8 Tools to Effectively Monitor Your Brand’s Reputation Online

Nothing is more important than your brand’s reputation. You can have a strong business plan, great products, and a top-tier marketing strategy, but if your reputation takes a hit, your business could suffer too.

This is especially crucial in today’s era of hyperconnectivity. Every customer review, social media comment, and online mention can either elevate or damage your brand. Therefore, effective reputation management is more important than ever to maintain a positive online image and attract new customers.

The good news? You don’t have to leave your brand’s reputation to chance. With the right tools and techniques, you can take a proactive approach to online reputation management.

Understanding the importance of online reputation management

In today’s digital world, maintaining a strong online reputation is essential. A comprehensive strategy for reputation management should include monitoring social media platforms, tracking brand mentions, and encouraging positive reviews from satisfied customers. Before we dive into how to effectively manage your online reputation, let’s explore why it’s so crucial.

What is reputation management?

First things first: What exactly is online reputation management? 

It’s the practice of actively shaping how the public perceives your brand, which can be enhanced by earning a high score from an objective third party and leveraging validated reviews as social proof. This can be done in a few different ways: 

• Monitoring and addressing customer feedback (both positive and negative)
• Participating in online conversations 
• Promoting an optimal customer experience

The impact of online reputation on brand success

The importance of your brand’s online reputation cannot be overstated. Nearly 60% of US consumers say a company’s reputation plays a major role in their purchasing decisions (Statista, 2023), and research has found that up to a quarter of a company’s market value is based on reputation. (Axios, 2023) 

A business’s online reputation is also extremely vulnerable today due to the nature of online reviews, social media, and blogs. For example, one study found that as many as 98% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase. (Forbes, 2024)

Ultimately, your brand’s reputation influences customer trust, brand loyalty, and overall business success. And while it may seem like your brand’s reputation is mostly out of your hands, this is far from the truth—there are powerful tools you can use to shape it. 

Key features to look for in reputation management tools

Hiring a reputation management service or using an online reputation management tool can greatly enhance your business reputation, especially by improving your social media presence and visibility across search engines. When selecting the right tool, consider these important features:

Monitoring brand mentions across the web

One of the most critical aspects of any reputation management tool is its ability to track mentions of your brand across the internet in real-time. These tools notify you when your brand is mentioned on platforms like social media, review sites, or other websites. By staying on top of what people are saying, you can engage with emerging conversations—whether positive or negative—and respond quickly.

Analyzing sentiment and public perception

Leading reputation management and brand protection tools offer sentiment analysis, helping you identify the emotional tone and public perception behind conversations about your brand.

By analyzing customer feedback from various sources, these tools can gauge the overall direction of discussions surrounding your brand—whether positive or negative. This allows you to take timely action as needed. Consistent online reputation monitoring ensures that your brand’s reputation remains clean and positive, which can significantly impact customer sentiment and loyalty.

Managing online reviews and feedback

Another key feature to look for is the ability to easily manage online reviews and feedback. As mentioned, online reviews play a central role in shaping a brand’s reputation. For this reason, it’s important to have a pulse on what your brand’s reviews are like and to quickly respond to them. 

A strong reputation management tool can provide you with streamlined ways to monitor and engage with feedback effectively. 

Top tools for effective online reputation management

Want to monitor your brand’s online reputation like a pro? Here are some top tools you can start using today:

1. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free tool that notifies you when a specific topic appears in Google Search. You can set alerts for your brand’s name and receive email notifications whenever those keywords are mentioned.

2. Brand24

Brand24 allows you to monitor and analyze online conversations across various platforms, from social media to podcasts. Powered by AI, it can analyze sentiment and create reports. By tracking social media you can gauge customer satisfaction and quickly address negative comments if they arise.

3. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media management tool that includes features for social listening and reputation management, enabling you to track, manage, and reply to social media messages in one place.

4. Trustpilot

Trustpilot is a customer review platform that helps build credibility by showcasing user reviews on your website. It aggregates feedback into an easy-to-manage dashboard and provides insights into customer sentiment, allowing you to address any issues quickly and highlight positive experiences to strengthen your brand’s reputation.

5. ReviewTrackers

This reputation management software aggregates reviews from popular sites like Google, Facebook, and TripAdvisor, making it easy to track what customers are saying.

6. Mention

Mention is a social listening and media monitoring tool that allows you to monitor and analyze online conversations about your brand. 

7. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a social media management suite that includes sentiment analysis, social listening, and review management features. 

8. Birdeye

This AI-powered reputation management tool makes it possible to create, schedule, and monitor social posts across different locations. It also provides sentiment analysis and actionable insights.

9. Yext

Yext is a “digital presence platform” that allows you to manage your different online platforms in one location. It also includes valuable reputation management features, such as centralized customer feedback. 

Integrating reputation management into your brand strategy

Now that you understand how online reputation management services work, it’s time to leverage them. Here’s how you can effectively integrate reputation management into your brand strategy. 

