With the expansion of the internet and social networks, the purchasing process has undeniably changed. From now on, the choice of products and services of one company in defiance of another is guided by the latter’s presence on the Internet. This presence consists not only of the content that the company publishes, but also of everything that Internet users say about the company. All this constitutes the e-reputation. A good e-reputation has become a criterion of choice, it is important to know how to manage it. How to manage the e-reputation and communication of a company? This is the question you will find answer to after reading this article.
Communicate consistently and effectively
Communication is an indispensable pillar of e-reputation building. It must therefore be handled with care. Indeed, the concept of e-reputation only makes sense on the internet. The Internet is therefore at the very heart of the construction of e-reputation. Fortunately or unfortunately, the information gleaned here and there on this computer network is never completely forgotten. Even if it is deleted for one reason or another, it can remain in the memory of Internet users and resurface in the worst way. Define a fixed and consistent communication strategy.
A company’s communication can also be impacted by the opinions that employees express on their social networks. A single wrong word is enough to ignite the canvas. It is therefore necessary to define a policy so that the company is not subject to bad press for an opinion that is not its own. For this policy to be effective, it is interesting to discuss it with your employees. You can also use a trusted review platform for your employees.
Define objectives and identify the target
For communication to be effective, start by defining goals. To do this, you can use the SMART method. According to it, the objectives defined must be “Specific”, “Measurable”, “Achievable”, “Realistic” and defined in time therefore “Temporal”. Thus, you will be able to define the communication objectives. But, make sure to base yourself on the vision of the company so as not to get lost.
Depending on the products and services you offer throughout your company, you have a clear idea of your target group. Communication must therefore be targeted to your target audience. Care must be taken to produce content and share information that may be of interest to them.
Define positioning and communication style
The definition of positioning makes it possible to better guide the company’s decisions in terms of communication. This involves using the SWOT matrix to get an idea of the company’s “Strengths”, “Weaknesses”, “Opportunities” and “Threats”. Once this analysis is done, the positioning of the company both in the market and in the minds of consumers is defined.
It is then necessary to define a communication style specific to the company. The tone used, the way of writing, the lightness in the way of transmitting information must all be calculated so that the style of the company is unique and recognizable. Since communication must be consistent, this style must be the same in each of the content offered by the company.
Establish a budget
This step appears to be one of the most important. Indeed, for regular and effective communication, it is necessary to plan a budget. This is useful for managing contingencies, for the production of content and the implementation of a fixed communication plan.
Choose communication channels
Since this communication aims to manage and improve e-reputation and communication, it is essentially digital. Communication channels can be websites, blogs and pages on social networks (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).
Create posts and build a communication plan
The messages must be concise and precise, while respecting the chosen communication style and the company’s graphic charter. All this contributes to coherence in communication. For communication to be regular and effective, do not hesitate to build a communication plan. This will have to be communicated to the whole team so that everyone is at the same level of information. Thus, the content and publication dates are known upstream and it remains only to publish content according to a certain periodicity.
Monitor your Internet presence
As said before, e-reputation does not depend only on the company, but on all the information about it on the internet. To act effectively, it is therefore necessary to keep an eye on the lookout. This allows you to see your e-reputation as a whole. To start, you need to map the web to identify all the actors and channels of your e-reputation. These can be influencers, competitors, journalists and third parties. It is then necessary to make a ranking of the actors who have the most audience. So you will have an idea of the posts that have been viewed the most.
Depending on the company’s reputation and the crises it has potentially faced, the content available is likely to be more substantial. The watch is therefore more tedious. Fortunately, there are useful tools to find all the publications about your business. These paid or free tools also allow you to receive an alert as soon as new content about you is published. Employees can be very important players in the company’s e-reputation and communication . Indeed, since they belong to the company without being its leaders, they are credible actors. Discover how employees contribute to improving the company’s image?
Work on content SEO
Natural referencing is an asset to manage your e-reputation, even if the link is not necessarily obvious. E-reputation is the consequence of your presence intended or not on the internet. Since you cannot manipulate the information produced by other players in your company’s e-reputation, you must know how to write and orient your content. It is for this purpose that natural referencing is useful.
Indeed, to control e-reputation, it is necessary to act on information. So you have to produce content, but not just any content. When a user enters a search in Google’s truncation , they falls directly on a first page of results. This is occupied by the best referenced content . Only when they can’t find the answer to their question does he go to the next results page. It is therefore important to produce good quality content according to Google’s SEO rules so that it is well referenced. Thus, you are more likely to pass the right information to your target.
In addition, the more quality content that portrays you positively, the less people consult articles that give you bad press.
Maintain contact with customers
Customers are very important for a business to thrive. Since they are the consumers, they can also be actors of choice in e-reputation and communication. It is therefore important to retain and satisfy their needs. The company should look for ideas to improve the relationship with customers in the same way that it looks for ideas to improve its employer brand.
As a first step, ask satisfied customers to leave positive comments and ratings. To encourage them in this process, you can, for example, give them discounts and gifts. Organize yourself so that these returns are highlighted. Also, be sure to respond to all customer reviews so that they feel understood and considered. Whether they are positive or negative, take the trouble to answer them. But be careful the response to comments must be written in a way that respects the company’s communication style.
Don’t forget to share customer feedback with your employees. Thanks to this sharing of information, they know what is appreciated and what remains to be improved. Opt for good internal communication in companies and employer brand.
Offer good customer service
Quality customer service improves the image of your company. When they can’t move immediately, customers turn to customer service. It is this branch of the company that takes care of answering customers ‘ questions and sometimes informing them about the procedure for returning or exchanging products. Customer satisfaction also depends on efficient and timely customer service. So make sure that the switchboard team is responsive enough and responds quickly to customers. Thus, they give positive opinions that positively influence the e-reputation of your company.
