Reputation marketing is a digital marketing strategy that aims to get you more customers by using your reputation to build shoppers' trust in your brand.
To achieve that goal, reputation marketing strategies focus on collecting and showcasing "user-generated content" (UGC), which means content that's been created by consumers instead of your business. Some examples of UGC include customer testimonials, social media posts or mentions, and online reviews and ratings from review sites like Yelp or Apple Maps.
Research shows consumers trust authentic UGC more than traditional advertisements, content creators, or influencers. That means promoting UGC is an effective way to market your business and build a positive reputation.
So what's the best way to collect customer feedback? Where should you show off your online reviews to ensure they make the most impact? And what other key points should business owners be aware of?
We'll cover all the basics in this beginner's guide to online reputation marketing, including:
Forbes defines reputation marketing as “taking a proactive approach toward your brand’s presence.” Brand24 calls it “the strategic effort of shaping and influencing how others perceive a brand.” And Indeed describes it as the process of “monitor[ing], promot[ing] and highlight[ing] positive posts, comments, reviews or other content about your brand.”
The core idea is to cultivate a positive reputation, then use it as a marketing asset by promoting and sharing good reviews, favorable brand mentions, and other UGC.
Reputation marketing and management are both aimed at protecting your brand's image and online reputation. If executed correctly, both tactics can help you attract new customers, inspire customer loyalty, and give your brand a competitive advantage over other local businesses.
The key difference is that reputation marketing is a proactive strategy, while reputation management is reactive in nature.
Reputation marketing focuses on showing off positive UGC, like the great reviews your business receives on Google Maps, Yelp, or Trustpilot. Its goal is to foster a positive brand image, and then use that image to entice potential customers into exploring your product or service, like in this example:
Reputation management, on the other hand, is all about performing damage control when somebody mentions your brand in a negative way. Its goals include resolving negative reviews and customer complaints, pushing negative content lower in searches, and mitigating damage to your business reputation, as shown in this example:
To sum up, here's a table that briefly summarizes the main differences between reputation marketing and reputation management.
Here are two compelling reasons why reputation marketing matters:
According to TINT's 2023 State of Social & User-Generated Content (SOSUGC) report, authentic UGC is perceived as more trustworthy than any other type of marketing materials. Consumers trust other shoppers' feedback more than content creators, influencers, or brand content.
Brand content is simply content created by your organization, rather than your clients or customers. In the set of images below, the top image shows an example of brand content (Rihanna, the owner of Fenty Beauty), while the image beneath it shows an example of UGC.
Online reviews are the perfect example of UGC — and the powerful impact it can make. BrightLocal research shows that 50% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from their friends or family members, up from 49% in 2022 and 46% in 2023. And according to eMarketer, shoppers trust reviews 12 times more than brand-generated marketing materials.
In a study where researchers "ran A/B tests to compare how Facebook ads with customer content performed against ads with only brand content," the ads featuring UGC significantly outperformed the brand content advertisements — in multiple ways.
Compared to the ads with brand-generated content, the ads with user-generated content had a "300% higher click-through rate (CTR), 50% lower cost per click (CPC), [and] 50% lower cost per acquisition (CPA)."
If you're looking to drive down your customer acquisition costs, reputation marketing is a proven-effective strategy.
Here are five ways to strengthen your reputation marketing strategy and put online reviews to work for your business this year:
Your business can achieve two goals at the same time — gaining insights into how customers feel, while enhancing your brand’s reputation — by gathering, tracking, and showcasing online reviews.
To maximize your brand presence and reach the largest audience, list your business on as many review platforms as possible. Here are some third party review sites your business should be featured on in 2024:
It’s also important to list your business on industry-specific review apps or websites that are relevant to your product or service. Here are a few examples:
Be sure to enable alerts and notifications to never miss a new review or rating. It's also important to stay on top of keeping your listings accurate and up-to-date with current hours, photos, and other details.
Here's Google's comprehensive start-up guide to creating and claiming your Google Business Profile.
You might also be interested in learning how to add your business to Facebook, or checking out our complete guide to business listings and why they matter.
One of the best places to showcase positive reviews is — unsurprisingly — your website. Here's an example of a positive review featured on a brand's homepage:
You can also build a separate, dedicated page just for reviews. Here's an example of an automotive dealership with a review page on their company website:
Clicking or tapping the link takes visitors to a page where they can read or leave reviews on Google or Facebook:
Here's an example of a plumbing and heating company using a similar strategy:
Opening the review page provides visitors with links to the company's Google and Facebook reviews:
It also displays examples of positive reviews further down the page, like this Google review:
Or this Facebook review:
Your website isn't the only place you can show off positive online reviews. Another way to boost your online reputation is by sharing positive customer feedback on social media platforms.
In fact, when it comes to checking out business reviews, consumers depend on social media almost as much as actual review websites. For example, Facebook consistently ranks as the second most popular source for reviews, surpassed only by Google.
While Facebook reigns supreme as the biggest social media platform, there are plenty of others that also wield powerful influence over shoppers. According to BrightLocal data, here are five of the top social media platforms consumers use most to check business reviews:
Positive reviews aren't the only content you can share on your business profile. You can also showcase other content that customers post about your brand, like social media comments, Facebook Stories, or videos featuring your products in a positive light.
We've already looked at how incorporating UGC into your ads can result in higher click-through rates at lower cost-per-click. By featuring positive UGC in your Google or Facebook ads, and combining it with a short but powerful call-to-action, you're making it both compelling and convenient for users to check out your brand.
The bad news is that Google Ads review extensions were discontinued in 2018, which means "your Google ads... no longer have the privilege of being accompanied by third-party reviews," as WordStream explains in a blog post.
The good news is that there's now a Google Ads extension called Google Seller Rating, which automatically displays a star rating for your business based on customer reviews from sources like Yotpo, Trustpilot, and — of course — Google.
Learn how to launch your first Google Ads campaign, or explore how to start using Google Local Services Ads. Unlike regular Google Ads, Local Services Ads give your business an official Google badge to help inspire trust in consumers, similar to getting the Verified badge on X (formerly Twitter).
Shout About Us is an AI-powered, all-in-one dashboard for reputation marketing and online review management. Using Shout About Us, you can automate time-consuming but critical tasks that help you generate leads, improve customer satisfaction, and boost retention.
We offer two unique solutions, enabling you to choose the approach that fits your organization's needs: ReviewNavigator and ResponseScribe.
ReviewNavigator is a comprehensive suite of services that includes:
ResponseScribe provides personalized, on-brand responses to customer reviews on 50+ platforms. Your business can choose an AI or human-only response generation strategy, with human responses ready in 24 hours while AI responses are generated in minutes.
Improve your brand's reputation, earn more referrals and positive reviews, and drive up your sales and revenue in 2024. With Shout About Us' AI-powered platform, you can automate tasks like reputation monitoring, removal of negative feedback, social media posting, and review generation with customized links and reminders for your customers.
Get started growing your brand's online presence with our reputation marketing and management platform. Schedule a demo of Shout About Us for your company today.
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