Online Reputation Management is the new PR
Online Reputation management, buzz management or brand management are all names for a growing area of website marketing linked to social websites, and is fast becoming the new PR.
Old school PR companies may have trawled through the tabloids to discover any stories relating to you. But what about the vast resource of the Internet?
Before buying a product or selecting a service the vast majority of Internet users do some research wither it's searching on Google or reading posts on forums.
But do you know what people are saying about you on the Internet?
With the rise of social websites like Facebook and Myspace, blogging services like Blogger and twitter and many companies having there own blog, there is an increase in the chance of something negative being written about you.
A classic example of this is Starbucks. If you search on Google for Starbucks you will find several sites with negative feelings towards the giant coffee company. (We quite like their coffee!)
Online Reputation Management services can scour the Internet to find any mention of you or your brand and help you to counter any negative publicity.
It's not all doom and gloom. Online Reputation Management will also find all that positive feedback about you. If you do find negative content about your company or brand what can you do?
If the information is true don't ignore it or hide from it. Participate in the discussion by posting a reply or leaving a comment so you can get your side of the argument across. And on your own website issue a statement or correct the issue.
If it is not true contact the owner and request, politely, that they remove or retract it. If that doesn't work it may be time to call in the lawyers.
- Published: 6 September 2008
On the same theme, found this blog interesting....
http://www.pr-squared.com/2008/08/actionable_listening_vs_active.html