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Online Reputation Management: Tools, Tips and Examples
“Facts tell, but emotions sell.” It’s more than just a marketing slogan—it’s the foundation of every brand that has successfully built a loyal following. Think about Apple, Nike, or Starbucks. Their customers aren’t just buying products; they’re investing in a narrative, a feeling of connection, and above all, trust. But trust isn’t something you can take for granted; it’s something you build gradually and organically. And that’s where online reputation management comes in.
Online reputation management (ORM) is about making sure everything said about your brand - every post, comment or product review on social media, eCommerce platforms or anywhere online - builds confidence instead of doubt in your audience’s minds.
Let’s look at the channels that matter, the tools you can use, and the best practices to maintain a positive brand image online.
What is online reputation management?
Online reputation management (ORM) is the process of monitoring, influencing, and responding to what’s being said about your brand online. Whether it’s a glowing review, harsh criticism, or casual social media chatter, ORM ensures your brand stays credible and relevant.
To manage online reputation, companies use social listening tools like Sprinklr Insights to track brand mentions, sentiment trends, and audience reactions. These reputation management metrics can help you spot opportunities or potential issues.
For example, Apple launched a bold ad for its ultra-thin iPad Pro called “Crush!” The campaign showed a hydraulic press smashing creative tools like cameras and art supplies, implying the iPad could replace them all. The ad didn’t land as intended. Creators around the world saw it as dismissive of their craft, with critics - including actor Hugh Grant - calling it “destructive to human creativity”.
Realizing the backlash, Apple issued a sincere apology on X, admitting the campaign “missed the mark” and promising to be more thoughtful in the future. They even cancelled the TV rollout of the ad. Apple’s quick and transparent response defused the controversy and reaffirmed its commitment to its community.
That’s the power of ORM - protecting trust by acting swiftly and authentically when things go wrong.
Top online reputation management channels
Online reputation management isn’t confined to a single platform—it’s a full-scale effort across the digital landscape. Let’s dive into the key channels where your brand’s reputation is built, celebrated, and occasionally challenged.
1. Google reviews
ORM at Google Reviews involves encouraging happy customers to leave reviews, responding to feedback (good or bad) and swiftly addressing inaccuracies. A positive Google rating can drive foot traffic and clicks, while a poor one can send potential customers running.
Quick Stat to know: According to Gartner’s SMB Software Buying Behaviors Survey, 66% of software buyers are swayed by reviews. An impressive 85% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 71% focus on the most recent feedback. With influence like this, managing your brand’s reputation online is essential.
2. Social media
ORM on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn means monitoring mentions, engaging with followers and addressing complaints before they snowball. It’s also where brands can show their personality and build authentic relationships.
3. Third-party review sites
Websites like Yelp, TripAdvisor and Trustpilot are crucial for industries like hospitality, retail and tech. Here, ORM involves monitoring reviews regularly, verifying your business’s information and addressing critical feedback. Consistent interaction on these platforms shows you care about your customers’ experiences.
4. E-commerce reviews
Customer reviews on Amazon, Flipkart or Etsy directly affect buying decisions. ORM includes ensuring product descriptions match what’s delivered, responding to negative reviews and encouraging verified buyers to share their experiences.
5. News and Articles
Media outlets and blogs can shape public perception faster than most other channels. ORM in this space involves monitoring news coverage, correcting misinformation and collaborating with writers or journalists to tell your side of the story.
6. Video Platforms
YouTube and TikTok offer high visibility, but they also quickly amplify negative content. ORM involves monitoring comments, responding to concerns in video content and leveraging the platform to showcase positive stories.
Why is online reputation management important?
There are several benefits to online reputation management (ORM) strategy. Let’s discuss a few.
️1. Protects intellectual property and legal rights
The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property estimates that annual costs from IP losses range from $225 billion to $600 billion. ORM strategies such as monitoring social media, web scraping for counterfeit product listings and automated takedown requests help brands identify and manage social media risks effectively. Businesses can safeguard their IP, maintain brand value and ensure compliance with legal standards.
2. Mitigates revenue impact from algorithmic changes
Search algorithms determine how brands appear online. For example, in March 2024, Google updated its core algorithm, leading to significant declines in traffic and revenue for many small businesses. Effective online reputation management (ORM) ensures your content and reviews adapt to such updates, reducing the risk of losing visibility and traffic.
3. Differentiates your brand in a crowded market
Gartner suggests that nearly 46% of buyers struggle to differentiate between the digital experiences of two brands. ORM helps you build brand awareness and stand out by crafting a unique and relatable online presence that resonates with your audience. For instance, enterprise software companies like Salesforce use ORM strategies to highlight customer success stories and user testimonials tailored to specific industries such as healthcare or finance.
