Twitter and Facebook are fast becoming popular and highly effective microblogging platforms for small businesses to build relationships with their esteemed customers. Tech-savvy brand owners are now keen on managing and enhancing their online reputation. Social media for them is very crucial in terms of survival and success.

Here are some of the important aspects of managing your brand’s online reputation:

• According to analysts of trends in consumer-generated digital media, online forums are emerging as the most powerful word-of-mouth modes of publicity – negative or positive. If you remain passive or inactive, it won’t take too long to spread foul things about your business.
• You cannot afford to ignore the bad buzz as a handiwork of your jealous competitors. You should tackle it in a proactive manner to win back the confidence of your prospects.  According to a survey in this regard, over 80 percent of American consumers state online reviews tend to influence their purchasing decisions one way or the other.
• Brand managers and marketers can keep track of the specific things being said about products and services with tools, such as TweetDeck, Twendz, search.twitter.com etc.
• A Google alert is also handy, as it automatically informs a business owner whenever a mention of the company is made in a review site, blog, online publication or customer forum. Some review platforms have features that allow automatic dispatch of e-mail alerts when a review or comment is posted.
• The important thing is to work out who the decisive opinion makers or influencers are. There will obviously be some megaphones, which are louder and thus matter more than other users.

Tune into the user interaction

Once you find ways to tune into the user interaction and online conversation, it becomes easier to manage their flow.  These skills are absolutely essential for today’s businesses.

Take the case of a restaurateur based in the Washington area, Dan Simons. He closely monitors the online forums. As he mentions in a new report on social media and brand building: “You could launch a business and do almost everything right. However, if you are not aware of the social media trends, you will perish.”

The reaction says it all! The important thing is to constantly monitor customer reactions. They are abuzz with a wide array of opinions about your products and services. You must be willing to listen to them to establish the credentials of your brand in their minds. This holds the key to success of online reputation management in the longer run.