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You’ve probably noticed platforms like YouTube and Instagram taking over the world recently, right? If you’re a marketer or a business owner, it’s only natural to want a piece of the action and hopefully increase your influencer marketing ROI. 

You want to connect with your target audiences in a new way. And you want to connect with them in their natural environment: social media. This is where influencer marketing comes in.

Influencer marketing can range from sending free products to content creators in the hopes that they’ll feature it to more formalized agreements in which influencers are paid by posts. Other agreements in which influencers profit from affiliate tracking programs are also becoming more popular.

Unlike celebrity endorsements, in which a celebrity is employed to represent a brand in campaigns, influencers generally operate solo and create their own content on social media, YouTube, blogs, and other platforms based on a brand’s advertising specifications.

If you’re wondering how to find affiliates to sell your product or you need influencers, these platforms are a great place to start.

However, keep in mind that influencer marketing is becoming increasingly popular by the second. And tracking your return on investment (ROI) is a must if you want to run a successful campaign.

This guide will discuss ROI, how it appears in influencer marketing, and how to calculate the ROI of influencer marketing, as well as other variables.

What is ROI?

Return on investment (ROI) is a performance metric used to assess the efficiency or profitability of an investment or to compare the efficiency of several investments. ROI attempts to directly measure the amount of return on a specific investment in relation to the cost of the investment.

ROI in influencer marketing

A marketing strategy is like a fan. And each marketing channel (such as SEO, influencer marketing, PPC, etc.) is a blade. The fan’s blades all work together to keep it spinning. You can measure the ROI of the entire fan (the strategy as a whole). Or you can choose to calculate the ROI of each individual blade (each channel).

In this case, before you can measure your influencer marketing ROI, you must first determine how much to invest. 

Here are the most commonly tracked performance indicators for determining whether an influencer’s bid is fair.

1. Audience reach

Reach refers to how many people view your influencer’s content. The incredible reach provided by various social networking platforms is the primary reason why brands are turning to influencer marketing.

As a result, campaign reach becomes an important metric for determining campaign success. However, keep in mind that quantifying the benefits of reach is difficult. 

And, even if an influencer has a million followers, remember that only 15-30% of those people will see any given post. Then there’s the possibility that the followers are fake or inactive accounts.

Consider an author who has just published a book called “What is orchestration?” and wants to reach out to influencers to promote it. In this case, impressions, which reflect how many times users saw the influencer’s post or downloads, would be a better indicator than followers for calculating the influencer’s actual reach.

2. Engagement on social media posts

In comparison to reach, engagement is frequently regarded as a better indicator of campaign performance. 

However, keep in mind that actual KPIs that you can measure will vary depending on the social media platform. But they’ll typically include the following: 

• Number of shares
• Likes
• Comments
• Brand mentions 
• Engagement rate 

If you’re not sure which social media platform to use, here’s a guide to help you decide and tips on how to use them.

You should also track mentions of your brand on social media using a social media listening tool and a campaign management tool to manage campaigns. As part of your agreement with the influencer, you should request that they report on their analytics so you can measure how well the campaign is performing.

3. Leads and sales conversions from referral traffic

Referral traffic statistics show you which influencer content is directing traffic to your website or a specific landing page. It provides meaningful, actionable insights into which campaigns are resonating with their target audiences and which social media platforms are being used.

Google Analytics is excellent for determining where your website’s traffic is coming from. You can also use it to track a variety of metrics, such as: 

• Who’s visiting your site and their demographics 
• What content they prefer 
• How much time they spend on your pages

How do you calculate ROI influencer marketing ROI?

1. Set realistic goals

Is your goal to increase sales, raise brand awareness, expand your audience, or form partnerships?

“The biggest mistake brands make is not knowing what they want to achieve and then getting an unexpected result.”

For example, if forming partnerships is a top priority, you should be familiar with everything there is to know about partnership relationships, such as the proper partner relationship management definition or what the best brand influencer proposal template to use. Knowing the basics will save you a lot of time and stress when pitching and managing potential partners.

“Start with a clear goal, understand it thoroughly, and know how you’ll measure it.”

2. Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that are most relevant to your goal.

It cannot be overemphasized how important it is to have the proper tools in place to accurately measure KPIs.

Your goal will determine which KPIs you’ll need to track to ensure your campaign was a success. For example, to increase customer retention, tracking customer retention rate and churn rate will outperform tracking revenue.

The interesting thing about using the right KPI is that it allows you to understand your business’s performance and health so that you can make critical adjustments to achieve your strategic goals.

For example, if your customer retention rate is decreasing due to inaccessibility and poor customer communication, hiring the best small business phone service near you can help solve the problem.

3. Evaluate your expenses

This is where the “I” in ROI comes into play. Ask yourself how much you intend to pay the influencer. Determine your maximum budget. Identify which options provide the best possible return. It could be one or two advertisements in a more expensive medium or several advertisements in less expensive outlets.

You can calculate how much it will cost to reach each potential customer. For example:

•    An influencer fee costs £5000
•    You expect to reach 50,000 people
•    50% are your potential customers
•    It will cost 20 pence to get your message to each potential customer

What other variables should you take into account when tracking ROI on an influencer marketing campaign? 