4. Builds legal defense with accurate documentation
Brand advocacy not only enhances your reputation but also provides a legal safety net. Verified reviews and endorsements serve as credible evidence during disputes, helping brands counter defamatory claims or misleading competitor campaigns. By maintaining accurate documentation of customer interactions and feedback, businesses can protect their legal interests and uphold their brand integrity.
Read More: Protect your brand reputation on social media
5. Enhances M&A valuation through perception management
In mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a company's reputation significantly influences its valuation. A study analyzing 187 M&As involving French multinationals found that firms with strong reputations experienced more favorable financial market reactions to M&A announcements. For instance, during the due diligence phase, companies with well-managed online reputations may command higher valuations and attract more favorable terms from potential acquirers.
Online reputation management best practices to follow
Effective online reputation management (ORM) requires a strategic approach. Here are some best practices you can adopt:
1. Monitor reviews and respond promptly
Keep an eye on customer reviews across all platforms and note the feedback. Responding quickly—whether it's praise or criticism—shows that you value your customers' opinions.
For example, Xbox maintains a dedicated account on X (formerly Twitter), @XboxSupport, to address customer inquiries and issues proactively, demonstrating their commitment to customer satisfaction.
Pro Tip 💡:Use social listening tools to monitor brand mentions in real-time. This enables swift responses and helps identify emerging trends or potential crises before they escalate.
Modern ones integrate AI to analyze customer interactions across multiple channels, so you can get notified about everything at once on one single dashboard. You can also check and create detailed reports to analyze and build your strategy.
Want to be proactive over speed? Get a free demo today!
2. Engage and build customer relationships on social media
Social media isn't just a place to put out fires; it's where you build lasting customer relationships. Share content that matters to your audience, join conversations and create a sense of community.
Take Wendy's, for example. They are a pro at customer relationship management. Their witty and timely X (formerly Twitter) interactions have entertained and engaged a broad audience, strengthening their brand presence.
Pro Tip💡: When responding to reviews, personalize your replies by addressing the customer by name and referencing specific details from their feedback. This simple touch can transform a transactional interaction into a meaningful connection and build stronger relationships over time.
3. Encourage authentic customer reviews and highlight positive ones
Urge satisfied customers to share their experiences to build credibility and generate fresh, user-generated content. Positive reviews enhance your brand's reputation and influence potential buyers.
For example, Friskies, a popular cat food brand, has effectively utilized user-generated content by encouraging cat owners to share photos and videos of their pets enjoying Friskies products. This strategy not only showcases real customer satisfaction but also fosters an engaging customer community around the brand.
Pro Tip 💡: Incentivize customers to leave reviews by offering loyalty points or discounts on future purchases. This approach not only encourages feedback but also fosters repeat business. Ensure that incentives are ethical and comply with platform guidelines to maintain the authenticity of reviews.
🔖Interesting Read: How to leverage user-generated content to drive engagement & conversions on social media
4. Create shareable, positive content through customer-centric initiatives
Craft engaging content that addresses your audience's needs by showcasing your strengths and fostering trust.
For example, HubSpot offers free educational resources through its HubSpot Academy, providing value to users and positioning itself as an industry leader. A sure-shot way for strong ORM.
Pro Tip 💡: Invest in a content calendar platform to plan, design and schedule your social media posts and campaigns. This ensures consistency and allows you to align your content with key dates and events relevant to your industry.
Nowadays, a professional platform like Sprinklr comes with generative AI features to help generate fresh ideas for your content calendar. It also helps analyze campaigns’ performance in real time and personalize content for your specific target audience.
Ready to streamline your content creation process? Claim your 👉 free demo today
Read More: Social Media Calendar Template & Tools
5. Leverage sentiment analysis tools
Understand public perception for effective online reputation management. Sentiment analysis tools help brands gauge audience feelings by categorizing mentions as positive, negative or neutral.
For instance, Coca-Cola utilized sentiment analysis to monitor consumer reactions to its ‘Orange Vanilla Coke’ campaign. By analyzing social media conversations, they identified that, despite increased awareness, the product received mixed sentiments, with some consumers expressing negative opinions
Use tools to track how people feel about your brand and use those insights to refine your reputation strategy.
Pro Tip 💡: Regularly monitor sentiment trends over time to identify shifts in consumer perception. CRM software today comes with a built-in sentiment analysis feature. This approach allows you to address emerging issues before they escalate, ensuring your brand maintains a positive reputation.
Must Read: Social Media Sentiment Analysis: How To Perform
6. Setup crisis management plan
A well-prepared social media crisis management plan is essential to safeguarding your brand's reputation. It helps monitor and address potential issues, such as fake news and defaming alerts, promptly to prevent minor problems from escalating into major crises.
For instance, Balenciaga faced backlash over an ad campaign featuring children holding teddy bears dressed in what appeared to be bondage gear. The controversial imagery sparked outrage on social media, with accusations of promoting inappropriate content.
Balenciaga handled it gracefully by removing the campaign images and issuing a public apology, acknowledging the mistake and initiating legal action against the parties responsible for the set design.
