The Value of Online Reputation Scores for Business Success

The transition of “Twitter” to “X” is known to all. But what many of us don’t know is how the online reputation score of this social networking and microblogging platform changed from -45 to -52 when Musk took over. And that brings to the table a bunch of questions.

• What is an online reputation score?
• How to check a brand’s online reputation score?
• Why is online reputation score monitoring reputation vital?
• How to improve your online reputation score as a brand?

This article can help you find answers to all questions and everything in between. Keep reading!

What Is An Online Reputation Score?

In simple words, an online reputation score is a numeral metric assigned to businesses establishing their reputation across the internet.

Think of it like your credit score. So, a good online reputation score means more consumer trust and credibility.

However, things are easier than done as building a positive online reputation score takes time and effort. From customer service to feedback, it takes all kinds.

The table below offers a comprehensive understanding of how a good and bad online reputation score affects brands.

Good Online Reputation Score	Bad Online Reputation Score
People always find accurate and reliable information when they search for the brand	People often find brand information that’s either irrelevant, outdated, or inaccurate
Helps build customer loyalty	Customers have trust issues and prefer choosing a competitor brand
Boosts customer retention	Negatively impacts sales volume and brand credibility

Industry reports suggest that 98% of consumers consider positive reviews as the benchmark before they make a purchase decision. Also, two out of three consumers discard brands where poor customer experience is reported.

No wonder, forward-thinking businesses are willing to spend dollars to have a viable online reputation management strategy.

How To Measure Online Reputation Score For Your Business?

One of the primary ways to measure the online reputation score is to use a social listening tool. Tools like Hootsuite insights, Mention, and BuzzSumo are specially designed to track and subsequently analyze any brand mentions across social media, podcasts, news sites, or elsewhere over a certain period.

The algorithms do the trick here to determine whether these mentions are positive, negative, or neutral. The information derived finally generates the overall online reputation score.

Let’s take an example to understand how a social listening tool works and how online reputation scores are generated.

A typical social listening tool has an operating scale marked from -100 to 100 (too bad to extremely good). Wherever there’s a positive mention, like a 5-star customer review, the scale grows and drops when hit by a negative mention.

Here’s an excerpt from a social listening tool in action that throws light on how an online reputation score affects a business.

“Harry and Megan”, a documentary drama, blew up negative scores for Netflix as critics called the show to be “bland,” and “unquestioned self-promotion”. Some people also believe the show aired at a rather odd time, shortly after the Queen’s demise.

Why Should Brands Regularly Monitor Online Reputation Scores?

Whether you’re an established brand or a newbie, online reputation score monitoring is extremely important for more than one reason.

• Better safe than worry: Online reputation score helps identify potential issues that a brand must address following negative feedback. Thus, you can take effective measures before things go out of hand.
  
• A cue to be competitively superior: Monitoring online reputation scores allows brands to gain vital insights and stand better in the face of competition. Additionally, these insights can help brands enhance their communication and marketing strategy.
  
• Boosting brand loyalty: The more positive the online reputation of a brand, the greater is brand loyalty and therefore sales and revenue.
  
• Better professional relations: A positive online reputation score allows businesses to partner and collaborate better for success.

How to Boost Online Reputation Score For Your Brand

Now’s the time we’ve reached the meat of the article. So, here are some pro tips to help boost the online reputation score of your brand.

• Keep track of your brand name mentioned and primary keywords related to your business. It will help you track all negative comments and reviews faster.
  
• Never ignore negative customer reviews, no matter how bad they read. Always apologize upfront and promise to do better. You never know when a good gesture can turn a negative review into a positive one.
  
• Always ask happy and satisfied customers to leave a review. Positive customer reviews access across reading review websites like Yelp, G2, TripAdvisor, and even GoogleMyBusiness can dramatically boost brand reputation.
  
• Create and share quality content with your target audience using a variety of formats like posts, reels, blogs, and infographics.
  
• Improve user experience to lower website bounce rate. Pay attention to faster load time, appealing design, easy navigation, and mobile friendliness.
  
• Use social media to interact with your followers. Share news about your hero products and new launches and reply to customer comments.
  
• Invest in SEO to boost your optimization strategy. Make sure your website has all relevant keywords in place to help it rank better across SERPs. This will lead to increased visibility and, therefore, a higher conversion ratio.
  
• Never compromise with customer service. No matter how good your website or product is, the after-sales process is where the magic is. Ensure your customers are satisfied with their purchase and promptly address any concerns they have later.

It’s About Time You Take Online Reputation Score Seriously

Maintaining a positive online reputation score is a must for brands today. To thrive and succeed, consider partnering with a functional digital marketing agency that’ll help you manage a positive online reputation.

At B3NET Inc., we’ll help you to have unrestricted access to world-class social listening and brand monitoring tools, aggressively tracking vital metrics like average rating, number of online reviews, average response, customer sentiment, and review recency.

Let’s connect to discuss your online reputation management strategy now!