When musing about the labyrinth that is Online Reputation Management, I must admit that I am somewhat stumped in the humour department. There really isn’t all that much to say about ORM that is sarcastic, ironic or in any other way witty. Sigh. So in absence of the general hilarity that I was planning, QuirkAddicts (my portmanteau for the week) will have to make do with five tips to help prevent websites, bloggers and forums from smearing your company with online waste and trampling its very core into the depths of Google’s proverbial Recycle Bin.

1). When a girl grows up in a small town, all it takes is some illicit hanky-panky in the back of a first-team rugby jock’s step-mom’s car to get her a not-so-nice label that will be muttered about on the school corridors, for at least 7.5 minutes. In many ways, your online reputation is just as fragile. The World Wide Web is just like a small town, filled with big mouths; the only difference is that it’s a small town with a long memory. More importantly, Web gossip doesn’t go away organically, and unless action is taken immediately, it will go viral.  Not only will the rest of the rugby team be talking about your indiscretion; even the library nerds (read: lesser brands in competition with yours) will be giggling behind their hands. The bottom line: understand the importance of your online reputation. 

2). Maximise positive references to your brand. Edelman’s 2008 Trust Barometer showed that consumers trust each other’s opinions more than they trust promises made by brands. People believe in people and brands are…well, like politicians really. Did anyone, for example believe Bill Clinton when he stood before the press and said “I did not have sexual relations with that woman…”? Except for his Grandmother maybe, I don’t think so. So if the bloggers are singing your praises or commending your virtues, you need to cash in on that. My advice: invest some time in optimisation and build a bunch of links to the glowing reports.

3). Anyone with a smidgen of marketing savvy knows that the old adage is true: if you can’t measure something, you can’t manage it. Companies thus need to find a method of quantifying and prioritising mentions of their brand on the Internet. This will prevent your customer services department pouncing on shadows while the real culprit saunters in through the back door and leaves muddy footprints on your white carpet. Best achieved with a decent ORM tool, mentions can be ranked according to predetermined criteria, like the mention’s age, source credibility, and sentiment among others.

4). Follow the three step system. Religiously. Firstly, listen to what is being said about your brand in the online community. Then, after you have dried the self-pity from your eyes, try to find, in the depths of your dark brand-hugging soul, some empathy with your consumers. The final step is to act on this understanding and empathy with a response. The key here: act swiftly and decisively to minimise the impact of their slander.

5). While I won’t advocate that any publicity is better than no publicity at all, (look at Britney Spears) I do think that there is an opportunity to be sought in the inevitable online attacks on your brand. Whether their accusations are true or not, they provide a platform on which your brand has a line of communication with the consumers. In this manner, you can engage with your assailant and give your brand a human face. (Remember what I said about people trusting people?)  Whatever, you have been accused of, this will soften the blow and if effectively managed, can even turn negative mentions into positive brand awareness exercises. That small-town girl might be perceived as being a little too free with her favours, until she lets slip about the rugby jock’s unusually small…feet, after which, the computer geek who wears a size 14 is still going to be snickering; just not at her. I am not suggesting that you divert the negative attention by attacking the bloggers integrity. Indeed, all I mean, is that you channel it, and put it firmly in perspective.

And, that’s all from me, folks.