer purchases your product from an affiliate site, you still get the profit but the affiliate site receives a commission.
You could swap affiliate links with Angels of London or even another blogging site. Linking and guest posting can build fresh, positive audiences and affiliations that will repair your reputation in no time.
5. Encourage More Reviews and Comments
This may seem like a counterintuitive tip when it comes to reputation repair and blogging.
However, by actively encouraging more reviews and comments from your audience, you’re showing your audience that you care about their feedback. You’ll be able to get some context for those negative reviews and “drown out” the compromising feedback.
End every blog post with a request for such comments, and even ask for reviews in social media posts. If you do receive a not-so-stellar review or comment, respond to these directly.
6. Work That SEO for Reputation Repair
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a great tool to use with your blogging when it comes to reputation repair. Building specific keywords into your posts will ensure that only the best–and most positive–posts show up in Google searches.
The more this new content can be optimized to appear at the top of Google search listings, the more likely you are to bury or minimize those reviews that are tarnishing your shiny online reputation.
7. Monitor Everything & Be Honest
Just as you keep track of your SEO, you’ll want to implement your own “metrics” for reviews and comments. Monitor your blog performance daily to inspect comments and potentially negative reviews.
It’s also wise to be honest in every blog post. Some bloggers choose to respond to negative reviews in posts themselves, showcasing transparency and their willingness to listen to what customers feel and need.
And honesty really is the best policy when it comes to business success.
8. Consult Professionals
At the end of the day, it’s definitely worth it to seek out the experts when it comes to reputation repair.
Consulting a professional will enable you to get a free reputation audit and other reputation management services that will ensure you rake in only positive reviews and online feedback.
Using Your Blog for Reputation Repair
It can be upsetting to receive a negative comment or review, particularly one that threatens your brand’s online reputation. Luckily, you can take charge of repairing your reputation by making the most of your blog.
Begin by writing specifically to your audience. Develop content that targets your audience and responds to their needs. Write regularly and with authority. Use SEO in order to push the negative content to the bottom of search listings and associate your blog with positive content through guest posts and affiliate links.
At the end of the day, the best way to maintain a solid online reputation is to monitor your site on a daily basis, be professional and honest, and rely on professionals for assistance.
Have experience using your blog to rebuild your online reputation? Share your thoughts in the comments below!