It is possible to mitigate the damage done by negative online remarks, but only if an excellent reputation management strategy is in place. Companies should be proactive about this, ensuring there is always plenty of positive content out there to mitigate the damage done by something negative. Usually, it is recommended to work with a professional reputation management company to manage this.
The Aspects of Reputation Management
There are three key elements to creating a positive online reputation:
1. Public relations.
This is important to prevent damage, but it is equally important to help rebuild a reputation if it has been damaged. You will want to learn the difference between PR vs reputation management, public relations is about gathering data, tracking keywords, running surveys, being active on social media, and more.
Reputation management is about how the business appears to the public over a long time period.
2. Customer service.
This is all down to making sure you respond to customer feedback and to build trust by having a personal, direct relationship with them. Doing so also prevents customers from airing their grievances publicly, away from your own forum. Customer service is truly essential to the survival of a business. Additionally, it is important to be aware of the fact that they now like using social media to discuss both their good and their bad experiences.
Thanks to the internet, it is now easier than ever for people to rapidly spread information, either good or bad. Because of this, you should never underestimate how important online reputations are. People spend a lot of time online and they develop an opinion based on the things they find on the internet. If they type in the name of a business and find a lot of negative information, then they are unlikely to do business with that organization.
How the Professionals Can Help
A professional reputation management company can do a lot of different things. This includes:
- Monitoring what is being said.
- Using SEO (search engine optimization) practices to suppress negative information and grow the ranks of positive information.
- Take control of the narrative by launching websites, blogs, and social media sites.
- Responding to reviews, whether positive or negative.
- Take legal action if deemed necessary to fight defamatory and libelous comments.
The internet is a huge, weird, and wonderful place. It has leveled the playing field, making it possible for businesses of all sizes to compete equally for new customers. However, it has also made it possible for people to complain or rave about any business, and for anyone to see the things they say. Today, it still takes years of hard work to build a reputation, but it no longer takes days to destroy it. Rather, it takes a couple of seconds only. One post going viral can be seen all over the world in an instant.
