Reputation: a Playbook for Engaging with Consumers and Winning Their Business

Maximizing Your Online Reputation: A Playbook for Engaging with Consumers and Winning Their Business

yahoo local internet review competition visibility advocatefacebook authority pinterest insiderpages authenticsocial media interact merchant circle monitor instagram engage brand twitter endorse protect ranking preserve sharegoogle+linkedin yellowpagesmaximize like superpagesyelp citysearchsocial impact directories search engines followersrating TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 Online Reputation Bootcamp 5 Play the Field: Get Listed in Business Directories 7 Scoring Fan Reviews on Social Channels to Enhance Your Image 10 Tackling Reviews: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 12 Blitz the Competition: Monitor Your Competitors to Get Ahead 14 Offensive and Defensive Moves to Promote and Protect Your Brand 19 The End Zone WORKSHEETS: 21 Social Media Posting Calendar 22 Comment & Review Guidelines 23 Reputation Management Checklist

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 2 ONLINE REPUTATION “It takes 20 years BOOTCAMP to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” -Warren Buffett, American Business Magnate

What is Online Reputation?

First, let’s define the concept of Online Reputation. Simply put, a brand’s Online Reputation is measured by consumer perception in terms of credibility1. Seventy-six percent of consumers regularly or occasionally use online reviews to determine which local business to use while 80% of consumers have received advice through a social media outlet regarding which product or service to purchase2. Consequently, user-generated content in the form of online reviews and social conversations significantly shape your brand’s image. They can be the deal-breaker for maintaining existing and acquiring new relationships. Trusted Brand

Why Online Reputation?

Whether you’re a large corporation, a freelance professional, or a small, “mom and pop” shop, managing your Online Reputation is a crucial part of marketing. Take a moment to consider how clients and prospects perceive your brand.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. 1 . Sources: Local Consumer Review Survey 2012 2beesocial.com Page 3 ONLINE First, can they easily find you online? REPUTATION Second, do you know what they’re saying about you? BOOTCAMP Lastly, do you know where they are talking about you?

If you did not answer “yes” to these questions, then it’s time for you to invest in your Online Reputation! And you’re not the only one—an estimated four million companies are forecasted to be using Online Reputation management platforms in 20133. Companies are investing heavily in managing their reputations because two-thirds of consumers are using search engines to help them research and make purchase decisions4. Now, in the digital age, it’s primarily about ‘word-of- mouse’ recommendations and spreading the word electronically over the internet.” According to Hubspot, 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. If consumers can’t find you, haven’t heard of you or aren’t talking about you online, chances are your competition will gain their business. So, jump on the bandwagon!

Think of reputation management in terms of a game or a sport, but with the goal of making it to the championship game year after year. As you read on, you’ll be provided with the tools to get in the game and strategy for playing offense and defense to strengthen and protect your name.

Playbook Overview • Rules of engagement: an understanding of the objective, equipment and how to use it to protect and promote your team. • A strong team and key players to focus on the offense and defense to score points with customers and win them over and to protect the team from getting injured. • Train that team and practice daily. • “Strategory”: play on your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, size up your competition, throw a “Hail Mary”—take some risks and learn from your mistakes. For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Sources: 3Digimind 2012 Page 4 4eConsultancy PLAY THE FIELD: Play the Field: Get Listed in Business Directories GET LISTED Bing Local – Bing is a top search engine and has an alliance with Yahoo that has helped IN BUSINESS them build their market share. Bing is a free service that offers tools for businesses to manage their search presence including a Bing Business Portal. This service provides maps, DIRECTORIES ratings and reviews. There is also a bulk upload program that is available to businesses with a minimum of 25 listings. Create or claim a listing here: http://www.bing.com/businessportal/ Bing Business Portal FAQ: http://www.bingbusinessportal.com/faq.aspx

Google+ Local – Google+ Local is a free online search engine service that integrates Google+. Google+ Local offers more interactive business to consumer engagement including sharing photos, links, ratings and reviews. This service has a bulk upload program available if your business has 10 or more listings. A Gmail account is also required to create a business account. Create or claim a listing here: http://www.google.com/local/add

Yahoo Local – Yahoo Local is another large online search engine that gives opportunities for businesses to provide details and their services. There is a free basic listing service which provides company information and details and allows up to five relevant categories in placement. They do charge for an enhanced listing service for higher placement. Create or claim a listing here: http://local.yahoo.com/

