Online Marketing Presence

The modern way of doing business has led to many companies using web sites as their main sales platform. Consumers can see the products they desire and generally read a professionally written description of that product. Some companies post consumer reviews of their products. Unfortunately, many people do not believe all of these reviews are written by actual customers. Trust has been a huge issue for many companies doing business online. Over the last few years they have learned that consumers can often spot a fake review, and good companies have discontinued this process.

Establishing an online presence that is trustworthy can greatly affect an online marketing program. Companies that post fake reviews of their products or services often get caught and reported to social media platforms. While companies have the opportunity and right to limit what is written on their own site, they have no control over other sites on the internet. Many consumers, often dissatisfied with a company, will post bad reviews on social media platforms. Damage control for this type of bad advertising is often difficult for the company involved.

Marketing through social media platforms holds its own share of horrors for companies. Their online accounts must be constantly monitored. A person who has an account on the same platform as a company is able to post reviews, information or slam a company through their own social media page. Even if there is no issue, there are always people willing to post bad things about a company they do not like. The company has the option to delete or hide these posts. They may also take the opportunity to address the disgruntled person directly. This is not done often because experience has shown incidents can escalate well beyond the company's control.

Companies that use social media and online platforms for their marketing have learned to hire professionally trained staff to monitor them. These people generally have a background in marketing and have taken courses to help them understand the online world. Their knowledge can boost company sales with good marketing practices. Unfortunately, just one inappropriate comment can also garner bad publicity for the company.