Filipinos rely on the internet to find the products and services they use, and that leaves Filipino companies exposed to public criticism and negative feedback online. It has never mattered more for a business to protect its online reputation and manage every mention and review, so that it shows its best side.
That takes knowledge, tools and experience, because a business’s image in its own market is one of the most important things it has.
First, Look Up Your Business Online
Search engines gather information about your business from directory listings, to your website, social media accounts and customer reviews.
Customer behaviour has changed and keeps changing. Most people now use search engines to shop, plan their next trip and research products and services, which is an opportunity for your image and your sales.
Your future customers are looking up your business online, and so should you. Here are the questions you need to ask:
- When you search your brand name (example, Jollibee), is your website, social media, or any other asset visible? Or is someone else actually showing up at #1? For your brand, your website should always appear #1. If you have a website and it does not show in the #1 rank or even in the first page, then you seriously need to consider foundational SEO.
- What other sites show up when you search your brand? Sometimes, malicious sites may appear alongside your brand in the search results and dissuade your customers from going to your site.
- Is there any bad press, review, or negative tweet about you that appears in the first page? It might be too late for you to get started on your own then, and you may need to get an expert in reputation management to fix it for you.
If you haven't yet, make sure to build a website, claim all your social media profiles, and build your online presence. Reputation Management starts with owning the different assets online about your brand and then managing the conversations around it. Make sure that you are in control of all the different avenues where people can damage your reputation.
Register and Claim Your Business
Start by listing your business on trusted online directories.
Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Facebook and LinkedIn strengthen your online presence and bring more traffic to your site. You can request ownership of an existing Google Business Profile by following Google’s instructions.
Claim the listing on each directory your customers actually use. Most follow the same pattern: sign up as the business owner, enter your business details, confirm your email, then verify ownership by email or phone. Once the listing is yours, add clear, useful content to it.
LinkedIn creates a company page automatically when someone lists your business as their workplace. To claim it, add and confirm a work email at your company domain and list your current position with the company. You can then request admin access to the existing page.
Start Listening to Your Customers, and Monitoring Your Site
Monitor website traffic, social activity and reviews once your channels are active.
Built-in analytics show visitors, enquiries and comments. Daily monitoring helps your team respond quickly and maintain a useful response rate.
Google Alerts is a free, simple way to monitor your brand. An alert on your brand name and key terms shows which sites are talking about you, where you are mentioned and where you can improve.
Here are the steps for you to set this up:
- Go to google.com/alerts.
- Enter your brand name or the keywords you want to monitor.
- Choose how often you get alerts, your sources, language, and region.
- Enter your email and click Create Alert.
- Review the alert emails as they arrive and refine your keywords over time.
Ditch Fake Reviews and Followers
Some businesses take shortcuts: they buy followers and write their own reviews.
Customers can usually tell when reviews are fake, and it turns them away. Fake followers will not help you rank on search engines either.
Enhance Company Values To Fit Online Market
Attract clients and employees who share your vision by putting your company values into your profiles, posts and other content.
It helps you hire the right people and gives clients a reason to trust you.
Establish Your Expertise
Show your expertise through client reviews, webinars and useful courses.
With permission, client reviews can show the work you have done. Webinars and courses can teach your audience a skill related to your field. Many businesses also use short, useful YouTube videos to explain their products and services.
Increase Positive Response
Post content that genuinely helps your customers: practical tips, a useful report on your industry, or lessons from your own work.
Use only the most accurate information you can find.
Respond Quickly and Professionally to Negative Feedback
Protect your integrity as an owner or manager by answering negative feedback professionally.
Keep each response short and helpful to the customer. Do not answer emotionally; it only stirs up conflict.
Filter Spam and other Irrelevant Content
Use your site’s moderation tools to manage spam and irrelevant reviews.
WordPress lets you accept or ignore comments. Social platforms offer controls to delete, mark as spam, report or block comments, subject to each platform’s rules.
Some companies switch off comments altogether, on YouTube for example. That can frustrate followers who wanted to share something positive.
Build a Community of Influencers
A trusted community can help when one customer concern becomes a wider online issue.
Their role is not to attack a critic. They can add honest context while your company addresses the underlying concern.
A positive reply to a negative comment may not win back every customer who has had a bad experience, but it shows how much your company values its integrity.
Encourage Visual Feedback
Turn customer testimonials and feedback into short videos.
TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube put them in front of a far larger audience than text alone. Visuals give people a feel for your product and a reason to try it, and the more places your brand appears, the more likely people are to recognise it.
Your next step
Talk through your next step.
If you want help putting this into practice, bring one task and its constraints.
We hope this guide helps you build and protect your reputation online. If you would rather hand the work to us, book a consultation: we will review how your brand shows up today and what to fix first.