For several years, companies' reputations have depended on the image they project on social networks. The trend accelerated in 2021 with the Covid-19 crisis, which disrupted our society and pushed companies toward digitalization.
The phenomenon has grown so much that today we no longer talk about reputation, but aboute-reputation plain and simple. Visibrain analyzed the best strategies to implement to boost your e-reputation; here are the 5 trends for 2022.
1. Be an active participant in society in 2022
As we have seen in recent years, major social movements have taken social networks by storm. This was the case with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, which ignited the web with more than 97.5 million tweets, including 1.5 million for France alone.
It's clear: internet users are mobilizing on the web. And if you want to stay in the race and polish your e-reputation you will have to get involved ! In 2022, brands will not only need to take societal issues into account in their communications, they will have to act, or at least respond, daily on these issues. In short, be active members of society!
2. MMedia, social networks, and influencers have become one
In recent years, influencers have taken an increasingly prominent place in companies' digital communication, acting as an important vector of their reputation on social networks. But once again, the Covid-19 epidemic altered interactions on the media.
Nowadays, the influencers have become relay of information across all media, whether traditional or social. In 2020 we even saw the emergence of a new type of media: hybrid media like Brut or Mediavenir. These hybrid outlets played such a role during the health crisis that their journalists became genuine influencers!
As a consequence of this change: in 2022 companies will have to rethink their communication and adopt a unified strategy which encompasses the three marketing levers: media, social networks, and influencers.
3. Take care of your online reputation on all social networks
If Facebook and Twitter were the social networks to prioritize for managing your e-reputation, you will now have to monitor all social networks. 2020 saw a surge in politicized posts on Instagram and TikTok, whereas these had previously been seen as neutral, sanitized social networks.
Many brands such as Amazon or Le Slip Français suffered the wrath of internet users on these networks last year. In 2022, you will therefore need to monitor shares related to your brand across all networks to defuse negative buzz, but also capitalize on positive buzz !
4. The power of short videos on your online reputation
In 2022, you'll need to master the snack video! A flagship format of TikTok, this short video has the advantage of offering a moment of relaxation and laughter to users deeply affected by the health crisis. The snack-video It also experienced phenomenal success during the firster lockdown. This pushed competing social networks like Instagram with Reels, YouTube with Shorts and Snapchat with Spotlight to quickly adopt this video format.
Easy to produce and very engaging, many brands saw an opportunity to boost their visibility. However, like all successful posts, they are also an occasion for negative comments and for content denouncing the immoral practices of certain brands, such as Amazon with the video about #boycottamazon.
Again, the short video is an excellent way to improve your online reputation on social networks, but remember to carry out a careful monitoring to avoid all the risks inherent to bad publicity on the internet and to defamatory statements.
5. Fake news and online reputation: be vigilant
In 2020 and 2021, Fake News were still omnipresent on social networks. Between the U.S. elections and the pandemic, the wildest pieces of information managed to sow doubt in internet users' minds.
Although social media and journalists have alerted and persuaded the public to be vigilant and to better verify their information sources, the Fake News are and will continue to be widespread in 2022.
To prevent your brand from being the target of Fake News, be transparent in your communication, establish a strong bond of trust relationship of trust between you and consumers. Not only will you protect your e-reputation, but if you have a close-knit community around your brand, it will be the first to denounce and discredit those false claims.
Our tip
As you may have noticed, managing your e-reputation across all social media in 2022 will require a significant investment of time.
Between the various monitoring tasks to carry out on all networks and the posts to write to boost your brand image, the best strategy may be to delegate this task to a professional web copywriter !
