This story first appeared on PR Daily in December, 2015.

Managing your organization’s reputation is important to avoid potential crises and negative publicity.
There are several things you can do online to make sure you brand’s image remains top-of-mind and is shown in a positive light.

Being proactive to optimize content and stay on top of potential negativity can help you stay ahead of the game.
Here are three reputation management tips to keep your brand’s online image positive.

1. Claim your authority.
To ensure your reputation management efforts remain positive, look at your organization’s website.
Search engines like Google will view your site as the initial authority about your business, so make sure you have fully optimized the site. Use appropriate keywords, meta-descriptions and tags on all pages and posts so they can be easily found in an online search.
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2. Designate a crisis point-person.
Another great way to use reputation management to keep your brand’s online image positive is to assign a point-person to handle potential crises as they arise.
Having a specific person trained in public relations tactics can help you manage online negativity as it happens, without having to involve your CEO or having them answer comments and questions on social media.
This article explains what you should look for when hiring a public relations firm.

3. Incorporate consumer responses.
Social media is an effective tool for reputation management. Encouraging consumers to post to your social pages and asking them questions can help your fans see that you are taking their comments seriously.
Facebook even has a feature on business pages that shows a brand’s response time, making it clear to fans and followers that you are ready to receive their feedback.
Besides optimizing your site properly for SEO, assigning a point-person for potential crises and asking customers for feedback, what steps do you take to ensure you brand’s online image stays positive?
Beth Adan is a publicist at Three Girls Media. A version of this story originally appeared on the firm’s blog.

Source: http://www.prdaily.com/socialmedia/Articles/19818.aspx