We have created a quick and easy guide to taking control of your personal and business reputation in 2021.
Reputation Management is more important than ever now. Here we give you actual and actionable tips to building and protecting your reputation in 2021. Check out our guide for you here:
Guide to reputation management 2021
We all know that 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for businesses of all sizes for many different reasons. Obviously covid-19 has changed the way that we do business forever. It’s change the workplace. It’s changed where we get our services, where we buy our products. How are products are marketed. Even how the businesses themselves operate, and how everybody operates within this new framework.
So with all of this in mind. This is your 2021 Guide To Reputation Management
These are 5 Tips that will take your brand building, Google rankings, content creation, social media engagement, network building, client acquisition and reputation management to the next level in 2021
Your Online Reputation is More Important Than Ever!
What is clear from this is that a business reputation and a personal reputation is now more important than it’s ever been before, as we have increasingly seen the digitisation of business. It has ramped up massively in the past 12 months, and will continue on a new trajectory moving into 2021. So what does this mean for your business reputation and your personal reputation moving forward?
Firstly it is important to realise that we now search online for products and services more than ever before for. Reasons such as not being able to leave the house due to lock down, or being fearful of going into crowded space, or your usual provider has had to close. Online searches for services and products has risen dramatically as a result of covid-19. But what is also most important is online searches for people and businesses have risen too, so what do people see when they search for you on Google? Or in Alexa on Voice Search? (Which will get more into later).
So here we are giving 5 quick tips to set your business on the right track for 2021
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Sort Out Your Business Website
This may not seem like a massive deal because many of you will already have a business website. But let’s not be silly. You have probably neglected it. Your website should be top of the pyramid. The focal point of your company.
- Get an SSL certificate – They are FREE and they are a big trust and ranking factor in Google
- Own all the TLDs for your brand…
Your website might end with “.co.uk” – Now this is the Top Level Domain (TLD) for the UK.
But if you are looking at building your brand image and reputation in 2021 you will want to pay attention to other top level domains which will help maintain your brand and bring everything into focus. So obviously “.com” is essential for any business, whether they are in the UK or not.
You may like having a .co.uk website because it lets people know the you are a UK business, and it helps to rank in UK searches. However, other people will want to see a .com because that builds brand trust. It makes him know that you are an International company, that you don’t have boundaries, and lines and you can compete with bigger companies. It is really important in 2021 to ensure that you have both major Top Level Domains for your business.
Potentially also having something such as “.online”, “.shop” or something which is relevant to your business industry. It is very important to group these all together to ensure there is uniformity. Even if they re-direct to the same website. You can also use different domains for different marketing campaigns, and supply different services if that is something you can benefit from.
In short –
So in 2021 make sure that you have your business domains in check, this is for small businesses just getting started, and very well established businesses who have slacked… And get that SSL certificate!
Website SEO Checklist
- Do you have a sitemap?
- Have you installed Google Analytics and Web Master Tools?
- Canonical Fix
… On to number 2
2 – Ensure the your brand, business or personal image is strong over these fundamental social media profiles.
- YouTube
- TikTok
Now you may not feel like you’re getting any business from Facebook, you may feel that Twitter is a waste of time, you may feel the TikTok is for the young kids and you don’t understand it… WRONG, WRONG, WRONG
As a business owner, or an individual trying to repair, promote and dominate search results, building a brand on all of these social media profiles is integral to longterm success. By doing this you are getting FREE ATTENTION. It’s FREE. Whether you like them or not; it is not personally up to you whether your business goes on TikTok!
It is up to the market – so I don’t want to hear your excuses. Register and post on the big 6 right now!
It is up to your potential clients, and they want to see you on TikTok as much as you want to post on LinkedIn.
As well as building and having a following on these social profiles, it is also worth noting that all of these social social media profiles rank well in Google. So they will help you build your brand in Google search results, irrespective of whether you are getting potential business or clients from them.
Remember The Intangibles of a Good Reputation
We have to understand that building a reputation, building a business, building a following, engaging with clients customers, and providing knowledge are sometimes things which won’t have a tangible return on investment or time. They won’t just suddenly start contacting you through LinkedIn and giving you business, and building with intent in the way that you are possibly expecting from these platforms. However the beauty in social media is showcasing your knowledge, building your brand image as as holisticly as possible – so when people Google you, instead of seeing something negative from a negative article and maybe a website that you may not have updated in the last year or so – they will see a YouTube channel, a Facebook page, a LinkedIn profile, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter posts.
