Online Reputation Management (ORM) at Crio – Strengthening Brand Perception & Trust

In today’s digital landscape, a brand’s reputation is shaped by how it is perceived and discussed online. At Crio, I led a structured and data-driven ORM initiative with my team to manage brand perception across key platforms like Google, Quora, Reddit, and YouTube, ensuring a positive and credible brand image. Through a combination of SEO-driven content strategies, influencer collaborations, and proactive community engagement, we successfully reshaped Crio’s online reputation.

I believe that consumers often share negative experiences more than positive ones, creating an imbalanced perception. I addressed concerns at the root while proactively engaging satisfied customers to share their stories, ensuring a more authentic brand image.

Challenges & The Need for ORM

With hiring slowdowns and job market uncertainties, skepticism among users led to a rise in negative online discussions. This imbalance in brand perception required a proactive ORM strategy to:

  • Increase Positive Brand Visibility: Drive authentic user-generated content.
  • Manage & Mitigate Negative Sentiments: Address and counterbalance concerns strategically.
  • Optimize Search Rankings: Ensure branded keywords surfaced positive, credible content.
  • Leverage Influencers & Community Advocacy: Strengthen brand trust through authoritative voices.

    Key Steps & Execution

    1. Brand Audit & Sentiment Analysis

    • Conducted an in-depth audit across search engines, social platforms, and review sites to assess brand perception.
    • Categorized content into Positive, Neutral, and Negative to develop targeted engagement strategies.
    • Mapped high-impact negative content affecting brand sentiment and search rankings.

    2. Proactive Review Management & Community Engagement

    • User-Driven Review Strategy: Encouraged Crio alumni and current learners to share genuine experiences on Google, LinkedIn, Quora, Reddit, and Discord.
    • Community-Driven Advocacy: Activated the Crio Alumni Network (CAN) to become brand advocates and hold talks with people sharing their positive experiences. 
    • Follow-Up & Engagement: Implemented a structured follow-up system to encourage satisfied users to leave detailed reviews but also not be pushy. 
    • Google & LinkedIn Review Enhancement: Focused outreach on recently placed learners with high satisfaction ratings to boost Crio’s credibility.

    3. Leveraging Influencers for Reputation Building

    • SEO-Optimized Video Content: Partnered with industry influencers to create high-ranking, well-structured content addressing frequently searched queries (e.g., “Crio Review,” “Crio Experience”).
    • Reddit & Quora Advocacy: Encouraged alumni to share honest experiences, increasing upvotes and visibility of positive discussions.
    • Google Review Optimization: Direct outreach to satisfied users, ensuring high-quality, in-depth reviews balanced past negative ones.

    4. SEO-Optimized Content to Dominate Search Rankings

    • Branded Content Creation: Developed SEO-optimised content targeting high-volume search queries related to Crio.
    • Technical SEO Implementation: Optimized metadata, video descriptions, and influencer-led content to boost visibility.
    • High-Engagement Platform Strategy: Leveraged LinkedIn, Twitter, and Reddit to distribute and amplify branded content, ensuring long-term search impact.

    5. Root Cause Resolution for Negative Reviews

    • User Tracking & Escalation Support: Identified users who posted negative reviews and escalated their concerns to the internal support team.
    • Case-Specific Resolutions: Expedited issue resolution by addressing their needs, ensuring transparency, and providing tailored support.
    • Reputation Recovery Outreach: After resolving concerns, engaged with these users to request the removal or updating of their reviews.
    • Proactive Problem-Solving: Went beyond media management by directly curbing user dissatisfaction at its source.

    Impact & Results

    • Brand Sentiment Improvement: Reduced negative brand mentions by 56%, aligning with industry ORM benchmarks.
    • Google Rating Enhancement: Improved from 4.5 to 4.7, exceeding industry averages for user-driven reputation management.
    • Search Visibility Impact: Eliminated high-ranking negative Quora posts and reduced high-ranking negative YouTube videos from 9 to 4, ensuring SEO-driven, influencer-backed content ranked in the top 5 searches.
    • Increased Positive Content Volume: Doubled positive sentiment across key online platforms.
    • Community-Led Advocacy Growth: Strengthened engagement on Discord & Quora, turning users into brand advocates.
    • Sustainable ORM Model: Shifted ORM from reactive management to a proactive, growth-oriented reputation strategy.


    Strong ORM isn’t just about damage control—it’s about proactively shaping the brand’s online presence.     This helped turn Crio’s ORM strategy into a growth and trust-building initiative that reinforced its reputation as a leader in tech education.

    Platform Sentiment Analysis :

    Public Relations & Thought Leadership – Strengthening Brand Visibility

    Recognizing the importance of public relation and media in building credibility, our team proactively identified key narratives, crafted compelling brand stories, and successfully got them published in renowned media outlets.

    I contributed to developing newsworthy narratives and authored compelling articles from scratch, ensuring they aligned with Crio’s core messaging while resonating with publishers and industry audiences.

    The Need for PR:

    • Amplify Crio’s placement outcomes & success stories to strengthen learner and potential consumer trust.
    • – Secure event coverage & major brand milestones in credible publications.
    • –  Position Crio as a thought leader through partnerships and industry collaborations.- Enhanced Online Reputation

    Key PR Achievements & Published Articles

    • Clocking 2,000+ Placements – Showcasing Crio’s Career Impact
      Published in: My Big Plunge (Reach: 59,850)
    • Crio Accelerate Launch – Announcing a Major Career Growth Initiative
      Published in: The Hindu (Reach: 1,15,000)
    • Crio x Foundation for Excellence (FFE) – Social Impact Partnership for Engineering Students
    • Successfully secured coverage in multiple business and education news platforms, including:

    How I Led This Initiative & Its Impact

    These PR efforts resulted in widespread media exposure and increased brand credibility. Following the publication of our placement success and program launch stories, we observed a surge in direct traffic by 25% and an overall positive online brand presence. The articles were not just external PR wins but were also showcased on Crio’s official website, reinforcing their value as long-term marketing assets.

    Final Thoughts

    Through a strategic mix of influencer collaborations, user-generated content, SEO-driven ORM, and targeted PR efforts, I helped Crio strengthen its online reputation, foster trust, and build brand reputation. By proactively shaping sentiment and increasing authentic advocacy, these initiatives enhanced Crio’s credibility. This experience reinforced that strong ORM and PR aren’t just about managing perception but about using trust, storytelling, and visibility to fuel brand growth. 

    I look forward to applying these approaches to elevate brand reputation and audience engagement in future roles.