A good company reputation helps build customer trust in your brand and products, but not all entrepreneurs actively work on it – and even fewer do it right. In this article, I'll show you how to manage your online reputation without spending a fortune!
Many entrepreneurs, particularly those running small businesses, often don't consider the importance of their company's reputation. Often, they don't realize how crucial reputation is to their business. Today, you'll learn:
- Why online reputation matters for businesses
- How to manage reputation easily and cheaply – 5 methods
- How else to work on business reputation – 2 more advanced and costly methods
1 Why online reputation matters for businesses
One way to create a great product or business is by borrowing and copying. Here's how it works: you take an existing product, study its target audience, identify ways to improve it, and launch your own business offering the same product – but without the flaws or with added appealing features.
Most entrepreneurs would like to stop at this point, but in reality, it's only the beginning. Once your product becomes successful with customers, a dozen competitors will appear, eager to copy it.
Competition and rivalry are normal occurrences. It's crucial to continually improve your product to stay attractive to users. However, in practice, we often see that all the major players in the market tend to have similar unique selling propositions (USPs). So how do customers decide which product to buy in such cases?
For many people, the best way to find a service provider is to ask friends or relatives for advice. If no one is available to ask, people start searching for information about the company online.
Your goal is to ensure that potential customers find information about your company that builds trust and encourages them to make a purchase.
It's important to understand that reputation management may not lead directly to a surge in sales, but it does boost trust in your business, increasing conversion rates in other channels like contextual or targeted advertising.
2 How to manage reputation easily and cheaply – 5 methods
Now, let's move on to specific methods that are easy to implement without significant financial investment but can significantly strengthen your reputation. These methods require your time and effort or the time of your colleagues, but the results can be very effective.
Method 1: Publications in industry and top media;
Method 2: Speaking at events;
Method 3: Managing online reviews and website testimonials;
Method 4: Social Media Management;
Method 5: Blogging on platforms like Quora, Medium or LinkedIn.
Method 1: Publications in industry and top media
This method has stood the test of time and is one of the most effective ways to build trust in your brand. How does it work? You write articles for media outlets, blogs, online magazines and then create a "Media About Us" section on your website where you post links to these publications. You can also ask the media outlets where you've been featured to say a few words about your company. This strengthens your market position and draws the attention of new customers.
Benefit: you get additional traffic to your website from a high-quality source (which is vital for SEO) and increase the overall conversion rate of your site's traffic by building trust.
For instance, in Singapore, one of the largest e-commerce platforms, Shopee, regularly publishes articles in major outlets like The Straits Times and Channel NewsAsia. These publications highlight their achievements and innovations, helping them maintain market leadership.
There are two ways to get featured in the media:
- Prepare a list of topics you could cover in an article. Find suitable industry-specific media or platforms to publish your piece, such as AsiaOne or Tech in Asia, and contact the editorial team directly to propose an engaging topic or list of topics.
This method only seems complicated, but in reality, it takes little time, and most industry media are interested in useful and unique content.
- Use services like Connectively (formerly known as Help a Reporter Out ‘HARO’) or JournoRequests to connect with journalists. On these platforms, journalists post requests for comments or information for their articles, and you can respond to requests that align with your expertise. Providing a clear and professional response significantly increases your chances of being featured, helping you build your reputation as an expert and enhancing brand awareness.
Publishing in reputable sources elevates your status and credibility. It also expands your audience reach and can improve your website's search engine ranking, as media outlets frequently link back to your site.
Method 2: Speaking at events
Don't underestimate the power of public speaking. Participating in conferences and forums allows you to speak directly to your target audience and share your knowledge. This not only strengthens trust in your brand, but also increases your visibility in the market.
However, I don't recommend that new entrepreneurs organize events independently, especially with the aim of boosting trust or increasing sales if you aren't sure it will work well.
t's much easier to become a speaker at an existing conference (whether online or offline). All you need is expertise and a few days to prepare a presentation. Speaking at a well-known event garners much more trust from potential clients, and the organizers ensure that you can focus solely on your presentation. Most conferences today, even offline ones, are recorded: you can ask for a recording (or photos if no video is taken) and feature it on your website.
How to get featured at events:
- Find events in your industry, whether online or offline, such as FinTech Asia or the Marketing Interactive Summit.
- Prepare a presentation that will be useful and interesting to your audience.
- After the presentation, ask the organizers for a recording that you can feature on your website or social media.
Speaking at events demonstrates your expertise and involvement in the industry's development. This builds additional trust in your brand and attracts new clients.
Method 3: Managing online reviews and website testimonials
It's crucial that users find information about your company when searching for "Your company name reviews". According to the BrightLocal Consumer Review Survey 2024, 50% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family, and 81% of users rely on Google to find reviews. The absence of reviews or a significant number of negative reviews can greatly reduce trust in your company.
Regularly ask customers to leave reviews on platforms that are popular in your region. Focus on platforms with good search engine ranking. In Southeast Asia, Google Reviews, Facebook and local platforms like Shopee Reviews or Zalora Reviews for e-commerce are particularly relevant.
Some customers find it challenging to write detailed reviews – help them by asking the right questions. My list, which I always recommend to clients, looks like this:
- Why did you choose our company?
- What do you think sets our product apart from others?
- What qualities of our specialists would you highlight?
- What were your impressions of interacting with our staff?
- Can you describe any specific situations where our staff helped you? What stood out to you?
- What valuable results did working with our company bring to your business? What do you value most about our work?
- In what scenarios would you recommend our company? For which tasks would you recommend us (website development, advertising, analytics etc.)?
