Online Reputation Management for Fun and Profit

(originally published here)

Your brand’s reputation is no longer the domain of your company.  Brand protection today involves far more than trademarks and advertising, thanks to the advent of interactive media, the ubiquity of inexpensive production tools, and the influence of consumer reviews on purchasing behavior.

Whether it’s on Yelp or craigslist, ripoffreports.com, or someone’s personal blog, the reputation of your company brand is now in the hands of the consumer.

And that’s a good thing.

Consumer influence on reputation opens huge opportunities.  You can now engage potential customers, co-opt messages, and enhance word-of-mouth and front-of-mind transmission within days and weeks rather than over the course of months or years.

First, Track the Buzz
To successfully engage your public, you first need to know what’s being said about your brand, and then have solid strategies and messaging in place.

A fast, generally effective way to track online commentary about your brand is to use a couple of powerful search engines like Google and TechCrunch. Search for your company’s branding language: for example, your company’s name, products you create or sell, and your executives’ names.

Set up Google Alerts with these same key words. When you find pieces that mention your company, create a document with the links, representative quotes, and add a sentiment assessment for each posting (e.g. positive, neutral, negative).

Understand the Who/Where/Why
When you’ve compiled this list, you should have a fair idea of your company’s online reputation. Look for patterns: where and why certain sentiments exist, the dates of postings, and the nature of the websites where the posts are published.

Now take a deep breath, and look closely at the nature of the postings. Did someone burn you on an influential blog? Did you get ripped to shreds on a review site? Or are the negative bits low-level rants on low-traffic sites?

In Response: Be Appropriate and Authentic
Finally, create messages appropriate for each type of posting. If someone got crappy service, fall on your sword and apologize. Invite the customer to return for a special offer. Explain the changes you’re making.  Disagree or agree.

But most important, be authentic. Engaging influencers and potential customers in honest conversation is the best thing you can do for your company’s reputation.