Citysearch – Online city guide that provides info about businesses powered by CityGrid Media. This service does charge to use their service and offers a mobile service. Consumers can leave reviews and also seek out an “At a Glance” overview of business. Create or claim a listing here: https://signup.citygrid.com/

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 5 PLAY THE FIELD: GET LISTED Judy’s Book – Judy’s Book is a review site where businesses can interact with their reviewers. The site now drives over one million unique visitors a month. This is not a free IN BUSINESS service. A listing can be claimed by searching for your company name and then selecting “Claim your Business” on the left hand side of the page. DIRECTORIES Create or claim a listing here: http://www.judysbook.com/Biz

Yelp – Yelp is an urban online city guide where consumers can leave reviews. Yelp is a free service that allows businesses to communicate both privately and publicly, track the number of visitors, provide details, offer deals and recommend other businesses. There is a fee to enhance placement. In order to claim an existing listing, search for your company and select “Work Here? Unlock this Business Page” and follow the steps to create a listing. Create or claim a listing here: https://biz.yelp.com

MerchantCircleTM – MerchantCircle.com is a free online local network of businesses that offers ratings and reviews. This site offers social networking features and deals. Create or claim a listing here: http://www.merchantcircle.com/corporate/landing/signup.html

There are many other directories including Insider PagesTM, Local.comTM, SuperpagesTM, Yellow BookTM, YellowpagesTM, ZiplocalTM and LocalEdge, so make sure you get listed in as many directories as possible to enhance your online visibility. Keep in mind that the time frame for your listing to go live may differ from site to site. For example, Google+ Local requires a PIN to complete the authentication process. They will either call your business within a few minutes to provide a PIN that must be entered on their site, or they can send you a postcard via mail with a PIN which can take up to 7-10 business days.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 6 SCORING FAN Scoring Fan Reviews on Social Channels to Enhance your Image We all know that we should be active in social spaces, but do we know why? Research by Bazaarvoice.com REVIEWS ON shows that over half of Millennials trust the opinions of strangers online5. SOCIAL Bizaarvoice.com also states that 53% of Twitter users recommend companies and/or products in their CHANNELS tweets with 48% on the intent to make a purchase3. TO ENHANCE YOUR IMAGE

According to Hubspot, the number of marketers who say that Facebook is critical or important to their business initiatives has increased 83% in just 2 years3.

Media Post News reports that brands with the highest “social media activity” (including reviews) increased revenue by as much as 18%3.

Research by Gartner states that 74% of consumers rely on social networks to guide purchase decisions3.

So, what do all these numbers mean to you and your business? These numbers are representative of the fact that people are not only talking, people are talking with the intent to buy. This is why it is so important for you and your brand to be active on social media sites. We all want a high amount of followers, but For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Sources: 5bazaarvoice.com Social Commerce Statistics Page 7 do we know why? Brand advocates. That’s why. These are your biggest fans that have had an amazing SCORING FAN experience with your brand and believe in it so much, that they will sing your praises any chance they get. REVIEWS ON What brand would not love to have thousands of brand advocates out there singing your praises? This free, “word of mouse” marketing is priceless. These recruiters are trying to convince consumers that are on SOCIAL the fence about your brand and your competition that you are the best choice—the right choice. CHANNELS How do you get these brand advocates? You have TO ENHANCE to go where they are. You have to make your YOUR IMAGE presence known in the social spaces—Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and Instagram are the biggest social platforms that currently gather the most engagement and conversation.

Countless brands know that they need to be on social sites, but what they don’t realize is that it’s not enough just to be there. They need to be having conversations with past, present, and future consumers. Brands need to be engaging on a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis. Consumers are active on social sites constantly—not just Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. Consumers want to interact, to be heard, and they want to be spoken to. When brands interact with consumers, it brings the “big business” mentality that the consumer may have regarding the brand, and replaces it with a “human” feel. So, if your brand isn’t interacting with consumers, you better believe that your competition is! Don’t miss out on this opportunity! Check out our sample Social Media calendar on page 21 for your use. Print out and customize for your business so that you’re posting a variety of appropriate and engaging content.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 8 So what do you do now that you are equipped with this knowledge? Get your brand on social sites to SCORING FAN increase your online visibility and engage with your fans. As your fan-base builds, so will their online REVIEWS ON conversations about your brand. And ultimately, you’ll see those online dialogues convert into sales SOCIAL and significant growth overall. And who wouldn’t want that?