Pro Tip 💡: Regularly conduct crisis communication management exercises with your team to ensure everyone is prepared to act swiftly and effectively during an actual crisis. This proactive approach can minimize damage and facilitate a quicker recovery.
Watch this 👇
7. Collaborate with Influencers and Advocates
Partner with trusted voices to amplify your brand's positive online reputation. For instance, CoverGirl revitalized its image by collaborating with social media influencers, moving away from traditional supermodel endorsements to engage a younger audience.
This strategy involved establishing TikTok content studios where influencers create engaging content, aligning with current beauty trends and consumer preferences.
Pro Tip 💡: When selecting influencers, ensure their values and audience align with your brand to maintain authenticity. Utilize influencer marketing platforms to identify suitable partners and track campaign performance effectively. Here are few resources to help you with influencer marketing:
8. Conduct regular competitive analysis
Staying ahead in the digital landscape means keeping a close eye on your competitors. Regular competitive analysis helps you identify industry trends, benchmark your performance and uncover opportunities to differentiate your brand.
Take Spotify, which analyzes competitors like Apple Music and Amazon Music to understand their feature updates, pricing models and user engagement strategies. This insight allows Spotify to innovate - like introducing personalized playlists and exclusive podcasts - to maintain its edge.
Pro Tip 💡:Use Sprinklr’s Competitive Benchmarking to automate data collection and analysis. These platforms provide real-time insights into your competitors' online strategies and surprise announcements, helping you make informed decisions swiftly.
Online reputation management tools
A significant portion of ORM's success depends on the tools you’re using. Let’s take a look at some of the leading ones in the industry.
1. Sprinklr Social
Used by global leaders like Microsoft, Cisco, Prada, L'Oréal and McDonald’s, Sprinklr Social provides everything you need to drive effective online reputation management. The platform works across 30+ social and digital channels to monitor and analyze performance from a single interface. It ensures all your social engagements are brand compliant with governance rules, custom approval workflows, and moderation processes.
With built-in generative AI features, Sprinklr Social enhances your team’s productivity by streamlining content ideation and creation. Automation features reduce manual tasks, enabling your team to focus on high-value initiatives that directly impact your brand’s reputation.
Top features for ORM:
- Brand mentions and KPIs
- Sentiment and trend analysis
- Voice of the customer
- Competitor insights
- Crisis management
- Unified inbox to handle customer feedback
2. Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a consumer intelligence and social media management platform that enables businesses to understand and engage with their audience across various digital channels.
A few key features:
- Over 1.7 trillion historical conversations from over 100 million unique sites provide deep insights into consumer behavior.
- Tools to create, schedule, and monitor posts across all networks, channels, and regions from a single platform.
- Features for discovering influencers, managing campaigns, and measuring performance to enhance brand advocacy.
3. Birdeye
Birdeye is a reputation and social media management platform designed to help businesses manage online presence, engage with customers, and gain actionable insights to enhance customer experience.
A few key features:
- Automated tools for generating, monitoring, and responding to customer reviews across various platforms, for the brand’s online reputation.
- Centralized inbox for managing customer communications from multiple channels, facilitating engagement and support.
- Built-in analytics to track performance metrics, customer sentiment, and engagement, helping in data-driven decision-making.
Get a 360-degree view of your online reputation
Your brand’s online reputation is more than just a reflection of customer sentiment; it’s a driving force behind long-term success. Managing your reputation effectively requires a proactive approach—consistently engaging with your audience, addressing feedback, and fostering positive conversations. By doing so, you can turn potential challenges into opportunities to strengthen your brand and build deeper trust with your customers.
This process, however, requires the right tools to be truly effective. Sprinklr Social offers a unified platform that simplifies reputation management by integrating social listening, sentiment analysis, and real-time engagement across 30+ social and digital channels. With Sprinklr, you can ensure your brand’s reputation stays strong, responsive, and aligned with your audience’s expectations.
Take your brand’s reputation to the next level. Request a demo of Sprinklr today and see how our platform can help you navigate the complexities of online reputation management with ease and efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Businesses should respond to negative reviews or comments within 24 hours. Quick responses show customers you care and help prevent issues from escalating.
Ask directly after a positive experience, like purchase completion or customer support success. Offer simple, clear review links via email or SMS. Incentivize reviews ethically with loyalty points or small discounts.
Use multilingual tools to monitor and respond to brand mentions accurately. Employ native-speaking team members or AI translation tools to adapt content for cultural nuances.
Know your rights. If statements are defamatory, consult legal experts before taking action. Avoid public arguments. Document evidence and request removal through proper channels.
Be open about addressing customer concerns but never share sensitive details like personal data or internal operations. Use general, professional responses that show accountability without breaching privacy policies.
Employee advocacy amplifies your brand’s positive image. Employees can share authentic content, success stories and achievements on their personal networks, building trust, expanding reach and humanizing your brand.