1. The period of the year

Influencer costs rise during the holiday season and other special occasions, such as Children’s Day, due to the volume of campaign opportunities available and demand.

This also means that during these periods, social feeds become saturated with branded content, potentially skewing your ROI lower.

To stand out (at this time of year), you’ll need to devise creative guidelines that will attract attention, such as customer appreciation or interactive video content such as viral infographics and use of animation.

2. Cost of your product/service

The types of campaigns you opt for and how you measure them can vary dramatically depending on whether you sell impulse purchases or investment pieces.

Recently, short-term content creation (think Instagram stories and TikTok) has become more common. But certain products, like blog posts, still lend themselves to longer-form and long-term content.

For example, an enterprise contract management software is unlikely to be sold through an Instagram story swipe-up. You could, however, sell one via an Instagram swipe-up that links to a blog post in which someone reviews the product.

3. Consider the content’s longevity

Finally, just because a campaign has officially “ended” does not mean that the content has lost its impact or impressions. Content lives on long after a campaign ends. And depending on the terms of your agreement with the creator, the collateral produced can be repurposed for targeted ads, email marketing, or other campaigns.

Also, remember that, as influencer marketing grows, the concept of a person’s identity, image, or personality as a property right is becoming more deep-rooted. As a result, it’s more important than ever to ensure the safety of those engaged in these activities.

Without a basic understanding of online image copyright, such individuals may be vulnerable to exploitation, while consumers may fall victim to deceptive marketing schemes.

What’s considered a good ROI in influencer marketing?

Ultimately, there’s no universal standard or key industry number for calculating the ROI of an influencer marketing campaign.

Let’s imagine an ad agency wants small business owners to sign up for a webinar on how to build affiliate network best practices.

According to the 2020 report from Influencer Marketing Hub, they can earn up to $18 in earned media value for every dollar spent on influencer marketing, with the average being closer to $5.78 per dollar spent.

Taking the next step with influencer marketing

Working with an influencer, marketing firm, or app partner can help you save money and time on influencer marketing campaigns. Technologies and agencies that already have relationships with influencers will assist you in securing lower rates. They identify content creators who are the best fit for your objectives. They also build data-driven campaigns based on reliable metrics.

However, don’t rely entirely on influencer marketing because it’s not a guaranteed success. Successful influencer marketing requires dedication, time, and research. A well-thought-out influencer program and effective customer communication should be integrated into a broader marketing strategy.

The post The Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing ROI & How to Make Successful Campaigns appeared first on noupe.

CX (customer experience) and UX (user experience) are two important business strategies aimed at optimizing customer communication and engagement. The principles of UX have been around for centuries, but the term was first coined in the 1990s by Don Norman.

CX is a much newer concept that’s been gaining popularity as companies look to improve customer satisfaction. Many designers now argue that UX is a subset of CX, but there are some important differences between them.

In this article, we’ll look at where CX and UX differ and where they meet to improve the customer experience. But first, let’s define what CX and UX design are.

What is UX design?

User experience design focuses on the interactions people have with a service or product. This is usually a digital product such as an app, website, or software like PD DataFrame Python. But UX can also apply to non-digital products.

The aim of UX is to create better-designed products to improve the user experience. And it works: over two-thirds of businesses say UX improves customer satisfaction. Plus, 62% say it improves brand perception. So UX design is crucial for businesses to attract and convert customers.

UX design considers everything that shapes the user experience, from how the actual product feels to how easy the buying process is. An amazing product is one that’s efficient and easy to use, and that’s what UX is all about. 

If you need some help with designing your website, for example, search online for “tips on how to design website”.

UX covers four major disciplines:

1. Experience Strategy (ExS)
2. User Research (UR)
3. Information Architecture (IA)
4. Interaction Design (IxD)

Experience Strategy 

Experience strategy aims to combine business and design strategies to create a holistic experience that gives value to both users and businesses at the places they interact. So ExS considers both digital and bricks-and-mortar experiences.

ExS roles include product designer and product manager. Their aim is to align the company vision with customer needs and technical capabilities. They help companies manage their teams and keep them focused on the user experience.

User Research

User research helps companies understand their users’ needs, motivations, and behavior. For instance, UR could help you understand why users are looking at alternatives for Grasshopper. This makes user research a vital part of UX design. In fact, integrating UR into product development boosts customer satisfaction by 30% and brand perception by 31%.

User researchers collect qualitative and quantitative data to create user personas. This involves collecting feedback from customers with surveys, interviews, and usability testing. They then use these personas to inform product development.

Information Architecture

Information architecture focuses on the structure of digital products. This includes how content is organized and the type of language used. The goal is to help users quickly find information with minimal effort. As such, you can use IA for wireframing to plan the layout of a product.

IA roles include data analyst, content strategist, and information architect.

Interaction Design

Interaction design focuses on the way users interact with a system. IxD considers all the interactive elements of a product, such as buttons, animations, and transitions. Interaction design roles include product designer, interaction designer, and experience designer. Their aim is to integrate ExS, UR, and IA into an interface that’s intuitive and effortless to use. 