Ideally, ask these questions personally or over the phone, record the responses and send the finished review to the customer to publish on the relevant platform.
Tip: Use automation to manage reviews. With a CRM you can easily set up automatic emails asking for reviews after an order is completed. This makes the job easier for your managers if you have a large number of orders. However, be cautious with this approach if you work in the premium segment: exclusivity and a personal touch are key here. A thoughtful gift after a deal, along with a review request, is much more appropriate.
Don't forget to add a review section on your website. Video testimonials or reviews on official company letterhead are particularly effective. Another great method is to feature reviews or testimonials from well-known individuals in your field. Sometimes, quality service is all it takes to get these reviews.
Method 4: Social Media Management
Social media is a powerful tool for engaging with your audience. It is important to create quality content and be active in responding to user comments and questions.
The first rule of social media management is no fake followers or bots, the second rule is absolutely no fake followers! This is important because social media algorithms will start working against your company, assuming your content is uninteresting or irrelevant. Forget about boosting your first 1,000 followers with bots.
Instead, remember that you are an expert in your field, with years of experience and many interesting topics for discussion, guides for your users, etc. Your first followers should be friends and loyal customers. Then, if you manage to create quality content (which is often the case if you create it yourself or hire a good agency), try running social media ads to attract more followers.
A great example of this is The Coffee House – a Vietnamese coffee chain. They started with simple, informative social media posts about the coffee-making process, the uniqueness of their cafes and special offers for loyal customers. Initially, their followers were regular visitors who appreciated the friendly atmosphere and quality service. Later, as their content gained more attention, The Coffee House launched small advertising campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, which helped them expand their audience and attract new customers.
How to do it:
- Develop a content plan for your social media. The content should be interesting and valuable for your audience.
- Regularly post, monitor audience engagement and interact with users by responding to their questions, comments and reviews.
Social media activity demonstrates your openness and engagement, helping build trust and loyalty among customers.
Method 5: Blogging on platforms like Quora, Medium or LinkedIn
This is particularly relevant for entrepreneurs offering services and looking to showcase their expertise in a specific area. Blogging on platforms like Quora, LiveJournal, Medium or LinkedIn allows you to share your knowledge and experience, helping you build a trusting relationship with your audience.
Blogging on Medium or LinkedIn not only allows you to create quality content but also to engage with a professional community, which strengthens your reputation. Medium is ideal for publishing expert articles and business reviews, while LinkedIn is excellent for expanding your professional network. Quora allows you to answer specific questions, which helps attract additional traffic to your blog.
Red2 Digital, a Vietnamese marketing company, uses LinkedIn actively to promote their services. They publish articles about digital marketing trends, share case studies and provide campaign optimization tips. This helps them retain customer interest and attract new orders through professional connections.
Similarly, iMoney, a Malaysian financial company, maintains an active blog on Medium, where they post articles on personal finance, loans and investments. This helps them build trust and attract new clients through expert content.
How to implement it:
- Sign up for the right platform: Medium, LinkedIn or Quora;
- Start publishing content that interests your audience and showcases your expertise. This can include tips, guides, analytics, trend analyses or case studies;
- Engage with users by answering comments, participating in discussions and sharing valuable links. This not only drives traffic, but also creates a positive impression of your brand.
A clear advantage of such blogs is their long-term impact on the audience. Your articles can continue to bring traffic and clients months or even years after publication.
3 How else to work on business reputation – 2 more advanced and costly methods
As your business reaches a certain level, it's essential not only to maintain, but also to enhance your reputation. To achieve this, you can use more advanced and costly methods that yield long-term results.
Method 6: Building a strong brand
Building a strong brand is a long and expensive process, but highly effective. Corporations spend millions of dollars on brand building and maintaining their image through media advertising and PR campaigns. This includes constant media campaigns and improving their image through quality content, PR and partnerships. Companies that invest in creating a recognizable brand eventually gain much more trust and loyalty from customers. However, this option is often out of reach for small businesses.
An example of successful branding is Viettel, a leading telecommunications company in Vietnam. They actively use media advertising and PR campaigns to promote their services. They invest heavily in TV advertising, online ads and public events like supporting socially significant projects. This helps them remain well-known and strengthen their reputation in the market.
Where to start:
- First, create a clear plan for how you will advertise your business and conduct PR campaigns. It should target people who may become your customers.
- Use various promotional methods: create TV ads, launch online campaigns, participate in public projects or support charity initiatives.
- The key is to always ensure that your brand looks consistent and clear across all channels through which you reach your audience. This helps create a cohesive and memorable image for them.
Media advertising (such as banners on websites, video ads, social media ads, YouTube and mobile apps) and PR campaigns help keep your brand visible and build consumer trust. Even if customers aren't ready to purchase right away, they will remember you when they decide to buy.
Method 7: Creating a video channel on YouTube or other platforms
To run a successful channel, you'll need a charismatic host, lots of time and money (starting at $1,000 and up – depending on how sophisticated your production is). In my opinion, trying to be both a blogger and an entrepreneur is not ideal. In most cases, it's more effective for an entrepreneur to collaborate with a blogger.
In any case, creating video content is one of the most powerful tools for building trust and increasing brand awareness. Video content allows you to demonstrate your products, services or business expertise in a clear and understandable form.
Video content has a high engagement rate and helps convey information more effectively to customers. It also improves the perception of your brand, as videos can illustrate real-life uses of your product.
Start with the first method, then gradually try several others and observe the results. Remember, your main KPI should be the conversion rate of your website traffic.