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The financial services industry, never far from the spotlight, is under brighter lights than ever. From the CommBank scandal, to widespread questioning of the value of superannuation and the bona fides of fund managers – not to mention fees – and the destabilising nature of parliamentary to-ing and fro-ing – it’s all happening. If ever a year had proven that building and protecting brand reputation is no easy task for our industry, this is it. And the advent of social media and online channels only intensifies the scrutiny.
Regardless of whether your company has an ‘active’ online presence or not, your target audience may still be making assumptions about you based on what they see and read. Whether you’re ‘there’ or not, there’s absolutely nothing to stop those who are ‘there’ from talking about you on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere. So what should a financial services organisation setting out on the online reputation management path consider – especially given that not all financial services organisations are the same?
Here are some top tips for financial services companies seeking to protect their online reputations.
1. Listen hard
Do you know what your target audience is saying about you? You should be monitoring what is being said about you online so that you can act and respond quickly, if need be. According to the 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer, 63% of people rate online search engines as the most trusted source of information. To add to that, online search ranks higher than television and newspapers as a source for confirming or validating information about a business.
If you aren’t happy with what people may find when they search your name or your company name, then it’s time to improve your online reputation.
2. Identify your target audience
Which groups does your business most need to connect with? How do you ensure that what your audience is seeing and hearing about you online is the information you want them to have? Which channels do they use to communicate? Knowing this should guide the kind of information you release, and where and how you release it, as well as where you listen and monitor.
3. Plan for the worst
It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think of the online scenarios most likely to cause you harm. Invest some time and effort in scenario planning based on these likely risks so you can find ways to mitigate them – before they happen. For example, the performance of a super fund, the launch of a new funeral insurance policy, the movements of the stock market, an increase in fees – all of these are foreseeable and can be planned for in terms of the impact they may have and the messages you need to actively promote to achieve the desired outcome.
4. Build policies and guidelines
People will make up their mind about your business based on a number of different interactions – for example from the experience they have with the call centre, from the service they receive from their relationship manager, from the articles they read about you online. What this means is that no one person can control your company’s reputation. That’s why it is important that your business has appropriate policies and guidelines to help any staff member who may encounter a customer (or other target audience member) make the right decision about how to represent your brand. In the ever expanding world of social media, having clear and realistic social media policies that every staff member is aware of and follows is a fundamental step towards online reputation risk management.
5. Think outside the social media box
We’ve already mentioned the importance of targeting your message according to your audiences and the online platforms they use. But remember, social media sites aren’t the only online channels. You also need to be aware of the messages that are displayed on your website, on product review sites, on online news sites and so on. Having a positive communication strategy designed to address all channels where your name is likely to appear is the best thing you can do to be prepared to boost – and protect – your online reputation.
If you need any more convincing about the importance of online reputation risk management, this infographic sums it up. BlueChip has also developed a handy Online Reputation Checklist (it’s free) to help you get started managing your online reputation.
