What is e-reputation?
E-reputation is the reputation of a company or a person as internet users see it from information visible on the internet. Press articles, customer reviews, forum posts, photographs, social-network activity, and the rest often push that picture up or down. For ecommerce brands, online reputation matters a great deal, because it affects the credibility and visibility of their shop.
Why has e-reputation become an important issue?
What do people do today, almost without thinking, to learn about a brand, a company, or a person? The first reflex, and the logical one, is to go online, gather information, and evaluate what we call that entity’s e-reputation.
E-reputation therefore has a large, far-reaching impact on everything. People now trust what they read and rely on what they find online, and a good or bad reputation on the internet shows up in sales and in the trust a consumer, a professional, or anyone looking up those facts is willing to give.
It is an element to take seriously. There are now several ways to check your digital identity, understand it, analyze it, and produce an accurate picture. There are also ways to move that online reputation in a meaningful way. You can call in professionals; if you do, choosing the right e-reputation agency for the need is essential. That can help turn things around and find success again with prospects and customers, at least when you are a commercial organization.
What are the risks?
What happens when you do not control your e-reputation, or simply ignore it? You can be undermined by visitors who then see those slanderous claims, which can have a serious effect on your activity in general, whether you are a person or a company. Visibility on the internet is therefore not risk-free, because it can be good or bad, and it can sometimes carry values that are not yours.
How do you take control of your internet presence?
The important part of mastering online reputation is understanding it and seeing what it involves. That is how you can then take care of it and get some hold over it. Defining your image and reputation on the web is therefore the first essential step.
You will then need ways to manage your e-reputation, by putting a set of measures in place. That can mean specialized agencies, or your own monitoring. The goal is a complete diagnosis of your reputation on the web, then different ways to change the picture if you need to. Some laws can also help, especially if you are an individual who wants to protect a private life from being published online, notably through the right to be forgotten. The internet is a tool that is as useful as it is dangerous for getting yourself talked about, and you have to see that in order to act in your interest.
For more, see our complete guide to e-reputation.