CHANNELS Starbucks® Facebook Page Starbucks® Twitter Page TO ENHANCE YOUR IMAGE

Starbucks® Instagram Page Starbucks® Google+ Page

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 9 TACKLING REVIEWS: Tackling Reviews: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly They say it’s always “the squeaky wheel that gets the grease” Well, the same is THE GOOD, THE true for customers who complain and leave not-so-nice reviews and one and BAD, AND THE a half star ratings on your business profile. It’s the bad and ugly ones that get the attention and require your quick and carefully-worded responses. We’d UGLY all love to respond to the good ones—the pleasant and glowing reviews about how wonderful their experience was with your brand, but truthfully, we’re typically on the lookout for the bad and ugly ones so we can quickly pounce on them and put those fires out stat.

Here’s a real-life example of a “bad” review (complete with photo), turned “ugly” (i.e. widespread news coverage and lawsuits).

How SUBWAY®’s FootlongTM Turned Their Online Footprint to ‘Footwrong’ You may recall SUBWAY®’s sandwich scandal in which their famous sub fell short at 11 inches6. The entire uproar began, and then went viral, on SUBWAY®’s Facebook page when a customer complained on their page by posting a photo of the sub next to a measuring tape confirming that the sandwich fell an inch short of its namesake (“bad”). SUBWAY® initially responded that the name wasn’t intended to be a “measurement of length.” However, when three customers subsequently named SUBWAY® in a lawsuit (“ugly”), they changed their stance and stated, “Our commitment remains steadfast to ensure that every SUBWAY® FootlongTM sandwich is 12 inches at each location worldwide” (“good”).

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 10 Sources: 6Los Angeles Times 2013 SUBWAY® customers were relatively disappointed as was evidenced by the subsequent number of photos TACKLING REVIEWS: of subs and measuring tapes that were posted to SUBWAY®’s Facebook Page. This real-life scenario illustrates the importance of monitoring customer sentiment, addressing matters in a timely manner and THE GOOD, THE with a consistent message. Being mindful of these tips will elicit good customer experiences and reviews BAD, AND THE and minimize those bad and ugly encounters. UGLY Lessons Learned: 1. Word travels a million miles an hour online – especially when a disgruntled customer posts negative content about your brand. 2. Respond quickly and consistently to avoid the “snowball effect” (and law suits and media scrutiny, etc.). 3. Name your products appropriately to avoid “false claims.”

Hubspot reported that 58% of consumers trust a business with positive online reviews, 65% read between two and ten reviews and that a large number of reviews gave users more confidence in the legitimacy of the star ratings7. With so many consumers relying on strangers’ ratings and comments about a brand, you really need a game plan for responding (or not responding) to such content.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. 7 . Sources: Local Consumer Review Survey 2012 Page 11 BLITZ THE COMPETITION: “Competition MONITOR YOUR is not only the basis of COMPETITORS TO protection to the consumer, GET AHEAD but is the incentive to progress.” -Herbert Hoover

PepsiTM and Coca-Cola.TM Wendy’sTM and McDonald’sTM. TargetTM and Wal-Mart.TM All of these brands have a strong online presence and they are all watching each other’s next move. Whether it’s a public relations catastrophe, a charity contribution or a new product launch, they are all talking. Part of managing your Online Reputation also means keeping one eye open on your competition.

And, more importantly, these brands are learning from their competitors; mistakes! After all, a wise man once said, “Winners build on mistakes. Losers dwell on them (Arnold Mori).” Take the opportunity to take some risks, play off others’ successes and failures. Take the lead on a tactic that your competition couldn’t get quite right and even take a page out of their playbook and make it work for you too.