The role of UX designers

The role of UX designers is to make products and services accessible, user-friendly, and enjoyable. They usually work as part of a product team and bridge the gap between the user and the company.

The most common uses of UX design companies are discovering usability issues (68% of companies) and validating designs (66% of companies). But UX designers perform a variety of tasks, including:

• User research
• User testing
• Wireframing and prototyping
• Presenting designs to stakeholders
• Creating user personas
• Designing the information architecture of a product

Depending on the company, UX designers may focus on UX for non-digital products. They may also be service designers that focus on the experience of using services like public transport. But whatever their area of focus, it’s their job to ask questions like:

• Is this product/service easy and intuitive to use?
• Is this product/service accessible to a range of users?
• Will this product/service make users happy?
• Is this product/service what users want?

What is CX design?

Customer experience design includes all the interactions a customer has with each of a business’s touchpoints. CX considers a company’s advertising strategy, reputation, pricing, customer service, delivery, sales process, and the usability of a specific product or service. In this sense, UX is part of the broader experience of CX design.  

Let’s use a VoIP call center solution as an example. The customer experience isn’t only what it’s like to use the software, but also:

• What it’s like to buy the software
• How easy it is to access support
• How effective is the company’s marketing campaign
• What it’s like to upgrade or replace the software
• What it’s like to receive notifications or offers from the company

CX design also considers a customer’s emotional satisfaction. That is how they feel about a business. So, CX design is crucial to a company’s success. For instance, three-quarters of customers say it’s important to have a good experience on digital channels. The same goes for offline channels.

CX design considers three levels of customer experience:

1. Single-interaction
2. Customer journey
3. Lifetime relationship

Single-interaction

The single-interaction experience is the customer experience during a single interaction or task. This is usually a short-term interaction with a product or service, such as ordering something from a website or signing up for a mailing list. Experiences at this level are only a small part of the total customer experience.

Design at the single-interaction level is what most people associate with UX design. In other words, this is the level most UX designers work at.

Customer Journey

The journey level of customer experience focuses on the series of interactions that take place to accomplish a goal. An example is buying journeys. It usually involves several channels, so a CX customer journey map may look something like this:

1. You want to return a sweater, so you log in to your account and request a return.
2. You print out the return label and take your parcel to the post office.
3. A few days later, the company emails you to confirm the return and refund your money.

Many companies are now adopting an omnichannel approach to improve CX at the journey level. In fact, over one-quarter of companies say improving the omnichannel experience is a top CX priority.

Lifetime Relationship

The lifetime relationship level takes into account the single-interaction and customer journey levels to consider every interaction a customer has with a company. Each customer exchange with a company affects their perception of the company. So, CX design at this level is about nurturing the customer relationship.

For example, a software company that sells call center enterprise solutions would optimize their product to make it attractive to buyers and easy to use, upgrade, or uninstall. But they’d also look at improving their customer service and advertising campaigns.

The role of CX designers

To create a bulletproof CX strategy, CX designers analyze how customers feel about a brand. They also look at ways to improve the quality of interactions with them. This means problem-solving skills are a must.

CX designers may have backgrounds in advertising, marketing, psychology, management, sales, and customer service. They perform a variety of tasks, such as:

• User research and testing
• Collecting and presenting data
• Creating customer personas and empathy maps
• Mapping the customer journey
• Creating storyboards and workflows
• Defining business goals
• Tracking performance

In other words, CX designers focus on the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the customer experience.

How do CX and UX differ?

UX is an important part of CX, but there are some key differences to be aware of. These differences include:

• Focus
• Responsibilities
• Metrics
• Audience
• Testing

Focus

UX designers focus on how a user interacts with a single product or service?whether that’s an enterprise security solution or a hotel room. Their aim is to help users interact easily and successfully with a product. They want products to be accessible and give users a sense of satisfaction.

CX designers focus on the customer’s entire experience with the company. Their goal is to ensure customers have a good experience whenever they interact with a company. This includes both online and offline channels. They also want to boost brand revenue by nurturing customer loyalty.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of UX designers revolve around the product or service. They spend most of their time on product design, usability testing, and improving the product based on user feedback. Both CX and UX design involves user research. But UX research tends to be smaller in scale and focuses on individual personas or groups.

The responsibilities of CX designers are more to do with boosting brand perception and customer loyalty. Their goal is to optimize marketing, communication channels, customer service, and all other business touchpoints. So, CX research tends to involve large-scale studies and surveys.

Metrics

Because CX and UX focus on different aspects of the customer experience, they use different metrics to measure their success rate. For instance, over 50% of UX designers use product and site analytics like cart abandonment rate and engagement rate. Also, 48% use outcome metrics like app store ratings, conversion rate, and support tickets. But CX designers use metrics like:

• Churn rate
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)
• Customer satisfaction (CSAT)
• Net promoter score (NPS)
• Average handle time (AHT)

For example, 63% of designers measure customer satisfaction, and 31% measure NPS. They may also look at how many customers the company gained or lost in a certain time frame.

