Need to Know: Protecting Your Online Reputation

We all know that reputation matters. A bad reputation can absolutely destroy a real estate sales professional’s success. The internet and social media has significantly upped the stakes. Any unhappy customer can, at the click of a mouse, post reviews online about their experience with you. Then, when others search for services that you offer, that negative content can be produced as a result. Would you contact a company to purchase a service who had negative reviews about them posted?

 

This makes protecting your online reputation critical – and really it is not that difficult to do.

Google yourself – Want to find out what people are saying about you? Google yourself, your company, etc. and see what comes up. ‘Like’ positive comments and take negative ones as an opportunity to resolve the customer’s issue openly and transparently.

Control your image – some real estate sales professionals shy away from social media because they are afraid of potential impacts if someone decides to post something negative. When you have more owned social media presences you are in a better position to resolve complaints and also control the message.

Also, part of controlling your online reputation means ensuring that there is a lot of positive content coming up online related to you and what you do. Blogging, getting interviewed or quoted (even in free news sites), etc. are all ways for you to get online publicity. Make sure that when your name is searched these portray the image you want.

Reviews - do you really need a reviews section? As you know, your Google Places, Facebook pages, etc. may have the ability for the public to leave a review. You cannot remove someone’s review – however sites like Facebook offer you with the ability to choose whether or not you will have a review section at all. Some professionals opt to remove review sections where possible to reduce maintenance and avoid possible negative reviews that they can’t remove.

Communication policy - Have a strong communication policy for resolving customer complaints. One thing paying attention to your online reputation can do is heighten your awareness of what your customers’ perception of their experience was with you – good or bad.

At the end of the day if you offer superior services your customers will be happy, right? While you hope so, keeping on top of your online reputation takes little effort but can make a massive difference in terms of being able to leverage positive learnings and mitigate the damages of negative events.

For more about boosting and maintaining a strong online reputation, check out ViMO, your virtual mobile office, by visiting www.myvimo.ca.