In 2011, Target produced a documentary called “Behind the Bull’s-eye”, in which they explained to viewers that not only are they the number two discount retail store behind Wal-Mart, but they are happy there. They are happy in the number two spot because they aren’t scrutinized as much in the shadow of the glaring limelight that shines on Wal-Mart. Target can fly under the radar when it comes to negative publicity, which is more difficult to do when you are number one. Not to say you don’t want to be number one, however, this tactic of paying close attention to your competitors can work in your favor. You can push your brand harder and take risks when your competitor receives some negative publicity.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 12 BLITZ THE Blitz the Competition: Monitor your Competitors to get Ahead COMPETITION: MONITOR YOUR 1 Set up Google Alerts and other third-party tools for competitors and industry news. Pay attention to what is being said about competing brands and the industry as a whole. Use the COMPETITORS TO information to make your services better, pick up where your competitors are slacking, stand out where they don’t. Find out why your competition is being noticed and figure out how you can make GET AHEAD it better.

2 Follow industry leaders on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, as well as growing channels like Pinterest and Instagram. Similar to Google Alerts, use the information you see in social channels to your advantage. If they are launching a product or hosting a contest, see how you can play off of it. Could you do something better? Is there a way you could offer something that could work hand in hand with the prize they are offering? Stay in tune with your competitors’ social initiatives and make some of your own that are fresh and new.

3 Check out analytical tools and reports to compare and evaluate the activity on your social channels versus the activity on your competitors’ channels. Use these tools as a benchmarking system to evaluate how your content stacks up against your competitors. Are they getting more click-thrus and comments than you? Are they positive or negative? Do they have more followers? These reports will be helpful in fine-tuning your messaging and determining what type of content triggers more engagement and business growth.

4 Sign up for your competitors’ promotions and newsletters and subscribe to their blog feeds.

Taking these steps and understanding what is and isn’t working for your competition will prove to be a strategic move for enhancing your own reputation and coming out ahead. Take some risks.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 13 OFFENSIVE AND Offensive and Defensive Moves to Promote and Protect your Brand Now that we’ve armed you with the basics of how the game is played, now DEFENSIVE MOVES you must actually play. So huddle up, practice, incorporate some moves into your playbook to score points, win over the fans and avoid dropping the ball or TO PROMOTE AND throwing an interception.

PROTECT YOUR In this game, it’s very important to communicate openly. Find out how your image is faring by listening and, more importantly, responding to what the BRAND public is saying on social sites, review sites, Google searches and blogs.

It’s also paramount to be proactive. After all, how are you going to play offense without fielding your fans for some winning reviews. Think of online reviews as “Testimonials 2.0”8. Continue to ask for referrals, but ask satisfied customers to post a review about their experience on your business profile in the directories to mentioned earlier like Yelp and CitySearch. Promote those links on your business cards, email signatures and other marketing materials. Offer incentives like cash or discounts for submitting an online review as well.

Reputation Management Defensive Playbook

Even more crucial to the game than playing offense and scoring points, is your defensive strategy and responding to unsportsmanlike conduct - or handling negative reviews in this case.

Carefully crafting the appropriate response is key to maintaining relationships and acquiring potential clients.

For more ideas on how to market your Sources: 8National Association of Realtors 2010 business, visit connect.homes.com. . Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers Page 14 RULE OFFENSIVE AND 1 Never write a response while angry! DEFENSIVE MOVES Your harsh words will come back to haunt you. Often customers just want to be heard. By responding you are giving them the satisfaction TO PROMOTE AND that their complaint was acknowledged. Plus, your potential clients can see that you addressed the issue.

PROTECT YOUR RULE BRAND 2 Always use empathy and be authentic! Put yourself in their shoes and try to understand why they feel the way they do. If you come across as unsympathetic or dismissive you will either look bad to other clients/consumers or encourage the person to take further action. Being genuine and open about your brand—good and bad—is always the right way to go as it lends to your credibility and authenticity.

RULE 3 Don’t blame the customer or another teammate! Take responsibility for the situation and confront it head on. According to Marketing Pilgrim, when applicable, you should quickly apologize and then do some damage control before a situation gets even more widespread (i.e. Subway’s “Footwrong” debacle above)9. Consumers don’t care whose fault it is. They just want it fixed. If you start pointing fingers at the customer they will go on the defensive and the situation will escalate. RULE 4 Never get into an online comment battle! Always keep it professional and respond quickly to unfavorable reviews. Your number one goal is to attempt to rectify the situation. Advise the reviewer to meet or call you to discuss the matter further to show that you are concerned about their experience. Andy Beal, founder of Marking Pilgrim, says, “Oftentimes, you have the opportunity to turn a detractor into an evangelist by fixing situations10.” Turn your brand enemies into brand champions!