Build a strong brand foundation online

The first step to cultivating your brand image is to build a strong foundation using your business’s website. Your website serves as the “home” for your digital footprint, so it should be well-designed, intuitive, informative, and aligned with your brand and mission. These features can help foster trust, give your brand legitimacy, and even improve customer relationships. 

Fortunately, with Wix Website Builder, you can create a compelling, user-friendly site in just minutes using pre-made templates and simple editing features.

Use reputation management to improve brand trust

Next, it’s time to leverage the power of reputation management tools to build and retain customer trust. Use these tools to track customer reviews, conversations, and mentions across various platforms. As you monitor feedback, respond to it quickly and thoughtfully to show customers you care about their concerns and their opinions. 

You can also leverage customer success stories and testimonials as valuable social proof on your website.

Respond to negative feedback and crises

In the world of public reviews, you might occasionally receive less-than-desirable comments. If you face criticism, negativity, or other crises, don’t panic—handling these situations effectively is a crucial part of online reputation management. 

First, stay calm and take a step back before responding. Use your reputation management tools to gather all relevant information about the situation and understand the full scope of the problem.

Next, respond promptly. Address the customer’s concerns, show empathy, and take steps to de-escalate the situation if necessary. For public reviews and comments, be sure to respond publicly. However, you can also consider taking the conversation offline and reaching out to the individual directly. And of course, when addressing negative feedback, it’s important to offer a solution or a path forward. 

After you’ve dealt with the situation, treat negative feedback as a valuable learning opportunity. You can analyze the feedback to identify recurring trends or underlying issues and pinpoint areas for improvement.

Case Studies: Brands that excel in reputation management

Curious to learn more about situations where brands excelled in reputation management? Let’s look at two examples: 

• The KFC “Chicken Crisis” – Food giant KFC went viral for all of the wrong reasons in 2018 when they had to shut down hundreds of restaurants in the UK after running out of chicken. The company promptly addressed the scandal with humorous responses, even taking out a full-page ad in a UK newspaper (CNN, 2018), which helped diffuse the situation and keep their reputation afloat. 
• Apple’s “BatteryGate” – Tech company Apple ended up in hot water after it was accused of deliberately slowing the performance of older iPhones. While Apple said this was to protect aging batteries, customers felt like they were being duped. After making a formal apology and statements, Apple offered discounts on replacement batteries and even issued payments back to consumers. (CBS News, 2024)

Lessons learned from reputation management failures

Brands don’t always handle reputation crisis effectively. For example, we can recall a situation involving United Airlines, where a passenger was forcibly removed from a flight due to overbooking. When footage of the crisis went viral, the airline’s initial statement only fueled public anger. Critics said it didn’t address the situation directly or provide a solution. As a result, United Airlines experienced widespread negative coverage and even a significant drop in stock prices. (BBC, 2017)

In cases like these, when brands seem to drop the ball on reputation management, we see just how important it is to address negative situations as early, transparently, and positively as possible. Customers today expect swift, decisive resolutions—and if they feel snubbed, it might only make the situation worse. 

Start monitoring your brand’s reputation today

As you can see, monitoring your brand’s online reputation—and ensuring it stays positive—is crucial for the long-term success of your business. 

Here’s how you can start today:

Choose the right tools for your brand

Begin by choosing tools that help easily monitor your brand’s reputation online. Consider your business’s specific needs, which online platforms you’re using, and where your customers are most active. 

Be sure to use a variety of tools that both notify you and distill key insights from online conversations. 

Secure your brand’s online presence

​​Take proactive steps to strengthen your online presence by securing key assets tied to your brand name, such as a domain name, social media handles, and business profiles.

Then, you can integrate reputation management practices into your overall web and social media strategy to continuously cultivate a positive online image. 

Take control of your brand’s reputation with Name.com

Name.com offers top-tier solutions to establish a strong online presence. Use our domain search tool to find a domain that reflects your brand, build a user-friendly site with our website builder, and enhance your professionalism with custom email hosting services. 

 

Sources: 

Statista. Company reputation’s impact on consumer’s decision to purchase a product or service in the United States as of September 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1419143/company-reputation-impacting-purchase-united-states/ 

Axios. Communication leaders explain the value of reputation. https://www.axios.com/2023/12/15/crisis-reputation-markets-united-airlines-activision 

Forbes. How Reviews And Ratings Affect Clients’ Buying Decisions.  https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2024/07/11/how-reviews-and-ratings-affect-clients-buying-decisions/#:~:text=According%20to%20a%20study%20conducted,forming%20an%20opinion%20of%20trust. 

CNN. KFC apologizes for chicken shortage with a hilarious hidden message> https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/23/news/kfc-apology-ad-shortage-chicken/index.html 

BBC. United Airlines: Shares drop after passenger dragging video.  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39563570