Be in the Game, Stay in the Game – Reap The Benefits
Having a presence on these 6 social media platforms lets people know that you are a business, or an individual, who has their finger on the pulse. In 2021 be active in these places.
- You do not have to be providing mass content for every single profile 24/7
- You don’t have to post selfies
- You don’t have to do TikTok dance
But in 2021 you need to establish your brand, and people need to see your business on these profiles. Even having a small amount of content on them is a good start. Add some information. Comment on some posts, ask questions, answer questions. Interact. You will build a following in all of them.
QUICK TAKE TIPS
- REGISTER ALL 6 SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES
- POST CONTENT ON ALL OF THEM
- SPEND TIME LEARNING ALL OF THEM
- INTERACT, POST, LIKE, SHARE
- CROSS POLINATE YOUR CONTENT OVER OTHER PROFILES
… Now we will move into number 3
3 – Content, Content, Content
The Internet is all based on content. Quantity of content matters. Yes Quality is massive, but don’t let perfectionism stop you putting out the quantity of content needed to rank your website. Remember, your website should be a library of information. Is it jam packed with great books, or is it thin small with a few half written books that no one wants to read?
Quality AND Quantity Matters
This may exhaust you, it may feel like you are running against the stream. You may not feel like you’re not getting any return from the work you are doing – but remember:
Suck it up butter cup! No one cares about your excuses.
Question: Are you serious about building your reputation or not?
Answer: Yes I am! I’m willing to do what it takes in 2021
That’s what I thought. You’re a winner and that is why you are still here reading this wildly informative and shareable gold dust. What you are reading now is going to make you a juggernaut in 2021. Let’s keep going!
Content is still King in 2021 – It always will be
Trust us, content is the differentiation between you and your nearest rivals. If your competitors are providing new content, helpful information, answering questions, engaging with customers on social media, providing insights into the industry, helping with FAQ’s, how to’s, making videos, providing info graphics etc… They are going to outpace you – so get going on that content!
- All of this content helps build your brand online
- it helped Google index all of these profiles
- It links your profiles together & gives an understanding of what your business does
- It shows you are an authority in your industry
- Let’s clients know you are pro-active & interactive
Yeah but I need ideas for content!
Now you may not feel like an authority in your industry, but in 2021 you need to be making the content that gives people answers to the questions that they will be searching for when they look for your business online. Even searches which are not tangibly connected, help to build an overall professional image that allows people to trust you, to understand that you provide answers that you are clear concise, and have the information they need.
Give Information Away For Free
Giving information for free may be counter intuitive, because you may feel they need to be pay for your knowledge. But take this example:-
If your toilet is blocked, and you Google a company who have a video saying this is how we unblock toilets this is the the 5 impey some information that you need to know when you’re on blocking your toilet right you may go through that process yourself find a situation delve into the toilet pull out the the blockage and you’ve got you’ve done it for free right
But for everybody but does that 10 other people will go on see this is the business that’s doing it in thinking
“Hey this is the company that gives information they know what they are doing here’s their phone number. I’ll call them and have them round. I’m gonna have them fix it for me”
This moment is important for every business in every industry. This is the moment that your free content works for you. Your free information shows courage, it shows excellence, it shows confidence in your knowledge. It shows compassion. It builds major trust and major positive sentiment
FREE ADVICE BUILDS TRUST AND POSITIVE SENTIMENT
This is particularly important in local services because you can completely dominate a geographical area by providing good honest answers to questions that your potential customers will be searching for don’t fear that giving out information is going to help other people am take your business away it’s not it’s proving you understand all of the major players in every industry give out information because they have a wealth of information and is important in 2021 that your potential Clark customers know the you have the answers to their questions because you have provided a body of work showing that you are authorities in your industry now that you have your website sorted and your social media profiles created and updated you now have to provide good quality content the important factor here is not to just sell sell sell so all we do this we do this you have to answer questions provide value and provide something which other people will find important share worthy and interesting so the bacon like and follow you now you may not get a sail instantly but you will be gaining a follower who later on May talk to somebody may say
Hey this is interesting these guys are good and provide important recommendations and positive sentiment about your business you will be surprised after a year where you were you arrive at by 2022 where you now have a following a strong social media presence you provide information you got feedback you reply to your customers and you’ve built something too many people treat the client as a quick one off yes got the client onto the next but but building a following by building a social media profile around all of these platforms you are developing your business reputation for the future because if you want to be here in 5 or 10 years you have to think long term in the short term your getting positive content on your building these profiles in the long term As people fall away in this industry who are not providing the content you need to be the people providing the content answering the questions developing your business and brand online and in investing your time and effort in content creation on to number 4
4 – Engage with your customers, Reply to comments
Number 4 on building your reputation in 2021 is engaging with your customers.
