Blog post

The benefits of online reputation management

Businesses are facing a new frontier when it comes to online reputation management. One ill-considered post on the corporate social media page can quickly go viral. One foot wrong from an executive can quickly become a scandal. One miscalculated or tone-deaf advertisement can quickly escalate into global backlash. No doubt we all remember the infamous Pepsi commercial of 2017 featuring Kendall Jenner’s attempts to solve allegations of police violence?

Backlash or scandal are often short-term outcomes to isolated incidents. In years gone by, it may have been enough to dispel concerns via a post on social media, or issue a generic statement, and wait patiently for the whole thing to blow over.

Today’s media and corporate landscape, however, paints a different picture. Businesses are faced with a new paradigm of business reputation management, one that requires a data-driven and strategic approach to achieve business outcomes.

Reputation isn’t the result of an isolated corporate misjudgement, or indeed, achievement.

Reputation is a long-term and structured conceptual understanding, and requires taking a complete view on what people say, think, and feel about your organisation to make informed decisions impacting business outcomes.

Introducing Reputation Analysis

To that end, Isentia has expanded its suite of products and services with new Reputation Analysis, to enhance online reputation management. It represents the future of brand reputation monitoring and metrics, blending organic social media conversations and survey data to provide a more comprehensive and data-driven glimpse of corporate reputation to a business.

Isentia’s Reputation Analysis uses an integrated framework that examines the three most important drivers of organisational reputation: strategy, culture, and delivery. All three drivers are analysed independently, and the report includes an overall RepID score on a scale of -10 to +10 which integrates the strategy, culture and delivery scores, as well as providing detailed information on performance across each driver.

Reputation isn’t just an intangible concept – it’s a strategic imperative

Perception is everything. In a world where people are increasingly putting their dollars behind brands that mirror their values, a brand’s reputation translates to literal business outcomes by way of engagement, increased revenue, or referral power. Indeed, research shows nearly seven in 10 millennials actively consider company values when making a purchase.

Today’s empowered and connected consumers also have unequalled access to information, meaning they can take faster and more decisive action about where and who to shop or engage with. They also have more choice, meaning the decision to walk away from one company in favour of another is simpler than ever. And thanks to social media, their voices when they’re dissatisfied with a product, service, or company stance are louder and more widely felt.

A brand’s reputation taking a dive, even when played out in the public arena, isn’t always highly visible – and therein lies the imperative for data-driven insights into brand reputation management.

Turning apathy into advocacy

Reputation Analysis actually takes all of this a step further. It gives businesses a framework to spot opportunities to influence or change certain people’s behaviours and beliefs around your brand. Too frequently, reputation management software provides details about people sitting on the extreme – those who are passionate supporters of your brand, or, on the other end of the scale, the vocal critics.

Isentia understands that there’s unique opportunities to capitalise on and influence those in the middle – fence sitters, or those generally apathetic to your brand.

RepID, in this sense, doesn’t stop at a static understanding of online brand reputation with no clear way forward. Rather, it is designed to give marketers and business leaders the right tools to expand their advocacy base and increase reputation value, which ultimately leads to an uptick in online brand reputation.

Request a sample of Isentia’s Reputation Analysis here.

Read more about Why Reputation Matters here.