by Francois Muscat | Mar 23, 2015 | Online Marketing, Online Reputation Management
Social media has become the new customer service centre. Not only do people often prefer contacting a company on social media (as opposed to speaking to someone in a call centre), but they also expect same-day feedback from the brand they’re dealing with.
But what happens when a customer complains on social media and these complaints go viral? What if the complaints gain way more attention than they are worth, for something that isn’t even your fault? This becomes an online reputation management issue because it can quickly escalate to a full-blown crisis management situation. Even if you’re not at fault, you need to handle the situation correctly. Here’s what to do:
Don’t down-play the situation
If you want to show the public that you take customer complaints and dissatisfaction seriously, then you need to demonstrate the seriousness of the issue. Don’t down-play the complaint or divert the blame to someone else.
Publish a response
Draft a response on your blog and website that you can refer people to. If the customer is complaining on social media, it could be hard to write a worthwhile response with limited character counts. Also, when you publish a statement, it gives people quotes and comments to refer to and it shifts the conversation away from flinging back questions and comments on social media to a more professional way of communicating about a crisis.
Don’t delete comments on social media
Allow people to express their feelings and complaints. It’s okay to delete derogatory statements, swearing and online abuse, but don’t delete complaints just because it makes you look bad.
Need help with your online reputation management? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Mar 3, 2015 | Online Marketing, Online Reputation Management
In this social media run day and age, your online reputation is almost as strong as your physical presence. This is a scary thought indeed. Your business persona which you are striving to create can now be viewed by millions of people across the world, without you even knowing. Food for thought isn’t it? It is because of this fact that you should take upmost care in managing your online reputation, as this says more about you now than ever. Here are a few simple steps to follow to keep your name above board.
Don’t give in to the nay sayers
If you find your business page under intense scrutiny, never give in to the negative. This is basically bait which has been set up for you to bite at in order to tarnish your reputation. The minute you retaliate negatively to a comment left on, say your Facebook page, this shows your clients that instead of being remorseful and willing to develop a solution, you instead have retreated straight into defence mode and retaliated. This will then shed very unforgiving light on you as a professional, leaving you looking like the unprofessional in a school yard hustle.
Your best defence is a good offence
Being prepared in the world of business is always your way out of any possibly conflict. It is the best tool you could ever possess as knowledge is truly power. The more prepared you are for a situation, the better and more efficiently you will be able to respond in times of crisis management. Do this in the digital world by always releasing positive quips of news about your company. Keep your social media platforms pumped with positivity. Even in instances of bad situations, do a write up on how the situation was salvaged and watch the respect for your business grow.
If you need assistance in managing your social media portfolios, call in the pros. Let WSI OMS help you handle your various platforms and ensure your name and online reputation remain reputable. Contact us today for more information.
by Francois Muscat | Jun 16, 2014 | Online Marketing, Online Reputation Management
Groupon is a great way to introduce your product or service to the market and create online brand awareness. The goal of Groupon’s website and e-mail marketing campaigns is to entice thousands of customers with a “deal of the day”. Groupon’s marketing is quite smart, seeing as deals are marketed in such a way that consumers feel it costs them more money “not” to purchase the deal.
How Groupon entices customers
We all know what it feels like to want something that is not within our budget. When something you desire suddenly becomes available at half the price, you’re going to jump at the opportunity to buy it. Groupon also works to retain clients and it’s easy to target young, educated consumers who aren’t shy to return and spend more.
Groupon has sold more than 400 million “deals of the day.” This “deal of the day” principle has worked to entice thousands of new customers and has transformed the way local businesses promote their products and services.
What should I offer as a deal?
The type of deal will depend on what you have to offer (and how enticing you can make your product or service for the local market). Restaurants usually offer a certain amount of food at half price whilst salons will bundle a few treatments together. A resort that offers a free cooking class can easily sell hundreds of seats. Your best bet is to work with an internet marketing consultant and professional copywriter to find out how to create a great offering (and cleverly worded advertisement). Contact us for help with your internet marketing strategy.
by Francois Muscat | Sep 30, 2013 | Online Reputation Management, Social Media Optimization
Here are some social media tips for companies whose social media campaigns have received negative feedback:
First off, the worst thing you can do is to ignore negative feedback and just have the comments that fall into this category removed from your website or Facebook page. Rather see it as constructive criticism, gather as much information as you can on the problem and then implement change. Keep people informed of your progress and remember to let them know when all the changes you said you would make have been implemented.
If, however, someone has a problem with something like your site being too slow or not user friendly enough it is important to get in touch with a company like WSI that specialises in online marketing to help you sort it out as soon possible. In the meantime, remember to keep the person who posted the comment as well as other interested parties informed of everything you’re doing to rectify the problem. This will not only minimize the potential damage caused by the comment, but might actually win you ‘brownie points’ as this will show your customers how seriously you take their feedback and how committed you are to providing quality customer care.
Secondly, if the problem is content related (meaning people are either offended by the content you posted or find that the content is unintelligible or just badly written), the problem is no less severe. Remove offensive content immediately and apologise personally to the person who felt offended by it. If the content is not intelligible, badly written or does not adequately represent your company, rather enlist the help of a professional copywriter to take care of the problem as fast as possible. Again, remember to inform the public that the problem is being dealt with.
Contact us today for more social media tips or if you are looking for experts to help you deal with your social media-related problems.
by Francois Muscat | Sep 12, 2013 | Copywriting, Online Reputation Management
Online reputation management is all about building trust and authority online. Whether you’re blogging, tweeting, uploading videos or trying to push products into an online shopping cart – at one point or another, people are going to click back to your website (and eventually your About Us page) to check who you are and decide whether you’re a reputable company or not.
Your About Us page is a great way to convince website visitors that you are worthy of their business. In order to do this, you need to give people some insight into who’s behind the brand, company and website. While there’s no single secret to an effective About Us page, there are a few universal traits:
- Say who you are, not what you do
If people are clicking on your website’s About Us page, they probably already have an idea of the line of work you are in. Instead of talking about your industry, products or services – tell people your company’s story. Forget about the sales pitch on this page, focus on what matters to your brand, how you deal with clients and what matters to your company.
People love browsing through pictures (it’s one of the reasons Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram are so successful). Show that there are real people running your customer support, sales, marketing and operational teams by posting photos with names, job titles and mini bios. A good idea is to post a video featuring your team at a company event.
- Invest in professional copywriting
Many companies are more than willing to invest in professional copywriting for an ad campaign or press release, but they think their website copy can easily be done in-house. Hire a professional copywriter to spend some time on building your company’s About Us page so that it has the personality and flair it needs to adequately represent your brand online.
Need help with your copywriting? Visit our website or contact WSI today.
![Creating a professional online business video [Infographic]](https://www.wsioms.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/online-video.jpg)
by Marelise da Silva | May 17, 2013 | Articles, Online Reputation Management
A well thought out professional video can go a long way in establishing your online reputation. In under 3 minutes you can give a potential customer a snapshot of what your value proposition is. However a poor quality, or poorly edited video can do more harm than damage. It is estimated that 20% of online viewers will click away within the first 10 seconds. That means that you need to ensure that your video is attention grabbing and interesting.
YouTube is one of the best social media platforms to market yourself and your business. It also allows individuals to easily share and embed your video on their blogs. If you plan to create a corporate video, take a look at this infographic.
Need advice on your online reputation management? Contact WSI OMS today
Presented By KZO Innovations, online video platform
