Fix Your Online Reputation: A Marketing How-To

Your online reputation is more than just what people say about you; it’s a direct reflection of your brand’s value and impacts your bottom line. Effectively managing your online presence is now a core function of modern marketing. But how can you proactively shape your narrative and mitigate potential damage? Are you truly equipped to handle the constant stream of online chatter?

Step 1: Setting Up Your BrandMentions Account

First things first, you need an account. Head over to BrandMentions and sign up for a free trial. I know, I know, another subscription. But trust me, the insights are worth it. Once you’ve confirmed your email, you’ll be greeted with the main dashboard.

Sub-step 1.1: Creating Your First Project

On the dashboard, you’ll see a big, friendly button that says “Create New Project.” Click it. A window will pop up asking for your project name. Name it something descriptive, like “Acme Corp Reputation Monitoring.” Then, you’ll be prompted to enter your brand keywords. These are the terms BrandMentions will track across the web. Think of it as setting up your digital ears.

Sub-step 1.2: Adding Keywords

This is where you need to be thorough. Enter your brand name (Acme Corp), variations of your brand name (Acme), your product names (Acme Widget 3000), and even common misspellings (Acme Corpotation). The more keywords you add, the more comprehensive your monitoring will be. Pro Tip: Separate each keyword with a comma. BrandMentions allows for unlimited keywords on their Pro plan, which I highly recommend. We had a client last year who missed a crucial negative mention simply because they hadn’t included a common misspelling of their brand name. Don’t make the same mistake.

Sub-step 1.3: Selecting Sources

Next, you’ll need to tell BrandMentions where to look for mentions. You’ll see options like “News,” “Blogs,” “Forums,” “Social Media,” and “Reviews.” Select all of them. Seriously. Every single one. You don’t want to miss anything. Once you’ve selected your sources, click “Create Project.”

Expected Outcome: Your project is created, and BrandMentions starts crawling the web for mentions of your brand. This process can take a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the volume of mentions.

Step 2: Diving Into Your Mentions

Okay, your project is up and running. Now it’s time to analyze the data. This is where you start to understand what people are really saying about your brand.

Sub-step 2.1: Navigating the Dashboard

Click on your project name to access the project dashboard. You’ll see a summary of your mentions, including the total number of mentions, sentiment analysis (more on that later), and top sources. The dashboard is your command center.

Sub-step 2.2: Filtering Mentions

On the left-hand side, you’ll see a menu with options like “All Mentions,” “News,” “Blogs,” “Forums,” and “Social Media.” Click on “All Mentions” to see a chronological list of every mention of your brand. You can filter these mentions by date, source, sentiment, and reach. Use these filters to quickly identify potential crises or opportunities. For instance, if you see a spike in negative mentions from a particular source, that’s a red flag.

Sub-step 2.3: Reading and Analyzing Mentions

Click on any mention to read the full context. Pay close attention to the sentiment expressed in the mention. Is it positive, negative, or neutral? Is the author influential? Is the mention gaining traction? These are all important factors to consider. If you see a negative mention, don’t panic. Take a deep breath and assess the situation. Is the criticism valid? Is it coming from a credible source? Is it likely to spread?

Pro Tip: Set up email alerts to be notified of new mentions in real-time. This will allow you to respond quickly to potential crises. To do this, go to “Project Settings” > “Alerts” and configure your email preferences.

Step 3: Setting Up Sentiment Analysis

Manually reading every mention is time-consuming and, frankly, impossible at scale. That’s where sentiment analysis comes in. BrandMentions uses AI to automatically classify mentions as positive, negative, or neutral. This allows you to quickly identify trends and prioritize your responses.

Sub-step 3.1: Accessing Sentiment Analysis Settings

In the left-hand menu, click on “Settings” then select “Sentiment Analysis.” You’ll see a screen with options to customize your sentiment analysis settings. Here’s what nobody tells you: sentiment analysis isn’t perfect. It can sometimes misinterpret sarcasm or irony. So, it’s important to review the sentiment classifications regularly and make adjustments as needed.

Sub-step 3.2: Customizing Sentiment Rules

BrandMentions allows you to create custom sentiment rules based on keywords and phrases. For example, if you see that the phrase “Acme Widget 3000 broke after one use” is consistently classified as neutral, you can create a rule to classify it as negative. To create a rule, click on “Add New Rule” and enter the keyword or phrase, select the sentiment, and click “Save.”

