Internet marketing is so volatile that anything could happen. The cyber landscape is always ruled by people who never stop innovating. If you think SEO is the end game for your business, you’re mistaken. SEO can only carry your website so far. The current trend today is all about social media presence which represents a huge chunk on online reputation.
Social Media Presence vs Search Engines
How search engines work might seem so complicated to most people. But really, the whole system is just a bunch of codes that anyone can predict what will happen. This predictable algorithm forms the basis of search engine optimization or SEO. A typical SEO consultant will try to code your website and tailor your content so that it will be appealing to search engines.
Social media presence, on the other hand, depends on human nature. And on that part where things get unpredictable. There’s no telling what can set a person or a group of people off. That’s why online regulation management services (ORM) are logically the next step after SEO. Think of it as ‘public relations’ or internet PR.
Why Online Regulation Management Matters
The main driving force of online reputation is social media followed by reviews, news websites, blogs, vlogs and finally emails and other forms of communication. Basically, it’s how you’re talked about by users all over the world. With almost 4 billion people online (and growing rapidly!), publicity can make or break your brand. Let’s break down how each could affect your website.
1. Social Media Presence
A single person posting something about anything has the potential to become viral. Viral essentially means content that gets passed around through various forms of social media platforms all over the world. Viral news can be positive and negative and believe it or not, big companies like Nike, Apple, Amazon and more can be brought down by viral social media posts. That’s not counting celebrities where millions are already believing what they say.
2. Customer or User Reviews
Reviews are comments left by customers on your own website, on their own social media platforms or on other sites like blogs, review sites, blogs and more. Much like social media presence, a review can go viral. If someone complains about your product, it could be seen by other people who feel the same thing and then get passed around until it becomes viral.
3. News, Blogs, Vlogs and More
The rest also follow the same pattern of ‘virality’. Any juicy information or even mundane content will get passed around if it resonates with people.
Studies show that almost 92% of people believe what they read on the internet. Any information they come across can improve or destroy your website.
How to Improve your Online Reputation
Unfortunately, there is only so much that local SEO services or even organic SEO can do. A good company that only focuses on SEO won’t be able to help the internet image of your company. The best thing you can do is hire an SEO company with experience in online reputation management. They should at least have the following ORM strategies:
- Social media strategies
- Online advocacies
- Customer feedback rewards program
- Grassroots program
- PR strategies
- Public relations damage control
- Positive image campaign
Do You Need ORM?
You should take the next step as soon as possible and don’t get stuck with SEO only. Thankfully, SEO Global Inc. is one of those SEO companies that take online presence seriously. They have sound ORM strategies that go hand in hand with SEO to help boost your brand on the internet. Don’t just rely on traditional PR, get an ORM-capable SEO company on board and be a viral star on the internet.