Audience 

The target audience for UX designers is the product’s end-user, whereas CX designers target customers. What’s the difference? Customers aren’t always the product’s intended user.

For instance, say a company’s CEO is buying software to reduce their employees’ data privacy risks. A UX designer would focus on the employees (the users), while a CX designer would focus on the CEO (the customer).

By focusing on the customer, CX designers look to enhance the business-customer relationship to make it mutually beneficial. The customer gets good service, while the business gets more income and a better reputation.

In contrast, since UX designers focus on the user, any business benefits are more of a by-product.

Testing

UX design mainly involves usability testing. Usability testing ensures the product or service is intuitive and easy to use in the way the designer intends. It involves observing real people using a product. For instance, watching people use a work schedule app to see if they get confused or frustrated. UX designers can then use these insights to make improvements.

CX testing looks beyond usability to create a holistic view of the customer experience. This usually involves studying key metrics and mapping the customer journey with diary studies, interviews, and surveys. Once CX designers understand the current customer journey, they can look at ways to optimize it.

Where do CX and UX meet?

Although CX and UX are different, they’re also similar. They both focus on improving the customer experience, and without one, the other won’t succeed. If a user isn’t happy with a product, they may not use that company again. And if a customer isn’t happy with a company’s buying process, they won’t buy the product in the first place.

Companies should use CX and UX together to optimize the whole customer experience. After all, 64% of customers stopped doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience. In contrast, a great customer experience increases customer satisfaction. This in turn improves brand reputation and revenue.

It’s important businesses pay attention to customer feedback, including how customers use, buy, upgrade, and troubleshoot a product. As we’ve said, a great product isn’t enough unless a customer also has a great lifetime experience. For this reason, many companies are now looking to hire designers with skills in both CX and UX.

Takeaway 

It should now be clear that although there are differences, UX is an integral part of CX. For businesses to succeed in an increasingly competitive market, they should use CX and UX together as part of their business optimization strategies.

Designers that consider both CX and UX will not only create better products. They’ll also enhance the customer experience at all stages of the customer journey.

The post CX and UX: Where They Differ And Where They Meet appeared first on noupe.

Data breaches can cost businesses thousands and, in some cases, may even result in legal action. In this article, we’ll share tips for keeping your website data breach free. 

A data breach can be catastrophic for a business or an individual and can lead to a loss of reputation, a loss of revenue, and even legal action depending on the extent of the issues. 

In this article, we’ll explain what a data breach is, including when a company gets a GDPR data breach notification, and how to keep your website data breach free. 

What is a Data Breach?

In 2016, the European Union adopted the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation which was introduced to better regulate the collation, handling, storage, and sharing of personal data. 

A data breach occurs when the integrity of the data held is compromised and, therefore, falls into the wrong hands or is at risk of doing so. Breaches can occur accidentally or through deliberate cyber-attacks and can mean that private information, including financial and medical details, may be distributed without consent. 

In the case of a data breach due to cybercrime, the data holding company may be ‘held to ransom by attackers who will threaten to release the data unless a financial payment is made. 

Since the introduction of GDPR, data controllers are required, by law, to report any data breach to the supervisory authority within 72 hours or face severe penalties – this is known as a GDPR notification. 

Protecting Your Website from Data Breaches

Anybody who collates and stores data has a responsibility to keep it safe and, in this section, we’ll run through ways in which you can do just that: 

Use of High-Quality Firewalls

First and foremost, you need to make sure that you have a high-quality and comprehensive firewall in place to protect the data that you’re holding. This should be standard for any company and is the first defense against cybercrime. 

Multiple Authentications 

Many businesses make the mistake of still only requiring employees to use a simple password in order to access systems. This is inadequate when all employees are using company equipment and working from the same office – but is so much more dangerous when employees are working remotely some of the time. 

To protect data, it’s vital that you introduce two-step authentication – i.e. a password and a code sent by text or, a password plus a fingerprint, in order to prevent data breaches. 

Secure Sockets Layer

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) adds another layer of protection to your website. This essentially encrypts data and information when it’s in transit, preventing unauthorized people from accessing and reading it. 

Regular Security Audits

Get into the habit of having regular security audits performed on your system to make sure that all is well. By doing this regularly, you have a much better chance of catching any problems early. 

Install Malware on Devices

In 2022, we all use more devices than ever before and that includes employees. Plugging different devices into computers and laptops can significantly increase the risk of data breaches. 

Therefore, it’s a good idea to install malware that will scan each device before allowing use. 

Education and GDPR Training

Web security should be the responsibility of each and every employee and, as such, investing in proper education and training is vital in giving employees ownership of data protection and keeping your systems safe. 

Updating Software and Plugins

Many people are guilty of installing software and plugins and then forgetting about them. In reality, these need to be updated regularly in order to be effective and secure. Hackers and bots are able to make light work of breaching outdated software, so this is a really good habit to get into. 

Use Separate Devices for Work and Personal Matters

We spend a huge amount of time online both at work and in our spare time, and problems can occur when employees are using the same device for both. 

