Online Reputation Protection: How It Works

Keep an eye on how you're seen.

You know the importance of having a good reputation online and also the importance of keeping your reputation positive. How, exactly, does online reputation protection work? What do you do and when do you do it?

Here are the steps any reputable online reputation management service takes to protect their clients, whether it's one person or a whole company.

Training

First and foremost, an online reputation management service will teach you how to handle problems on social media from an angry customer to a malicious rumor. More often than not, internet wildfires can be contained with a simple statement or with a few strategic moves on your part. While we're all human, more often than not you can keep your reputation on the right track simply by acting quickly and with forethought.

Monitoring

The next step is to keep an eye out for what people are saying about you. This means constantly searching the web with search terms, like your full name, or the name of your company, scanning user review websites for reviews positive and negative and constantly analyzing social media and social media trends surrounding your name. Look for both positive and negative statements for entirely different reasons.

Analyzing

Few of us enjoy perfect press, but it's worth looking at the press itself before choosing a reaction. A semi-literate comment on a blog post full of slurs and other signs of stupidity isn't going to damage your business very much and isn't worth reacting to. However, a funny song criticizing your company going viral? That will be worth addressing, especially if it begins getting traction in the larger blogosphere.

Can you come to an accord?

Negotiating

In the case of that blog entry, you'd be made aware of it and can consult with a Reputation Advisor for possible strategies. If you privately contacted this person and offered an apology or resolution, would that resolve the issue? If the statement is false, can you definitely prove that? If the person will not be satisfied, does it make sense to offer a statement with your perspective on the issue? Is it even worth engaging?

Boosting

An online reputation management company that knows what it's doing has you develop your brand and the community surrounding it by working closely with friends and good customers to help raise up positive press about your company. For example, if a customer posts a good review on a company website, you'd work with customers who also like your business to increase positive reviews and rate each other's reviews highly. You can't just delete negative press from the internet as much as you might like to. However, you can make sure that positive press gets more notice.

If this sounds like something your business, or you personally, could use, get in touch with Reputation.com. Our strategies and technologies have been extensively tested in the field and have been shown to be able to handle the shifting sands of the internet as new social networks are introduced and new opportunities for individuals and businesses to present themselves positively come to light. With Reputation.com at your side, you'll effectively contain rumors or scuttlebutt, and keep your online image the best it can be.