Word of mouth and user reviews are at the heart of any online business. It is very important to keep track of everything that is said regarding your brand to take immediate steps in case of a negative review. But with the plethora of social media platforms available today, it is very difficult to ‘listen’ to everything being said about your brand. This is where Online Reputation Management (ORM) tools come into place. There are a bunch of tools available online that help you keep a track of your brand name and also track your competitor’s activities. They can be very helpful while planning your marketing schemes and keeping your business successful. Here are our top 5 picks.
- Google Alerts
Powered by the Google search engine, Google Alerts is fairly easy to use and reliable. It allows you to track your chosen keyword across websites, blogs and articles within the Google network. Just set up an alert with your brand name as the keyword. Whenever it is mentioned online, Google will notify you. You can also keep a track your competitors by setting up a Google alert for their name.
- Hootsuite
This tool is designed specifically for your social media profiles to help you manage your reviews. You can track of all your social media mentions in one place through Hootsuite. You can even respond to them directly through the tool. It also provides you with an in-depth social media analytics of your content so you can figure out audience reception and make improvements where required.
- Anewstip
Anewstip is not just a content tracking website, but it also helps you build business relationships. Its enormous database helps business people, PR experts and advertisers interact with important media influencers. It basically lets you view what relevant media agents have mentioned or tweeted online. Its Database scans more than 200 million news pieces and 1 billion tweets posted by over 1 million media persons. Email notifications are sent to your inbox whenever there is a new activity by the people you are following, so you can stay aware of what’s going on and find new media contacts. On discovering relevant contacts, you can put them on your list and use the tool to offer them a pitch.
- Image Raider
Online content misuse at times also involves image misuse. The Image Raider app lets you track the usage of the images of your brand. If you come across a website using your images without your permission, you can take action against them. Simply upload the image into the tool and it will cross reference it with Google, Yandex, Bing etc.
- Yotpo
While all the above mentioned apps allow you to track your online reputation, Yotpo helps improve your brand reputation by encouraging users to write good reviews for your brand. It has a free version that lets you send review survey emails to your customers after a purchase. You can also build a customizable widget for product reviewing on your website. The paid version has several packages that include social media campaigns, social curation for Instagram and so on.
While a large business may need to hire a professional PR team to manage its brand image online, for local brands, these tools can be a blessing. But whatever the size, it is necessary for every online business to keep a track of its reputation. Make sure that you acquire one or several of these tools. Most of them send you regular email notifications that you can respond to. So set aside some time each day to go through your news feed and respond to your mentions promptly. A good reputation will really help your brand grow in the world of online business.