While there may not be any significant issues with employees downloading movies and other content on their own devices in their own time, these can introduce viruses and other nasties into work devices which can quickly compromise the data held. 

Banning Social Media on Work Devices 

It’s incredibly common for employees to log onto their Facebook or Instagram page during their lunch break or downtime but, as with downloads, this can be bad news for work systems. 

While it may seem a bit ‘big brother’ to ban access to social media on work computers, it’s a good idea to put security settings in place to limit the risk of data breaches. 

 Backup your backup

Information and data should be backed up on a very regular basis as we all know, however, this isn’t always enough. Adding an extra backup layer is a great way of making sure that, should a breach occur, your IT personnel will be able to identify where and when the issue happened and get to work on minimizing the damage. 

Don’t cut corners when it comes to cyber security… 

When thinking about your website security, think of your website address as an actual physical address and the web host as the property’s plot. Then think about the lengths that you would go to, to protect that property and everything inside it. 
This is exactly what you need to be doing to keep your website and the data stored within it secure. By following the tips in this article, it is possible to keep yours and your customers’ data locked up tight and avoid reputational loss and possible legal action.

The post Top Tips for Keeping Your Website Data Breach Free appeared first on noupe.

In the past few years, online reviews have played an important role in how consumers decide where to shop, what to buy, and who to trust. These reviews and ratings serve as the third-party confirmation that will influence the purchasing decision of many consumers who do not want to take any risks when it comes to the quality of goods and services they are getting. 

This has left an impact on companies around the world as they fight to protect their online reputation and that of their business. If a company is not careful, its brand can easily be tarnished by a few false claims made against it on review sites. To keep companies from being damaged by negative feedback on the Internet, online reputation management strategies must be implemented. 

In this article, we will talk about online reputation management and how it works to protect a company’s name online through social media and review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. 

The Power of Online Reviews

These days, it seems like everyone is reading online reviews before making a purchase. And it makes sense! After all, why would you buy something yet unseen when you can easily find out what other people think about it? 

Yes, the sad truth is that online reviews can either make or break a company. They not only give potential customers an idea of how well products work, but they also influence the buying decisions of others. 

In fact, one study found that 98% of shoppers read product reviews before purchasing anything on the internet! Needless to say, this is more than enough reason for companies to worry about their online reputation. 

And now, more than ever, there are a number of ways for businesses to help manage their reputation and monitor their reviews in order to keep them positive. One way companies do this is by hiring customer service professionals who are dedicated to responding quickly and appropriately whenever they receive complaints or inquiries from consumers via social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. 

But what’s with this trust issue that online consumers need to know what others have to say about a certain product first before trying it?

The Internet’s Trust Issue

A recent study shows that only 42% of people trust the internet, and that number has been on the decline since 2012. Why is this? 

Well, there are a few reasons. The first is that we’re constantly bombarded with information, and it’s hard to know what to believe. The second is that we’re seeing more and more instances of fake news and hoaxes. And the third is that we’re becoming more aware of data breaches, cybercrime, and other serious incidents that can affect a company in ways we can’t imagine, such as issues with Mac terminal permission denied resulting in becoming less efficient and unproductive. 

We see big companies like Target getting hacked, bank accounts getting compromised, or personal info being sold on the dark web. These things might not affect us directly right now, but they show us how vulnerable we can be when sharing so much online. 

It’s not surprising why, as consumers search for products and services online before making a purchase decision, many turn to reviews for guidance as well as ratings from other shoppers. 

According to statistics, about seventy-seven percent of people say that customer reviews influence their decision when shopping online; eighty-five percent say they read customer reviews in order to make an informed purchase decision; and ninety-eight percent have found customer reviews helpful at some point in their purchase journey.

The Impact of Online Reviews on Businesses

Businesses need to be proactive in monitoring what is being said about them online. This is because online reviews can have a significant impact on a consumer’s decision-making process. 

Say you are looking for a new restaurant or you are considering buying an item from an online retailer, what you read in the reviews might influence your final decision. Right?

The point is not to scare businesses but rather to illustrate that they should stay up-to-date with their online reputation and monitor what people are saying about them before the damage becomes irreparable.

As a business owner, what should you do when you get an unfavorable review?

If you get a negative review, the first thing you should do is take a deep breath. It can be tempting to respond immediately, but it’s important to keep a level head. Once you’ve calmed down, reach out to the customer privately and try to resolve the issue. If that doesn’t work, consider responding publicly. But be sure to keep it professional! Finally, keep monitoring your online reputation and proactively managing it. We will share more ways to handle these reviews below, though.

Harnessing the Power of Online Reviews

As a business owner, it’s important to understand how online reviews can impact your bottom line. If your business has negative reviews, that could be costing you sales. 

One study found that for every one-star increase in review rating, revenue increased by 5%. So, what should you do if your business has negative reviews? 

There are two possible solutions: 

1. Reach out to unhappy customers and ask them for a new review.
2. Improve the quality of service you provide and wait for the happy customers to post their own reviews. 

All this comes to proper online reputation management. So, how do you effectively and professionally manage your online reputation?

