Online Reputation Management is a discipline in which you are able to improve your reputation online and work towards a better reputation for your business. Reputation management refers to an act or process of managing individuals or group reputation. This management includes activities to deal with the negative impact that being linked to an online reputation can have on a person or group. This has been seen to affect businesses, brands, individuals, organizations, and governments. If you have an online reputation management strategy then it is quite possible that your business may suffer.

In a reputation management context, one considers the overall effect of having a good or bad reputation and tries to change or counteract this. The focus is on this in online reputation management. For example, if there is a particular individual or brand that has several negative mentions online, then the business concerned may wish to change this, so as to make it more positive.

There are a few different ways in which this can be done, some of these include changing one's profile (profile or web page), deleting comments that are considered controversial, signing up to a public relations or social media forum, and joining or creating a new page on social media or a new blog related to their industry. As mentioned before, the most popular method used by businesses in online reputation management is by using social media. Examples of social media are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest. They will allow the business to manage their reputation online. A business can start by making a profile on any of these platforms.

Once the brand has created a profile, they will be able to interact with their fans or followers on these platforms. A business will then be able to interact with their consumers or clients online by making positive mentions about their brand. For example, they may make a post on their page saying "if you are fed up with your brand then join our fan page to show your passion for our brand. And if you are currently dissatisfied with our services then let us show you how we can improve our service to you so that you can get the best experience from us." This speaks volumes about how a company balances their social media posts relating to their brands.

By monitoring their brand's presence online they will then be able to monitor any new mentions made to them by consumers or clients. They can also monitor any comments posted on blogs or public forums. Monitoring their presence online by adding a new mention, monitoring comments on their business profiles, and monitoring new mentions by their fans or clients will give any business immense peace of mind. If a brand has spent a lot of money on online reputation management then there should be high expectations for the outcome of this investment as well.

The impact of negative reviews on consumers is real, it's just sometimes hard to spot. Most negative reviews are written by individuals rather than companies, and as such, they are often written in poor taste. The HR professionals that are tasked with managing a company's online reputation management strategy should write each review objectively. The tone of the review should not be too critical, but consumers want to know what exactly went wrong, and what measures were taken to correct the problems. In some cases the company may have done something to cause the negative reviews to occur, such as deleting a blog post that contained sensitive information, but as long as the reviewer is not trying to place the blame on the company for the negative reviews then the mention should be allowed. As well as ensuring the accuracy of the review, any HR professionals that manage a company's social media presence should make sure to include a few helpful tips on the positive side as well.

One of the best pieces of advice that HR professionals give when working to improve a brand's online reputation management strategy is to look to other companies that are similar to the brand that they work for. These companies may have used online reputation management techniques themselves and as such can offer helpful tips and tricks that can be implemented onto the company's social media profile. If possible it is a good idea to request that a positive review is included on the company's Facebook page or Google+ page, as this will show to any customers that the brand has not only listened to their customer's feedback but also cares about their opinion. This will create a sense of consistency, and any customers that read through the review will likely be encouraged to take further action themselves by using the brand in question.

There are other ways that HR professionals can use positive online reputation management strategies to tackle a specific clothing company's problem. If a clothing company is having trouble responding to negative comments about a particular brand online, for example, they could join an online forum designed to help such companies combat negative criticism. In some cases these forums can even feature clothing company representatives that are willing to moderate discussions so that the brand is not accused of shutting down all discussion forums in order to appease a single detractor.