We touched on this in content creation and answering questions, but in 2021 you really have to focus on giving your potential customers what they want. Not charging them for it, because obviously your service will be something that they want – if they think that YOU are the people that can help. You prove this by providing real customer service. Real engagement on social media. And really providing VALUE to the customer.
Businesses that will go the extra mile, and people who are providing answers to their customers will get ahead in 2021.
Think about the questions that potential customers will be searching for. By providing answers to these searches, you also get huge benefits for your SEO. And as I mentioned at the start – Voice Search in 2021 is going to be huge. It is already a big market with “ask Alexa”, “ask Google”, “ask Siri”, “ask Bixby” etc… Every mobile phone now has a Voice Search activation, and you would be surprised how many people are asking questions through voice search.
When you only get one answer, to be the top answer in a Voice Search query you have to be answering the question specifically and exquisitely, with the amount of information that will be seen as “high quality” – enough to actually return the answer when they ask question!
You can not do this unless you are engaging with your customers, and answering questions, providing knowledge.
Google’s “Knowledge Graph” is now based up of what Google thinks of your website, and your network at large, when they index it when they find the links between your website, and your social media pages. They start to get an idea of what you do, and they start to get an idea of what kind of industry you are in, and how specifically you fit in to the mould. What things you’re doing that the next person isn’t doing, so “content, content, content” based with customer engagement and answering their questions.
What does all of this mean practically?
- Put out free content.
- Help people with their issues
- Reply to comments and reviews
- Engage on all social platforms
- Show your skills in written articles, videos, infographics and podcasts
5 – New Types of Content For New Forms of Search
Number 5 on your reputation management audit for 2021 has to be creating new types of content.
We have talked about Voice Search and we are now focusing on image and video.
Now you may think I can’t create images, I’m are not very good video!
But do not underestimate how different pieces of content can make huge differences to your search results, and developing brand integrity and visibility.
Images true info-graphics, branded content
Slides, PDF all of these have very good ranking abilities they help to rank your website they help to build your Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channels.
Mixed with other points such as answering questions engaging the clients and providing important vocal audio content these all join together to allow you to dominate Google dominate the social media profiles and search tat hashtags dominate image search dominate video search and dominate audio search all of these factors combined will make your business brand or personal reputation stronger than ever moving in to 2021
we can help you with all of these factors if you would like more information contact reputation Ace on 0 800 85506 is important for every business to really push hard in 2021 because in this era we are now looking at more than just survival we are looking to grow develop and remain here after a very turbulent 2020 the game has changed these are the keys to moving forward in a stronger position please like share and contact us with any questions you may have we are always happy to help.
Want to really rank in audio searches? Work on your website markup – Schema, rich snippets,
What do people see when they search for you or your business in 2021?
If they do not see positive information and good things, then it is very easy to dismiss you. If you’re a job seeker looking for new employment position, but your new potential employer Googles you, and sees that you have negative news articles, criminal convictions, complaints, negative images, maybe some social media comments which are embarrassing etc… Content of any kind can come back to bite you in 2021. If you do not clearly and concisely take control and start to a repair and rebuild your reputation.
Time to Get Serious About Your Online Presence…
In 2020 we have seen businesses which were doing well, completely fall apart. Sometimes through no fault of their own – in terms of the market drying up, or footfall dropping, or having to completely close their business due to corona virus restrictions. But we have also seen that businesses with negative reputations, or poor online presence have really suffered through this slump. Conversely, businesses that have engaged with their followers, engage with customers, answered questions, gone that extra mile, have built reputation during this period, have built an online presence that they can move forward with in 2021.