Some Helpful Online Reputation Management Strategies You Can Use to Protect Your Brand

Simply put, online reputation management (ORM) is the process of controlling what shows up when someone Googles your business. This means that to be successful in business, you need more than just good products and services – you also need a solid reputation as well. 

When your reputation is damaged by slanderous comments or unfair allegations, however, it can become difficult to continue to do business. If you want to find effective online reputation management strategies that will help protect your brand, here are some online reputation management strategies that can give you the peace of mind you deserve.

1. Build Trust

When it comes to online reputation management, one of the most important things you can do is build trust with your audience. But how do you do that? 

Here are some strategies you can use to build and maintain trust: 

• Get Personal: Share stories from personal life or thoughts on current events. Show people who you really are and share things they will find interesting.
• Answer Questions: Be honest when answering questions about your brand and create an environment where others feel comfortable asking questions.
• Use Humor: A little humor goes a long way in building trust! Share amusing photos or videos of yourself at work. We all have our bad days, but showing a lighter side helps break down barriers.
• Respond Quickly: When people have questions or complaints, respond quickly so they know you’re listening and take their comments seriously.
• Be Kind: One thing we should all strive for is kindness in everything we do.

2. Monitor for Negative Reviews

One of the most important online reputation management strategies is monitoring for negative reviews. You can do this by setting up Google Alerts for your brand name and key terms related to your business. This will help you stay on top of any negative press so you can address it quickly. 

It’s also a good idea to set up alerts with websites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon, and more. Additionally, you should keep an eye out for bad press through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Sometimes, people also post negative reviews or bad experiences they had with your company in public forums such as these. So, even if there isn’t a review that mentions your company specifically, if it’s in public view then it could have an impact on your brand overall.

3. Don’t Fret Over What You Cannot Control

No matter how great your product or service is, there will always be people who are unhappy with it. And in the age of the internet, those people can make their voices heard loud and clear. But don’t fret – there are things you can do to protect your brand’s reputation online. 

Start by taking a deep breath and accepting that there’s nothing you can do about what’s out there on the web. Now, find out where they’re talking about you. Figure out what they’re saying (or better yet, what they’re not saying). Look for gaps in feedback that may indicate a need for some additional explanation or elaboration on an issue related to your company’s products or services. 

If one customer had a negative experience with one of your employees, but others were satisfied, for example, maybe this person just needs some better customer service training instead of being fired from his job. If a customer claims he was told something different from what was written on the website, maybe he misread something because he didn’t scroll down far enough before giving up.

4. Have a Crisis Management Plan

It’s important to have a crisis management plan in place before you need it. That way, you can be prepared for anything that comes your way. Here’s how to create an effective crisis management plan: 

• Closely monitor and control who has access to your online accounts.
• Set reputation management alerts so you can proactively respond to negative feedback.
• Listen to your customer’s complaints and respond accordingly.
• Establish a digitized communication plan.
• Draft generic communication statements so online reputation managers can quickly respond when needed.
• Spread positive news to further the chances of people reading good stories about your company.

5. Respond Quickly and Professionally

Most importantly, you need to respond professionally and as fast as you can. You really have to be aware of what’s being said about your business online. Again, you can do this by setting up Google Alerts for your brand name and key executives. This will notify you anytime your brand is mentioned online so you can take action quickly if necessary.

When you receive negative feedback, sure, an apology is appropriate. And this is important even if you know you have done nothing wrong. It’s just that, sometimes, those negative feedback is triggered by mistakes or uncontrollable events.

And, of course, you can’t control how people talk about your brand. But you can always control how to respond. A little sympathy and understanding go a long way to ease the emotions somehow. If the reviewer complained about poor service, you could always apologize that they had an awful experience. Your message can be as simple as, “We’re sorry that you have to go through that.”

6. Be Active on Social Media

Also, make sure your website and social media profiles are up-to-date and professional. This will help create a positive first impression for anyone who comes across your brand online.

Monitoring competitor activity online is another way you can protect your reputation by making sure nothing damaging goes viral before it impacts your business negatively.

7. Create and Publish Positive Content

It also helps to be proactive in creating positive content about your brand. This could include blog posts, social media posts, or even press releases. By getting out in front of negative content, you can help shape the conversation about your brand. If it’s too late and someone has already posted something damaging about your company, reach out with an apology. Apologizing is always better than ignoring the situation. 

In Summary

The rise of online reviews has made the business world a much more competitive place, and consumers are constantly reading online reviews to help them decide which products and services to purchase, which hotels and restaurants to stay at, and which doctors to visit. 

Online reputation management has become an important aspect of marketing for any company or individual that relies on consumer traffic to make their living, and knowing how online reviews affect consumer decisions can help you leverage your review scores in your favor.

The post Online Reputation Management: How Online Reviews Influence a Consumer’s Decision appeared first on noupe.

Google’s job is to help people find content on the web.

Not just any content, however. It must be relevant and a good match to the search query.

Have you ever tried searching for important information and the sites that come up are just full of badly written blogs or articles? Or, you click a link only to be annoyed by the pop-ups and ads that make it impossible to easily locate the actual info that you are looking for. 