RULE 5 Keep it timely and never ignore bad reviews! Always acknowledge the review and respond quickly to set things right.To recoup their trust, follow through immediately or they may not trust you or remove the negative review11.

9 For more ideas on how to market your Sources: Marketing Pilgrim, “Motrin Faces Twitter Headache Over New Video Campaign” 10Hubspot, “Important Lessons in Online Reputation Management From @AndyBeal [@InboundNow #24]” business, visit connect.homes.com. 11 . Remove Negative Review with Reputation Management, Local Gold Mine Blog Page 15 Create a Reputation Management Team OFFENSIVE AND Reputation is an asset and must be managed like other assets. Employees are a company’s best advocate DEFENSIVE MOVES and become your protectors (defense) and promoters (offense). We recommend setting up a team of key players representing several departments that have ownership of the brand, social media, reputation and TO PROMOTE AND risk management, legal and human resources. The team should champion the cause for social media and Online Reputation management. This group’s goal is to ensure that ownership and management of the PROTECT YOUR brand is carried out at the corporate level. Most brands typically have multiple departments that range from sales, marketing, public relations, legal and human resources, IT, third-party vendors and customer BRAND service.

The team should have a variety of players with different roles and include one to take ownership of the company’s image – your quarterback or team leader. This player makes the calls, rallies the team, knows the plays backwards and forwards and is your “go to” and is responsible for day-to-day management. The team leader within this group should be responsible for championing resources, identifying internal and external brand advocates and safeguarding the brand. The team is critical in establishing governance and best practices, policymaking and conducting company-wide training. Here are steps to help you get started in creating your team:

1 Identify the key players to become a part of the team and engage each of them in the creation of the guidelines.

2 Set routine meetings for the team to share best practices, new trends, emerging platforms and technology.

3 Establish goals, objectives and tactics to support them.

4 Conduct a reputation and social media audit.

5 Craft a risk management plan along with response protocol to become a strategic guide for units of the organization to follow.

6 Set up listening tools and formal mechanisms to actively monitor, measure and manage reputation.

7 Develop internal training material and deliver it to the organization as often as possible. 8 Evaluate effectiveness of actions taken.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 16 OFFENSIVE AND Creating a Policy Development of corporate policies, with particular DEFENSIVE MOVES emphasis on those relating to social media participation and managing your online reputation TO PROMOTE AND is important. You should define the rules of engagement to be followed to help guide your organization’s response to threats. By building in a PROTECT YOUR defined set of response procedures, it is possible to minimize the amount BRAND of damage that a social media crisis can inflict.

Questions that need to be addressed: • When are your employees “your” employees? • Are you responsible for their actions when they are “on the clock”? • Are you responsible for their actions when they are on their own time? • Consider your audience and be authentic. • Remember to protect proprietary and confidential information.

Comment and Review Guidelines Comment guidelines set the boundaries for acceptable behavior on the company’s social media profiles and across the web on review sites, local directories and search engines. Know what the media, competitors, employees and consumers are saying about you and track the content of the conversation to gauge success.

It’s good to respond to the three inevitable types of conversation - questions, complaints and compliments.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Questions Complaints Compliments Page 17 Review the “Comment & Review Guidelines” on page 22 to help develop your brand’s OFFENSIVE AND guidelines. DEFENSIVE MOVES TO PROMOTE AND According to Business News Daily, by following these tips, you’ll maintain a solid reputation on the web: PROTECT YOUR • Focus on a simple, clear and compelling narrative that will stick in the mind. It’s the main thing about your business. This is what you always BRAND want people to know about you.

• Be authentic. Talk in a language that is real for you and your brand. Avoid the jargon of corporate speak and marketing theory. The more genuine and human you are in the way you talk, the more you will engage people. Don’t be afraid to use humor where possible.

• Talk about the “dramatically different’’ things you do.People want good stories, so find the things that are exciting to talk about and amplify them.

• Encourage conversations with your customers and even your investors, employees and the press. Social media allows you to do this via Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, blogs and LinkedIn. You need to have people monitoring and actively encouraging conversations.

• Make it as easy as possible for consumers to talk about you. Empower your team to talk directly with consumers and build rapport, recruit consumers to be fans and when anything goes wrong, deal with it at lightning speed.

