How to Do a Reputation Audit? The 5 Step Guide [2024]

Your brand’s reputation is one of your most valuable assets. A single negative review or media article can influence potential customers and change your online presence. People now rely on search engine results and social media platforms to form opinions. That’s why managing your online reputation isn’t just optional – it’s essential for success. But how to do a reputation audit?

Here’s the good news: conducting a reputation audit has become easier, thanks to AI tools that can analyze data.

Let’s explore how to conduct a reputation audit in 5 simple steps!

A reputation audit checks how people see your brand online. It helps you spot strengths, fix weaknesses, and catch risks early. Regular audits improve visibility, build trust, and keep you ahead of competitors.

What is a reputation audit?

A reputation audit is a process of evaluating your brand’s image across various online platforms. It combines your image from search engines, forums, and even social media.

You can think of it as a regular health check for your company name. It analyzes positive or negative reviews and talks about you (and everything in between).

As a result – it provides valuable insights into:

• What’s working
• What’s not
• & Where you might face potential risks

The goal is simple – to help you develop effective strategies and build trust with your target audience.

But here’s a quick reality check: Everyone wants to have only positive reviews, but it’s simply impossible.

Negative comments are an integral part of the business. Try to look at them as opportunities to grow and improve.

Why should you conduct a reputation audit?

Here’s why every business, whether it’s a small business or a big global brand – needs to do an online reputation audit:

• Improve online visibility
  Positive feedback boosts your presence on search engines, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
• Identify risks before they escalate
  Identifying negative talks early helps you address them before they escalate.
• Stay competitive
  Regular audits ensure your brand presence stands out in the crowded online space.
• Build long-term relationships
  A positive reputation fosters loyalty and trust among your target consumers (and this can significantly impact your sales).

Pro Tip: Ask AI tools for audit 

Before diving into the actual steps, let me share the best possible tip you could get for your reputation audits.

AI tools can do fantastic work for you and save you a ton of time!

For example, Brand24 developed its own AI Brand Assistant that combines ChatGPT knowledge with social listening capabilities.

The outcome? Super relevant results based on actual data.

It can simplify the reputation auditing process by collecting data, identifying negative reviews, benchmarking against competitors, and analyzing trends across social media platforms and review sites.

The most important part is creating the right prompts. 

I wanted to help you out and curated a list of prompts that you can use for your reputation audit:

Example Prompts for AI Tools:

• What are the key strengths of [brand] reputation strategy?
• What weaknesses could impact the [brand] reputation?
• How do competitors perform in terms of search engine optimization and social media presence?
• What’s the sentiment around [brand] on online platforms like Twitter and Google?
• What is the general sentiment (positive, negative, neutral) toward [brand]?
• Which aspects of [brand] are praised the most?
• How does [brand] sentiment compare to key competitors?
• What topics or qualities are competitors associated with that [brand] is not?
• Who are the most influential voices discussing [brand]?
• Which of [brand] campaigns, products, or messages are generating the most attention?
• In which regions or countries is [brand] viewed most positively? Most negatively?
• What specific features or qualities of [brand] products/services are most appreciated or criticized?

Now, take a look at some of the responses based on a GoPro example:

• What specific features or qualities of GoPro products/services are most appreciated or criticized?

• Who are the most influential voices discussing GoPro?

• What are the key strengths of GoPro reputation strategy?

How to do a reputation audit?

Now, with that being said, I think we can move on to the actual steps you need to take when conducting a reputation audit:

Step 1: Collect data

Gathering data is the foundation of any good audit.

But it’s easy to get lost in this process. We get reviews all over the internet – so how to gather them all in one place?

My tip is to use social listening tools that will do that for you. 

For example, Brand24 can access publicly available mentions from:

• Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, Quora, Telegram, and Twitch
• Review sites such as TripAdvisor, Booking, App Store, Google Play, Trustpilot
• Blogs
• Video platforms
• Podcasts
• Discussion forums
• Newsletters
• Online news sources

So, simply said, it covers everything you need for a comprehensive reputation audit.

However, if you don’t want to use an advanced online reputation management tool or social listening – I would focus on these key areas:

• Social media platforms
• Online reviews
• Media articles
• Forums (such as Reddit or Quora)

These are relatively easy to monitor and have a very significant impact as these platforms are perceived as the most “authentic” ones.

Step 2: Analyze Sentiment

Understanding sentiment is a crucial part of any online reputation audit.

Why?

It reveals how your target audience truly feels about your brand.

Sentiment analysis can help you:

• Identify trends in your digital reputation
• Address any potential reputation risk
• Refine your strategy
• Connect better with your audience

And the best part is that it doesn’t take much time. With AI technology, sentiment analysis can be done within minutes.

Brand24 is a perfect example – its AI features make the whole process smooth and effortless.

