With access to the World Wide Web, information about businesses and individuals is readily available. People who want to know more about someone or something will inevitably search online under a company name or brand. With any type of information collected from digital and print media publication, the question is whether or not the information acquired is actually accurate.
With the advent of social media and blogging platforms like blogger.com and WordPress.com, it is now possible to comment in real time and on the spot about companies and individuals. When positive comments about a company or person appear, there are often no problems. However, when negative comments are posted under the name of a person or brand, this information can remain online and cause lost revenue, mistrust, disrespect, and unexpected challenges.
Online reputation management is born
Before social media and online marketing existed, reputation management was a professional skill. Establishing a reputation for a person, business, or organization was the domain of public relations specialists. If someone’s name or company suffered a scandal that negatively linked their brand or name to a media event, lawsuit, affair, or other type of occurrence, a public relations firm was hired to proactively combat the published information. and correct inaccuracies. Today, public relations specialists are still hired in this capacity. Public relations professionals are often employed by celebrities, politicians, religious and corporate leaders, and other professionals who can afford to pay large monthly advances. To be more effective in reaching a larger audience, additional budgets are also needed for print, radio, and television advertising.
The difference between web-based reputation management and traditional public relations
Many online marketing companies offer reputation management services that apply directly to web media. Specialists who oversee web-based reputation management for a business or organization typically have professional public relations backgrounds. But these are not the only types of skill sets needed. In the world of online marketing, a person who oversees the reputation of a person or company needs to know how to use social media and blogging platforms to gain visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). As time passes, social networking and blogging platforms change, incorporating new programming and functionality for members. Professionals involved in online reputation management will be aware of these changes and will know exactly how to implement them into their client strategies.
The impact of social networks on an online reputation
Good or bad, right or wrong, ordinary people feel free to post their views and opinions anywhere online. The people who litter the web with this kind of information may have an ax to grind or perhaps a legitimate concern. These could include dissatisfied customers, vendors, or current or former employees. In the field of reputation management, ‘scouring’ or removing negative comments is not a strategy, it’s a reaction. Facebook currently allows members to remove comments that are unacceptable. But the impact of aggressive or negative responses may already have been felt.
Other social media platforms, such as Twitter and LinkedIn, do not allow members to delete comments. Online review-based websites, such as Yelp, Merchant Circle, or Google, are other places people can “let off steam.” If a blog or website owned and maintained by another person or company contains offensive or inaccurate information about a company or person, the text cannot simply be removed. In fact, these types of comments can stick around for quite a while. If a response is not crafted or posted, the person or business may experience decreases in lead generation, customer retention, or damage to a brand or name.
As Warrant Buffett once remarked, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it.”
How to evaluate a company that sells these services online
Any legitimate company selling reputation management services will not recommend simply removing comments. Instead, one can expect the online marketing agencies that offer this service to step in and come up with appropriate responses that put a new “spin” on the problem. Like their counterparts in the traditional public relations world, online reputation management providers will offer their clients options and approaches that neutralize negative feedback or offer their customers, vendors, or employees a solution to the problem.
If inappropriate comments appear high in search engine rankings under a company brand or individual name, online marketing and PR strategies will be recommended and implemented to push the harmful pages from the first pages of results. from the search engine to the following pages.
According to The Media Audit, conducted in October 2010, “Internet users in the US spend 3 times more minutes blogging and social networking than responding to and writing emails.” This means that the average consumer is listening to the chatter online. People often consider this information very seriously before hiring or buying from a company or individual. As the information highway becomes busier with tidbits driving prospects, consumers, and customers away, the skill of reputation management is more in demand than ever.
Don’t make the mistake of hiring a traditional PR firm to handle your online reputation management. Make sure that the agency or company hired to do this work is well qualified in the field of internet marketing and public relations.
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