The 5-Step Social Media & Online Reputation Management Plan

No matter who you are or what your business does, it's just about impossible to avoid seeing negative feedback. And that's OK because as many grumps there are wanting to push negative sentiment at your brand, there's just as many speaking positively about you. However, without some form of social media reputation management, how do you even know what people are saying?

Word-of-mouth marketing should be taken very seriously. BrightLocal discovered 88% of consumers trust written online reviews from customers just as much as they trust their own peer recommendations. That should make the hair stand up on every brand marketer's arm. It's so easy to have one negative review, response or social media message leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth who sees it.

Social Media Reputation Management Needs Monitoring Tools

This is why so many businesses put their resources in social media monitoring tools to never miss a message–good or bad. Here at Sprout Social, we offer in-depth social media monitoring tools for brands to manage reputation, respond to questions or concerns and track social users who consistently mention your brand name.

Sprout is a great tool to track misspellings of your brands name, mentions without being tagged and conversations about important keywords within your industry. But before we get too in-depth about the tools you can use to better manage your online reputation, we need to discuss what defines social media reputation management.

What is Social Media Reputation Management?

Social media reputation management is the process of tracking, monitoring and ultimately eliminating negative social media material about your brand to improve your name or standing. If done properly, social media reputation management builds your credibility to customers, which strengthens their trust in your brand.

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