Social media changed the importance of brand reputation, but it also changed the way brand reputation can be managed. Hugues Joublin explains that while social media does make reputation that much more fragile, it also provides us with ways to get better social insights on brand reputation.
Hugues Joublin Explains The Three Pillars of Reputation Management
Listening Data
Most of the time, people don’t actually approach brands to talk about their opinions. Instead, they will talk to each other. In the past, this was difficult to listen in on, but on social media things have become a lot easier. Not only are most conversations and reviews public, but they are there for a long time afterwards.
Hugues Joublin explains that using this data can be very important in collecting information on what your customers think of your brand and how you should be incorporating their feedback into your brand strategy.
Competitor Data
According to Hugues Joublin, at least 90% of marketers believe that social media provides them with the insights they need to stay ahead of competition. This is helpful not just in assessing your own strengths and weaknesses, but also those of your competitors.
When you can recognize what your competition is doing wrong, you can take the opportunity to fill in the gaps and fulfill your customers’ needs. On the other hand, if you recognize what your customer is doing right, you can take a look at your own strategy and see what is missing.
Review Data
Online reviews are scary. People like to leave reviews and share their opinions on everything – from movies and books to restaurants and even employers. By keeping track of the reviews, you get direct insights into what your customers liked and did not like, and what you need to work on. Since this comes from the customers themselves, you know exactly what to work on.
How to Create a Brand Reputation Management Strategy by Hugues Joublin
So, what do the three pillars tell you? Hugues Joublin explains that your brand reputation doesn’t live in a void – you can control what people think by taking action.
To keep control of what people are saying, you need to have a solid strategy in place. First, you have to assess your current reputation, which can be a difficult process. People are almost never straightforward in what they think, and you’ll likely have to dig a lot.
Establish a monitoring routine and loop in the key stakeholders to make sure that people who can have an influence on customer satisfaction are also involved. Then, as opportunities for improvement are identified, start acting on them.
You should also have a response plan for a crisis situation. These can come in any form, and people aren’t going to be nice about it. Customers can be ruthless, and you should be prepared for that. Be ready to address the situation as best as you can.
When it comes to reputation, your response needs to be fast, because if it isn’t, the problem can get out of hand and your reputation may sink forever.