Another case study: Listening to your reputation
Ten days ago I wrote a post here about a couple of local veterinary hospitals. That post opens up the opportunity to talk about another important part of how technology affects you.
Whether or not you choose to enter the online world of the blogosphere, Facebook, and Twitterville, you have little choice of when and where your reputation enters those media. Even if you choose not to start your own online discussions, chances are someone is going to start a discussion about you and/or your business or organization. Hopefully the chat is all positive, but often it’s not; even when your reputation is being damaged online though, there are often misunderstandings that could be cleared up with a little communication. This is why listening to online conversations is important!
I mentioned both Deerfield Veterinary Hospital and Parkcrest Veterinary Hospital in my last post discussing what can be done to show your target audience that you really care. Nobody from either hospital contacted me with a message of how much they care about pets, or thanks for the mention and link, or anything. Perhaps they saw the post and didn’t think it warranted a response. If that’s the case, I would contend they are wrong (I’ll explain a little later why). But more likely, nobody from either place even knew the post existed. Not a big deal, right? WRONG!
If an innocent post like mine can slip through the cracks, how would the folks at these hospitals know when people are badmouthing their service all over the internet? They wouldn’t! And that is the big mistake. If you don’t know what people are saying about you, then you don’t have a clue what your reputation (which is your most important asset) is. The only way to know what people are saying is to listen.
The crazy thing is, listening is the easiest thing to do online. Tools like Google Alerts and others make monitoring your reputation online super simple and is the first step that every individual should take when moving into the online world.
My favorite part is that after you listen, you can respond and join the conversation yourself, and change your online reputation by doing it. If either of these vet hospitals had posted a comment about how they appreciate being mentioned and how much they love to look out for people’s pets, I would be much more likely to take my dog to visit them. Not only could they gain my business, but also my recommendation. If I thought they really were great vets after visiting I would definitely spread the word, both online and in person to my friends with pets. I’m sure any vet would love to help me make a decision on where to take my dog, but without a response from someone, I’m left to decide on my own who would be the best to visit. And unless someone is listening, they don’t even have the option of responding.
Let’s see if any Springfield-area vets are monitoring the online converation. Are you monitoring yours??
Hey Matthew,
You’re absolutely right. I have found both positive and negative statements about my different business pursuits on forums and other social communities online, and by responding to the negative, which has always been the result of a misunderstanding, and by simply responding with appreciation for accolades opens up a lot of opportunity for dialogue and opportunity.
Also, THANK YOU for the link to Google Alerts. I’ve set up about a dozen feeds organized in my Thunderbird client, so I’m able to keep up-to-date on mentions of my companies, as well as our partnering organizations, and I expect I will be using it with even greater breadth moving forward. It’ll be interesting to see how effective the service is.
I appreciate the blog post. It made me think about web presence from a different perspective.
Kurt, I’m glad you found the post useful. Let me know how the new strategies work out for you.
Matt,
When I first set up the alert, I was shocked when I found that my blog entry about the Inaugural Ball was on Missouri Net News website, so it is a great way to stay informed that is for sure!