With the advent of online reviews and social networks, independent insurance agents need to be proactive in maintaining and building a great reputation online.
Most professionals and businesses will have an issue with a customer at some point. While it’s ideal to resolve the issue before it becomes a potential online reputation problem, this isn’t always possible. Since word of mouth travels fast online, it’s crucial to be prepared. If you’ve planned ahead, the impact of a few complaints can be mitigated. Here are tips to manage your online reputation:
Create a Presence at Web Directories and Social Networks
Your agency, at minimum, should have the basics claimed. These include Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google Plus, as well as popular online directories like Yelp and Dex.
Seek Positive Reviews and Mentions
A big part of being proactive is asking your existing clients to review your business online. Not only does this help you to win over potential customers that might be researching you, it helps you to dilute any future negative reviews and comments.
Don’t Neglect Your Social Media
Having social media pages alone isn’t sufficient. You’ll need to have an ongoing schedule to update the pages and to monitor any comments you are receiving. Without doing this, you are in danger of missing out on an opportunity to resolve any issues.
Keep a Blog
Blogging has a few key benefits for digital marketing. By writing about subjects that are valuable to your customer, blogging helps you to build and project your own reputation as an authority online before it is defined for you by others. Blogging also helps you to stake your claim to your business name online; the pages at your blog will be listed at Google and other search engines.
Apologize and Avoid Online Arguments
When you respond to online criticism, try to be apologetic and transparent. This helps to diffuse the situation, and it’s important to remember that you are writing more for “web onlookers” than you are for the complainant.