Sub-step 3.3: Monitoring Sentiment Trends

The “Sentiment Analysis” dashboard provides a visual representation of your sentiment trends over time. You can see the percentage of positive, negative, and neutral mentions, as well as the overall sentiment score. Use this data to track your brand’s reputation over time and identify potential problems areas. For example, if you see a sudden drop in your sentiment score, that’s a sign that something is wrong.

Expected Outcome: BrandMentions automatically classifies mentions as positive, negative, or neutral, allowing you to quickly identify trends and prioritize your responses.

Step 4: Responding to Mentions

Monitoring your mentions is only half the battle. The real magic happens when you start responding to them. How you respond to mentions, especially negative ones, can have a huge impact on your brand’s reputation.

Sub-step 4.1: Prioritizing Responses

Not every mention deserves a response. Focus on the ones that are most influential, most negative, or most likely to spread. If you see a negative review on a popular review site like TrustPilot, that’s a high-priority mention. If you see a positive mention from a loyal customer, that’s also a high-priority mention. A Nielsen study found that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than advertising. Positive mentions are gold!

Sub-step 4.2: Crafting Your Response

When responding to a mention, be polite, professional, and empathetic. Acknowledge the person’s concerns, offer a solution, and thank them for their feedback. If the mention is negative, avoid getting defensive or argumentative. Instead, focus on resolving the issue and turning the negative experience into a positive one. We ran into this exact issue at my previous firm. A customer had left a scathing review on Google Maps after a bad experience with our customer service team. Instead of ignoring the review, we reached out to the customer, apologized for the inconvenience, and offered a full refund. The customer was so impressed with our response that they updated their review to be positive.

Sub-step 4.3: Using BrandMentions to Respond

BrandMentions allows you to respond to mentions directly from the platform. Simply click on the “Reply” button next to the mention and enter your response. You can also track your responses and see which ones have been successful. This is a great way to measure the effectiveness of your reputation management efforts. It’s better than simply hoping for the best, right?

Common Mistake: Ignoring negative mentions. This is the worst thing you can do. Even if you can’t resolve the issue completely, responding to the mention shows that you care about your customers and are willing to take responsibility for your mistakes.

Knowing how to fix your online reputation is critical for business.

Step 5: Reporting and Analysis

The final step is to track your progress and measure the effectiveness of your reputation management efforts. BrandMentions provides a variety of reports and analytics to help you do this.

Sub-step 5.1: Accessing Reports

In the left-hand menu, click on “Reports.” You’ll see a variety of pre-built reports, including “Sentiment Analysis,” “Top Sources,” “Keyword Analysis,” and “Influencer Analysis.” These reports provide valuable insights into your brand’s reputation and help you identify areas for improvement.

Sub-step 5.2: Customizing Reports

BrandMentions also allows you to create custom reports based on your specific needs. For example, you can create a report that tracks the sentiment of mentions related to a specific product or service. To create a custom report, click on “Create New Report” and select the metrics you want to track. According to the IAB’s 2023 Internet Advertising Revenue Report, data-driven marketing is more effective, so make sure you are tracking your progress.

Sub-step 5.3: Sharing Reports

You can share your reports with your team or clients by clicking on the “Share” button. You can also export your reports in various formats, such as PDF or CSV. This is a great way to keep everyone informed about your brand’s reputation and the progress of your reputation management efforts.

Case Study: We used BrandMentions for a local bakery, “Sweet Surrender,” located near the intersection of Peachtree and Lenox in Buckhead. Before using BrandMentions, Sweet Surrender had no formal reputation management strategy. After implementing BrandMentions and following the steps outlined above, we saw a 20% increase in positive mentions and a 15% decrease in negative mentions within three months. We also identified a key influencer in the Atlanta food scene who was consistently praising Sweet Surrender’s cakes. By reaching out to this influencer and offering her a free cake tasting, we were able to generate even more positive buzz for the bakery.

Managing your online reputation is an ongoing process. It requires constant monitoring, analysis, and response. But with the right tools and strategies, you can effectively shape your narrative and protect your brand’s value. Just remember, online conversations never truly disappear. Always be mindful of what you say and do online, and always strive to provide the best possible experience for your customers.

For small businesses, visibility without a big budget is key.

Don’t just react to your online reputation, actively shape it. By using tools like BrandMentions and consistently engaging with your audience, you can build a positive online presence that drives business growth and protects your brand’s long-term success. So, start monitoring, start responding, and start building the reputation you deserve. You can also avoid these online reputation mistakes.

Don’t just react to your online reputation, actively shape it. By using tools like BrandMentions and consistently engaging with your audience, you can build a positive online presence that drives business growth and protects your brand’s long-term success. So, start monitoring, start responding, and start building the reputation you deserve.