Sure, you need to use keywords so Google can match you with the appropriate user search. However, Google is also looking for something of quality using important SEO fundamentals. 

This is where TrustRank comes into play.

Understanding TrustRank

When you start to make blogs, Google needs to trust you before it can promote your blog.

So, it uses TrustRank, a system that grades sites in terms of their authority, trustworthiness, and overall quality. It is Google’s and other search engines’ way to combat web spam. The higher your website’s TrustRank, the better it’s likely to perform in search results. 

How does it work?

TrustRank is calculated using the distance between the page on your website and a “seed site”. This is a trusted and known internet source chosen by Google and honored with a perfect 10 Trust Score. The closer your website is to the seed site, the higher your trust score.

Moz illustrated the process like this:

So, can you measure your TrustRank?

Almost, thanks to Moz.

They developed a metric system called MozTrust. It is the closest thing you can try to measure your TrustRank directly. It may not be perfect, but it is a helpful starting point.

Why TrustRank Matters?

TrustRank is not an official term from Google. In fact, it was built by Hector Garcia-Molina and Zoltan Gyongyi, Standford University researchers, in collaboration with Yahoo!.

But it is a real thing. It gives credibility and weight to how trust plays a vital role in both virtual and real-world relationships. A healthy relationship is built on trust, after all. 

If consumers trust a business, both parties enjoy mutual benefits. 

With regards to web content, trust helps evaluate if the “trust signals” a website has is legitimate.

For these reasons, you should ensure your website has a high trust rank. 

How to Improve Your Google TrustRank

How can you optimize TrustRank and stay on Google’s good side?

1. Optimizing On-Page Trust

You will need to make sure that your web pages themselves are trustworthy and speak of quality. This is the first place that Google will look at and determine if you’re worth promoting.

So…

How do you improve your on-page optimization in line with TrustRank?

Linking To Authority Sites

What better way to show you’re trustworthy than buddy-ing up with an already trustworthy site?

When you link out to other authority sites, you’re essentially showing Google that you are referencing authority sources and building up trust in its eyes. Also, when you reference authority sources, people can learn more from these trusted sources and can verify your claims.

Linking out is a fundamental on-page SEO tactic. But doing so with an authority site garners attention from TrustRank.

In addition, a study found a significant correlation between linking out to authority sites and a higher Google ranking.

So, what would Google consider to be an authority and trusted source? The answer is any domain that ends in .edu or .gov. These websites synonymous with authority and linking to them shows that you are seriously reliable.

Or you can also link out to journal studies, like this one:

As you can see, the page includes all its references. This ensures that they are not making claims without backing them up with facts. These links lead to recognized and high-quality journals hosted at .org and .gov domains that create credibility and greatly improve their TrustRank score.

Mind Your Bounce Rate

Google’s RankBrain algorithm now places user interaction as a ranking factor. If people are not spending more than a couple of seconds on your website, then this does not communicate anything positive to Google. Such behavior will negatively affect your TrustRank score.

Think about it, if your website offers trustworthy information, then why is everyone in a rush to leave?

Make sure to keep an eye on your bounce rate and the time on page rate in your Google Analytics. Then, do whatever it takes to keep people sticking to your website like superglue. Here are some tips:

•  Ensure ease of navigation
• Optimize page load time, making sure that your site loads up quickly.
• Ensure readability
• Include sources and references. People are more likely to stay on sites with well-researched, accurate, and quality content.
• Make sure that your site is device responsive
• Include visuals and visually appealing graphical objects

While traditionally thin content was found on many websites, this is no longer the case. With Google’s Panda algorithm, sites that have little to no content are penalized. So, if you want to rank on Google and improve your TrustRank score, make sure that the content on your site is high quality, well researched, and informative.

This can be implemented on any site in any industry. For example, Unscrambled Words, a site that unscrambles words for people, not only provides a great service, but also has in-depth information on its homepage that helps people understand how it works.

With information about what a word unscrambler is, the benefits of using such as a word solver, information on how to use it, the rules for playing scrabble, and much more, this provides everything that a user needs to know about the site, without having to search for it elsewhere.

Copyright, Terms, Privacy Policy

These are the lengthy, boring pages that you should take seriously.

The fact that Google actually pays attention to these so-called boring pages should be enough to convince you to update that copyright notice to 2020.

There’s a fair amount of consensus that including these policies, terms, and copyright information all means further credibility to your website.

Plus, if you’re using Google Analytics, then a Privacy page is a must on your website, according to Google Analytics Terms of Service, Section 7:

Content on these pages actually protects you from any legal liability, so don’t even think of ditching these lengthy terms and notice. Since the beginning Google has been notorious for having lengthy contracts and terms and conditions.

2.  Fix Your Domain

Fact: Google is a domain registrar.

It is not because it wants to sell domain hosting (at least for now), but it wants to look at your WHOIS information to determine who are the registered assignees or users of your website’s registered details such as the domain name.   

When approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) like Google, you can check WHOIS information all day long. This is so, big G can once again ensure that you are indeed trustworthy.

