Steve Thomas discusses best practices for managing your online reputation.

1. Managing your
Online Reputation
March 6, 2013
Presented By: Steve Thomas
President of The Net Impact

2. About the Speaker
Steve Thomas
President, The Net Impact
Vice President, Unidev
President, American Marketing Association-St. Louis
President, Missouri Venture Forum
With over 18 years of internet strategy
experience, Steve is a nationally recognized
speaker, author, and entrepreneur.
Contact me:
Twitter: @TNIMAN
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/stevenrthomas

3. True or False?
Everything you read on the internet is true.
True
False

4. EVERYTHING on the internet is TRUE

5. True or False?
You can “control” your online reputation.
True
False

6. You Can Control Your Online Reputation

7. Learn about your reputation
Learn about your reputation
– Google yourself
– Set up alerts
– Look at local reviews
– Don’t forget Yahoo and Bing
– Yelp yourself
– Online reviews
– Analytics

8. Google Alerts
Set up a Google Alert with your company name
and related terms.
– This ensures you are among the first to know if
someone makes a comment, negative or positive.

9. Google Alerts
Sample alert

10. Why Do I Care?
The benefits of a good online reputation
• Improved image for your brand
• Better first impressions
• More new customer inquiries
• Increase in conversions
• Reduced customer concerns

11. Why Do I Care?
7 out of 10
customers trust online reviews as much as personal
recommendations. (ReachLocal.com)

12. Reviews Can Kill
Sample negative review on Google

13. Reviews Can Help
Sample positive review on Google

14. Google +

16. Basic Sites to Monitor

17. Other Review Sources

18. Other Review Sources

19. Surveys
Surveying your customer after a job is done is a
great way to get feedback.
• If feedback is positive, encourage customers to review online
or publish the testimonial on your website.
• If the feedback is negative, try to rectify the situation before
the customer goes online.

20. Handling Positive Feedback
• If a customer gives a positive review, be sure
to provide them with positive
feedback, whether it be liking their comment
or responding.

21. Case Study: Hotel in St. Louis
I recently stayed at this property and was very pleased by the stay. They are a themed (not
like one of "those" hotels) but old English Inn. Bad weather forced me to stay there and I
enjoyed their large lobby with fireplace and friendly staff.
Great little morning continental breakfast area, but it was replenished by the desk staff and
would run out of things (may have been due to the snow day keeping staff away?). Overall a
funny place that I enjoyed. Nice little features and also a very small bar/lounge that had live
music (for a nice touch).
What great feedback! Thank you for taking the time to let us know about your
experience at The Cheshire. With the renovation of the property in 2011, our goal was to
keep the old English charm and yet add the modern comfort that we all enjoy. We are
very happy you've enjoyed each bit of it.
We hope to see you again under different circumstances especially on a sunny day.

22. True or False?
There is nothing you can do about a bad review.
True
False

23. Handling Negative Reviews

24. Handling Negative Reviews

25. How to Handle Negative Feedback
Acknowledge the comment
Address the issue
Respond politely
Provide solutions

26. Case Study: Hotel in St. Louis
While the lobby looks nice the rest of the hotel is dated. To get to the pool area is a task
in itself. The pool was very small and not kept up too well. The rooms were OK but did
have a musty smell to them. The breakfast served was marginal at best.
Thank you for staying with us and we truly value your feedback. I'm so sorry that you did not
enjoy the hotel's layout and I know that with a hotel of this size, some might find it a bit out
of the way to get to the pool. At the same time I am glad you were able to utilize it. As for
your room, I offer my sincere apology and I hope that if you do stay with us again you will
reach out to us and let us know that there is something we can do to make it better. Thank
you for your time and we hope you'll come stay with us next time you're in the area. Happy
New Year!

27. Scenario
Thanks for lying to me ABC company! The project took
longer than you said it would and now I have to look at an
unfinished floor! You are the worst!
Tom Jones
Hi Tom, We are sorry your project was not finished in the time
ABC Company estimated. We hate to have an unhappy customer. Let’s work
together to find a solution. Please call me, Jared, at 555-555-
5555 today and we can work something out.

28. Shelf Space Strategy
Basic Text Content Sites
• Website
• Google + (Places) / Bing
• News
• Articles
• Press releases
• Blog
• Wikipedia
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Linked In
• Directories like YP, Yelp…
Basic Image Content Sites
• Website
• News
• You Tube
• Vimeo
• Flickr
• Google
• Bing
• Pinterest

29. Shelf Space Strategy: Images

30. Shelf Space Strategy: Images

31. Shelf Space Strategy: Images
Product listing ads. Requires exporting
product feeds. Through Adwords

32. Learn About Your Reputation
The time to manage your reputation is
NOT after it has already been
damaged.
Because everything on the internet isn’t
true, you have to be constantly aware
of your brand reputation

33. Be Transparent
Customers will be more likely to trust
you if you are transparent. Own up to
mistakes by being honest and humble.

34. Shelf Space Strategy

35. Thank You!
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Twitter: @thenetimpact
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