Online reputation management is all about joining the conversation, and within the construction industry there are conversations you may be missing.
It’s worth asking yourself whether you are effectively engaging with the people who could, right now, be talking about your company or the issues close to its heart.
There are risks, of course, involved in speaking out and engaging online. If you don’t track who is saying what, you risk negative posts, unmet customer needs, and being out of the loop. Fail to train your employees and they could post damaging, unauthorised content.
One of the most common industry objections to maintaining an online presence is ‘I don’t have time for all this…’
It’s worth remembering that online reputation management is not confined to social media, and it isn’t just about crisis management. Aim to build trust in your company over time by leading conversations on issues such as health and safety, recruitment and supply chain management – as well as following them. Do this and you could become a thought leader, and you’ll definitely be up-to-speed on construction industry developments.
Follow our 7 top tips for better online reputation management...
Be Aware: Managing online reputation can seem daunting, especially when you are juggling multiple subcontractors. Do you have a communications strategy? A robust policy will cover who can post online and what tone they should adopt. Aim to stop unauthorised posts, but do this through constructive training rather than a dictatorial approach. You’ll also need to consider your corporate voice and who to appoint to oversee content.
Be Open: Managing negative comments online can be tricky, especially when your reputation can depend on the work of subcontractors and supply chain partners. But it’s not just about protecting your brand. What would you do if a subcontractor posted a controversial opinion on migrant labour, or a sexist remark about employing women?
If you hit a problem online, the worst thing you can do is duck it. Once you’ve established who is best able to respond to negative comments, you’ll be able to provide a direct, open and honest response without the need to hide from the issue. Modern software can help with supply chain visibility.
Be Proactive: Adopting a proactive approach involves building and nurturing an audience online, starting as well as joining conversations, and establishing trust. If you already have an online place where industry clients, partners and stakeholders congregate – for example, a Facebook page or blog – then you will be able to engage readily with them. Your voice will already be recognised and you’ll be able to build on the trust you’ve already established.
Be Alert: You may have already started conversations online... but are you listening? Effective online reputation management involves tracking conversations and noticing when your construction company is mentioned. Don’t have the time? There are RSS feeds and tools track mentions of your company name or industry issues – for example TweetDeck and HootSuite for tracking mentions on Twitter.
Be Optimised: All your online communications should be optimised and shared. This will require paying attention to construction industry keywords and driving online engagement at your own website. That way, you can be in the driving seat where online reputation management is concerned. If you optimise your content and share it via RSS feeds and social media, you’re much more likely to rise up through search engine rankings.
Be Ahead: first page rankings are crucial, as most people conducting research or looking for reviews of services don’t go beyond the first page of results. Make sure your construction company is featuring high in search engine results. When you google your company name, what do you find?
Be Smart: A third of internet users consider their smartphone to be the most important device for going online, according to Ofcom. Bring Your Own Device is now a common policy in many organisations. You need to ensure that all your online content works across devices and operating systems, because your partners, subcontractors and employees are increasingly on the move.
Follow these tips and you’ll not only be protecting your reputation, but you’ll also find your supply chain relationships will be strengthened, and you’ll be on top of industry developments too.