Lastly, to ensure you’ve not left any stone unturned, print out our “Reputation Management Checklist” on page 23. This handy list will guide you through getting setup online by publishing your contact information in every corner so you’ll be seen on search engines, review sites, directories and social sites. It will remind you what to monitor, where and how often. And finally, it will ensure that you are making keyword adjustments as necessary so that consumers can find you when using related terms in their search.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 18 THE END ZONE The End Zone And there you have it - Online Reputation in all its glory. We’ve armed you with what it is, why to do it, when to do it, where to do it, how to do it, the good and bad and the ups and downs! Now, it’s up to you to nurture that shiny, new reputation and foster those ratings, conversations and engaged audiences into a thriving business. Remember, if reputation management is a sport, your goal is to get in the game and win! Your identity should be complete with a team of brand champions to protect you from injuries, promote your brand to win over your fans, take risks, learn from mistakes, size up your competition, add to your playbook, practice daily and most of all, give the fans what they want - a solid, reliable, trustworthy company that listens to its customers and delivers on their promise.

But wait - there’s more! Our reputation management strategies don’t end here—for real estate professionals at least. Homes.com knows that a strong Online Reputation also means being aware of homebuyers and sellers’ needs and we have the resources and tools to help you manage that.

For example: Discover homebuyers’ preferred home amenities as reported in our American Dream Home Survey.

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 19 Take a look at these real-life reviews of real estate professionals that are pretty damaging. THE END ZONE Fumble! Imagine having to respond to reviews like these. They’re not only embarrassing, but can truly make recovering the ball a near impossible challenge. To avoid this or make a come back, we encourage you to visit our blog for access to various resources including presentations and other eBooks regarding social media and Online Reputation management.

Now that you know what it takes to manage your Online Reputation, we want to empower you with some tools that can make managing it even easier. Homes.com Social helps real estate professionals make a strong first impression, engage more prospects, protect your brand and control the conversation. Homes.com Social is social media made easy for real estate professionals, allowing for more time focused on selling real estate and less time worring about a social media strategy. This comprehensive service helps you expand your online visibility to ensure homebuyers and sellers can you find you online. It monitors your reputation, social marketing efforts including account setup and maintenance, content development and more.

Sign up for Homes.com Social TODAY! Contact us at 888.510.8795 For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 20 SOCIAL MEDIA POSTING CALENDAR

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

For more ideas on how to market your For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . business, visit connect.homes.com. Page 21 Page 21 For more ideas on how to market your COMMENT & REVIEW GUIDELINES business, visit connect.homes.com.

Some Things to Consider When we have an Internet crisis, brand abuse or defamatory discussion threat, what does our response system look like now?

What social media sites are we currently on? What social media sites and online sources do we currently track? Do we have a monitoring program put in place to track positive, negative and neutral mentions of our brand?

How do we manage all of the responses that come in today and who is responsible?

What is our plan of action if a crisis occurs during business hours and after business hours?

What tools are we using to track defamation?

Who is our company spokesperson should a crisis arise? Do we have the capability to quickly issue out a statement? How will we mange negative reviews? How will we manage positive reviews? Will we reject comments that include offensive or inappropriate language?

Will we allow personal attacks?

In an ideal world, you might allow people to question or argue your company’s content – after all, this medium is about conversation. Even if you do allow criticism, consider outlawing aggressive attacks.

On-topic comments: What will you do with comments that veer away from the topic of the post or other peoples’ comments?

Will we allow comments that appear to be spam?

ForWill more we ideas take on action how to marketagainst your repeat offenders? business, visit connect.homes.com. . Will we provide a way for commenters to contact someone if their comment is not approved, or if they have other questions? Page 22 Page 22 REPUTATION Contact Information Monitoring: Reviews/Mentions/Social Correct Business Name MANAGEMENT Scanning Frequency Current Address Daily CHECKLIST Current Phone Number Weekly Current Website Monthly

Keyword Adjustments: Updates/Additions Response Frequency As I am Notified/Immediately Daily Weekly Weekly Monthly

Establishing Brand Presence

Search Engines Directory Sites Bing Local 411.com Google+ Local DexKnows Yahoo Local Local LocalEdge MerchantCircle Review Sites Super Pages Insider Pages Yellow Book Judy’s Book Yellowpages Kudzu Ziplocal Yelp Other

For more ideas on how to market your business, visit connect.homes.com. . Page 23