Here’s a quick overview of my favorite features to conduct sentiment analysis based on the Rhode (Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand) example:

1. Sentiment analysis graph

This chart shows how audience feelings about your brand shift over time.

Spikes in positivity or drops into negativity often correlate with specific events, like a successful campaign or a PR problem. 

This feature lets you monitor it in real-time so you can react quickly whether it’s addressing a crisis or amplifying a win, time matters!

Additionally, the graph helps you understand whether your overall strategy is moving in the right direction.

This is what it looks like:

2. Emoji Analysis

Emojis are powerful for understanding your brand’s vibe.

Are people dropping heart emojis ❤️, clapping 👏, or angry faces 😡 when mentioning your company? Or perhaps your community established its set of emojis?

Emoji analysis provides a snapshot of how your audience feels.

It helps you tailor your content using emojis that resonate with your community. 

You can even create a sense of belonging and relevance just simply by using the emojis your audience does.

Here’s an emoji analysis for Rhode:

3. Emotion Analysis

This feature goes beyond simple sentiment. It uncovers the deeper emotions behind mentions of your brand:

• Admiration
• Anger
• Disgust
• Fear
• Joy
• Neutral
• Sadness

So, while sentiment analysis might label a mention as “positive,” emotion analysis could label it as admiration or joy.

And all of it is displayed on a timeline.

This nuanced insight enables you to understand your audience even better and improve the way you communicate with them (also from a strategic perspective).

And a fun fact – you can even check which platforms or channels generate specific emotions, giving you actionable data for improving customer interactions.

Find it in the Brand24 dashboard > Metrics Analysis.

This is what it looks like in the Rhode example:

4. Topic Analysis

With AI-powered topic analysis, you can quickly identify what themes or subjects dominate conversations about your brand.

Are you associated with some non-relevant topics you should be aware of?

By breaking down the core topics, you can address any mismatches and ensure the right issues are being prioritized.

Just as it happens for the Rhode beauty brand. They probably shouldn’t be matched with the Rhode island or elections.

Well, I think I could talk about sentiment analysis for hours. It brings so many opportunities! 

If you want to learn more – go to this article about sentiment analysis.

Step 3: Conduct a SWOT analysis

SWOT analysis stands for:

1. Strengths
2. Weaknesses
3. Opportunities
4. Threats

It helps brands understand their current position in the market. How? It identifies internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats.

This structured approach allows businesses to evaluate their current state and address any reputational risks effectively.

My tip is to use AI tools for it.

I used Brand Assistant, a tool that gathers data from media monitoring (a variety of online platforms, including social media, review sites, and news articles) and combines it with ChatGPT knowledge.

Brand Assistant perfectly highlighted: 

• What a brand is doing well
• Areas to improve
• Potential growth opportunities
• Risks to watch out for

Take a look, I included its responses below:

1. Strengths:

2. Weaknesses:

3. Opportunities:

4. Threats:

By using tools like Brand Assistant, you can easily uncover insights to enhance your reputation strategy.

Step 4: Benchmark the performance

To fully understand your company’s reputation, it’s crucial to compare your performance over time or against competitors.

Benchmarking helps you:

• Spot trends
• Identify strengths and weaknesses
• & Understand where you stand in the market

I like to use the Compare Project feature for that.

It allows you to directly compare your brand’s mentions, reach, and sentiment against competitors:

This helps you evaluate your growth and shows how well you’re performing compared to others in your industry.

Or, if I want to focus on my performance – the Compare Periods feature is perfect for that:

This feature allows you to track your performance over time. It can help you determine whether your strategies are improving your reputation or if you should change things up.

It’s a fantastic way to stay competitive and ensure your brand is on the right track.

Step 5: Monitoring and review

Making a reputation audit isn’t a one-time task. Reputation requires regular monitoring and reviews.

Why?

It can change very quickly as it’s influenced by new customer feedback, industry trends, or unexpected events.

Regular reputation audits allow you to stay ahead of reputation risk and track improvements over time.

How often should you conduct a reputation audit?

Most say it is quarterly… But this may vary depending on your industry and activity levels.

Brands in fast-moving industries, like tech or fashion, might benefit from more frequent reviews, while others may find biannual check-ins sufficient.

Conclusion

Your brand reputation is everything. One bad review or comment can have a big impact on your business.

That’s why regular reputation audits aren’t just a nice-to-have. They’re a must.

The good news?

AI tools make the process of reputation audit faster, smarter, and way more effective.

Key takeaways:

1. Use AI tools to work smarter, not harder. It can uncover strengths, determine weaknesses, and spot new opportunities.
2. Reputation evolves fast! You should monitor and review it regularly.
3. Data = confidence. Make decisions based on what’s working and what needs attention.

Ready to take care of your reputation? Start with a Brand24 free trial and see how easy it can be!