So, here’s how you can gain more trust from your domain info:

Go Public

There’s no real company with private WHOIS. When a company has nothing to hide, why would it keep its WHOIS a secret?

Here’s Microsoft WHOIS, for instance:

Register Domain for 2+ Years

Google wants to know if you are in this for the long-term. Although the debate of domain registration in SEO hasn’t reached a conclusion yet, it is something that cannot possibly hurt your site and might even help you.

Include WHOIS info on your Contact page

In order to really show Google that you’re all about openness and transparency, you can place your WHOIS address and phone on your privacy notice page or contact page. Doing so is another signal telling Google that you actually have an “office” somewhere.

These may seem a minor detail, but which site would you trust more: 

• A site with private WHOIS, no contact page and is expiring in 3 months, or
• A website with a real phone number and address that matches the site’s official contact info, plus a 5 year or so domain registration.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll surely pick the latter. Choosing a domain name that’s perfect for your business leads to trust signals that improve your Google ranking.

3.  Be a Brand. Act Like a Brand.

Google has been into brands recently.

It makes sense that Google prefers a brand name for your URL instead of “howtobeacontentcreatorandearnmoney.com”, right?

So, how can a small business look like a big-time brand?

Improve your brand signals. No matter which online business you started with, you should ensure that your brand is perceived as important:

• Produce content that showcases your brand’s expertise. It doesn’t matter if it is written, video, screencast, or audio. Your product type will determine the channel type.
• Get press coverage to build authority
• Become a guest contributor to influential media outlets
• Build your brand’s social media following 

Keep in mind that Google is a website ranking machine, and it can identify ranking by reading signals. So, to identify brands, you need to give them online brand signals.

One more thing to note, Google takes brands very seriously. Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, even said, “Brands are the solution, not the problem. Brands are how you sort out the cesspool”.

So, let’s help you step out of the cesspool, clean you up, and make you look like a big-time brand.

Branded Site/Domain Name

Don’t focus on the phrase match or exact match domains. The EMD update, short for Exact Match Domain, has made it very clear that exact match domains will not do you any good.

Rocking a branded domain screams “unique brand” and that you’re not just some SEO-freak trying to rank for a keyword.

Active Social Media

All big-time brands are active on social media platforms including Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the like. And even if you’re just a small-time entrepreneur growing your business, you still should get your social accounts up and rolling as it helps with brand awareness.

Don’t Skimp On The About Us Page

You might think that this is one of those pages that users don’t bother looking at, but it matters anyway, at least to Google.

And real brands have lengthy About Us pages that talk about the company, mission and vision statement, and even the people that keep it running. So, make an epic and thorough About Us page that tells your brand story.

With tools like WordPress or Clickfunnels you are able to build a great looking About Us page fast.

Brand Name as Anchor Text

Naturally, people link to brands with brand name anchor text. So, if your website is SEOPowerLine.com, then you better get some links with the “SEO Power Line” anchor text.

Branded Searches

People search for brands.

Awesome videos? YouTube.

Quality furniture? Ikea.

Beauty and cosmetics? Maybelline or Loreal.

SEO practices? Neil Patel.

Best Webinar Platform? Zoom.

4.  Get Quality Links

So, previously we talked about how linking out to trustworthy sites can improve your TrustRank score. But what about receiving a link from one?

This is the best way to catapult you up the ranking ladder.

Like everything in the Google world, trust revolves around the links. And you will need to work really hard to get quality links from credible sites. This way you can level up your trustworthiness and get more juice for your website.

Basically, getting a link from the highly trusted “seed sites” (Google’s handpicked sites with 10/10 TrustRank score) is the best. But, if you receive a link on a website, that has a link on a website, that has a link from these seed sites, then you still get a lot of SEO juice from that.

Another good example is to link on an industry site or a news site. Google said that news sites are highly reliable, particularly the sites from Google News.

Bottom line? Do what you can to get links from highly trusted sites.

How?

• Do guest posts on sites with a higher Domain Rating in your niche.
• Hire a freelance SEO specialist.
• Use LinkedIn to do some influencer marketing.
• Use press releases to get a Google News placement.
• Ask your university for a story in the student paper.

Final Thoughts

You should now have a better understanding of Google TrustRank and why it is so important. These are just some of the best ways to improve your TrustRank score. There is so much more to it, but a lot of it comes down to common sense.

Every time you want to update your website or publish an article, ask yourself this: “Does it make my site more trustworthy and credible or not?”

And perhaps the best question to ask is: “Does this prove any value to my audience?”

Because at the end of the day, Google only wants its user to have a quality search experience so that they will keep using it.

So, that means that it needs to provide sites offering quality experiences by relying on various ranking factors such as TrustRank.

So, start improving your Google TrustRank today using the methods mentioned above, and you will soon see the fruit of your labor.

Now that you have read all about TrustRank, let’s hear it from you.

Have you tried to optimize your website for TrustRank?

How did it go?

Let’s hear it from the comment section below!

The post How to Improve Your Google TrustRank and Rank Higher on SERP appeared first on noupe.