Everyone from Fortune 100 CEOs to local brick-and-mortar business owners need to pay attention to how their business is perceived online. Why? Research stipulates that just one negative article positioned prominently in search results can impact 22% of searchers’ opinions about doing business with you. This statistic skyrockets to 60% with three negative links. Consumers, prospective employees and external stakeholders all use the internet to learn about you and your business. Your front page of Google is the most vital part of an online reputation management program given that it conjures (on average) 94% of all click traffic. It is the first impression made to your online audience — and if it’s bad, it will most likely be the last.

However, protecting your online reputation can be overwhelming because there are so many different places where negative sentiment can live — from reviews, to blog posts, to social media channels, and more. The way to handle all of this is not running in and rebutting everything you come across, but using online reputation management tools that can streamline and simplify just how you protect your business. Tools can help you with customer outreach, social media monitoring, content publishing, and tracking and analysis.

There are tons of tools out there that can help protect your online reputation. Without knowing where to start, it can be overwhelming. We’re a team of experts who do this day-in and out and can help you assess any reputation threats that might exist online. Reach out for an online reputation audit if you’re unsure where to begin!

Online reputation management tools can help you:

• Analyze how your brand is seen
• Reach out to the right audience
• Publish your content in the best places
• Monitor customer chatter

Need a place to start? Here’s how you can use online reputation management tools to protect your reputation.

Reputation monitoring tools are used to monitor mentions of your company online. These tools do everything from scan search results to hunt out when someone mentions your company on a website or in an article. The purpose of this tool is not just to monitor your presence online, but let you know when your name comes up. Here’s quick list of tools used for online reputation monitoring:

Podium — Podium is an online reputation monitoring tool that lets you track product and company reviews, as well as how customers interact with one another — and then make improvements based on metrics.

YouScan — was created to be a listening tool, allowing businesses to scan the web and social media for brand mentions. The reputation monitoring tool offers numerous graphs and charts to show trends.

BrandMentions — BrandMentions claims to “dig every corner of the internet” to find mentions across the online universe. This includes blog posts, forums, and more.

Mention — Mention is an online tracking tool that can be used to monitor forums, social media, and other mentions across the web. The online reputation and monitoring tool tracks everything from consumer awareness to sentiment.

Meltwater – Meltwater is a software designed to help with media monitoring and engagement. It examines millions of posts each day, and segments out the useful social posts.

For the average individual, setting up Google Alerts is also a great place to start.

SEO analytic tools to improve your page rank in search engines

SEO is the solid foundation by which you protect an online brand, and there are numerous tools for repairing your online reputation — and building it. Whether proactive or reactive, we’ve got you covered. To help you dig into the authority of all owned brand assets, our recommended SEO analytic tools include: Ahrefs, Moz, SpyFu, KWFinder, and Woorank.

Social media monitoring tools to engage with users

One of the most powerful platforms customers use to bash a company (or the rare ‘praise’) is social media. A single bad mention by a person with a lot of followers can torpedo your reputation faster than you can read the words “This company is literally the worst.”  

The following social media monitoring tools were created to help users listen to social chatter, and react before the damage incurred can’t be undone.

Sprout Social — Sprout Social is a listening tool that tracks social media mentions in Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, allowing you to engage and measure your online reputation.

Keyhole — Keyhole books itself as a hashtag tracking tool, and uses real-time measurement to create reports and show that your social media has made a difference.

Tweetdeck — Like the name says, Tweetdeck focuses specifically on Twitter monitoring. With the real-time platform, users can view “likes” and “retweets” as they happen, and react accordingly.

Zoho Social — Zoho Social is a social monitoring tool, and the social component of the broader Zoho platform. It offers a real-time dashboard for listening to social posts and viewing how customers react to your brand.

NetBase-Quid — NetBaseQuid is a social media analytics platform that focuses on providing the fastest and most accurate consumer and market intelligence data.

Outreach tools to engage with your audience everywhere

Reputation improvement doesn’t just start and end with using online reputation monitoring tools.  Regardless of having these tools in place, you still need to engage your audience, build enthusiasm, and address your company’s flaws. Notified is designed to help you get the word out on your brand, as is Muck Rack, which gives you access to more traditional media outlets and experts. Cision is an industry leader in the PR software space, and offers an array of ways to monitor media and keep an eye out for opportunities.

Publishing tools to get your message to the right audience  

With publishing tools, users can do more than simply disseminate content. Being strategic about how and where you choose to publish can make all the difference. The goal is for your content to be placed in front of the right eyes to maximize your online presence; ultimately a great tool to be aware of when it comes to online reputation management. Native advertising platforms such as Taboola, Outbrain and AdRoll can position your content on high-authority sites with tons of visibility and traffic. These ad buys can be pricey, but in certain situations is a strategic play worth investing in.

Navigating the world of native advertising is best performed by experienced marketers. Status Labs offers a white-glove managed service client-experience. Reach out today for more information!

Managing your online reputation can be challenging and work-intensive, which is why even billion dollar companies use online reputation management tools and hire expert agencies to specifically track and improve how their business is perceived digitally.

While these online reputation management tools can be valuable, keeping your company’s reputation intact can in-fact be a full-time job. (It actually is ours!)

Don’t let all the components of managing your online reputation overwhelm you or cause confusion. At Status Labs, we deliver the tools, data, analytics, and advice to create a positive foundation for your online reputation, address negative feedback, social posts, and more.

There’s no drawback to being alert, proactive and organized about how you or your company look online, and you can certainly use online reputation management tools on your own to get a footing into the fascinating world of reputation management. If you find yourself (like most people) strapped for time and still unsure where to start, feel free to reach out to Status Labs for a free consultation. We can help manage your brand online — without all the complexity and hard work.