Take control of your story: how to manage brand reputation in a digital world. Originally presented at Social Media for Corporate Communications Conference in NYC in June 2016.

1. Take Control Of Your Story:
How to Manage Brand
Reputation in A Digital World
Nataliya Yakushev, Digital marketing and branding strategist

2. How to Manage Your Brand Reputation in
A Digital World
Agenda
 Brand vs Reputation
 What defines reputation? Reputation vs Brand
 Anatomy of Google search results
 Online Reputation Elements
 Reputation for B2B
 Reputation Management: Best assets forward
 Build and protect

3. What does ‘Reputation’ really mean?
What’s the different between Brand and Reputation?
 Brand and reputation are tightly linked but not synonymous.
 Brands generate desire, aspiration and differentiation and motivates buyers to
pay more
 Reputation is the sum total of your track record.
 Build brands to get the most return from them, but protect reputation
 Brands are proactive. Reputation is defensive.

4. Brand vs Reputation
Reputation in the “pre-Internet” era…
Remember these?

5. Reputation vs Brand

6. Reputation vs Brand
What is Reputation now?
What you heard and remembered about the brand

7. Reputation vs Brand
• 67% of Consumers are Influenced by
Online Reviews
• 88% Of Consumers Trust Online
Reviews As Much As Personal
Recommendations

8. Anatomy of Google Search Results
 The first top 10 links define your brand creating an impression
Q: Best Place to hide
a dead body?
A: 2nd page of Google Results

9. Anatomy of Google Search Results
What Customers Expect and WANT to See:
 Mobile- Friendly Website
 Social Media Assets
 Overly positive ratings on review sites (star ratings are ultimate eye magnets)
 Third party validations (positive press)
 Transparency (easily available contact information)

10. Anatomy of Google Search Results
What Customers DO NOT Want to See but will be
looking for:
 Negative Reviews
 Negative Press
 Negative Social Media Comments
 Businesses lose as many as 22% of customers
when just one negative article
 2 negative articles: increases to 59.2%.
 4 of more? You’re likely to lose 70% of potential
customers.

11. Online Reputation Elements
Reputation
Website
Social
Media
Forums
Review
Sites
Press
Ratings
Wikis
This is your “Stack”

12. Online Reputation Elements
Social Media Assets
 Make sure your social media accounts actually appear on
Google Search
 Few Brands take advantage of Google Graph Capabilities
Structured Data
Markup

13. Online Reputation Elements
Press
 There will always be a mix of positive/negative press
 Understand and recognize the difference between “in news now” and “in Google
results forever” - predict what will stick around and help positive links to stay
Authority of domain
# of social interactions
# of comments

14. These news links
most likely will
disappear from
the first page in 2-
3 weeks

15. Online Reputation Elements
Addressing Negative Reviews
 Can’t suppress review sites - they are search engines themselves
 Create your own - Explore star rating plugins/widgets that will allow you to display
star reviews next to your website
 Respond to negative comments when possible.
 Encourage happy customer reviews

16. Online Reputation Elements
Addressing Negative Social Media Comments
 Know when to seek professional help (negative comments vs full blown crisis) –
crisis management firms can assist
 Keep in mind that social media negativity has short shelf life
 Separate official brand and support social accounts if possible

17. Online Reputation Elements
Wikis
 Your Wikipedia page will always rank #1
 Some people only go to Wiki
 Google results can be changed. Wiki’s cannot.
 People go to Wiki for factual information.
 If you can – avoid creating a Wiki page.
 It becomes a permanent repository of bad news.

18. Online Reputation for B2B Companies
Does Online Reputation Matter for B2B Companies?
 55% of the B2B buyers search for information on social media* Biznology Report
2016
 Potential B2B customers aren’t just looking for information, they’re looking for a
solid brand identity / Trust.
 B2B buyers also look for outside verification.
 Is your business being covered by the top thought leaders in your industry?

19. Protecting Online Reputation
Steps to take to protect your online reputation:
 Monitor the first two pages of search results for a Google query of a company
name or product.
 Monitor and analyze the current sentiment of reviews on popular review sites
related to your business.
 Ensure that all of the positive press about your brand is properly promoted – on
your own social media platforms and posted on your own site as a link – not as
reprint or a PDF.
 If negative press exists, there are solutions for improvement. Your brand may
benefit by highlighting and/or generating positive press and reviews about the
product or service through SEO and ORM efforts

20. Anatomy of Google Search Results
 Describe Your Brand in 10 best Links
 What should be on your first page? What is your “Dream Page” ?
 Put Your Best Foot Forward - what are your company’s best digital assets?
 Make a “mock up” of what you want your customers to see
 Build up and optimize these digital assets to get them on the first page of Google
 Invest in SEO

21. Key Take Away’s
 Brand And Reputation are like Music and Lyric- one impacts the other.
 Google is where digital Reputations are made or broken
 Make Google your Reputation “Canvas”
 Google never forgets – but it can be persuaded
 Optimize all of your digital assets
 Reviews will be good and bad – deal with it.
 People listen to other people – not your sales pitch
 First Page of Google is your “Store Front”

22. Nataliya Yakushev
http://nataliyayakushev.com