It is undeniable that companies need to be aware of how they are viewed by the public. Traditionally this meant hiring a PR firm and keeping track of how the company is represented in news media. In the 21st century, it means keeping track of a brand’s online reputation. For many this means hiring an ORM firm to do the work. However, many companies are hesitant to contract for online reputation management services
because they don’t understand how important it is to manage online reputation.
It can be difficult to accept that what one person says in an anonymous review could actually matter. What companies need to realize is that all it takes is one small negative review or blog post showing up at the top of the Google results to drive away potential customers and even potential investors. Imagine what happens when the local news finds two or three negative reports online and decides to follow up on them. Worse yet, what if a popular blogger or netizen gets a hold of one? Soon there are raging twitter conversations and blogs regurgitating the initial report and the search results for a company are quickly overrun.
The trick is to take proactive steps to prevent this from happening. Top ORM companies can anticipate potential problems and nip them in the bud. They also can create positive content in the form of blog posts, video content, and even specialized websites (see elixir interactive videos as an example), making it is much more difficult for negative results to get a foothold.
Ultimately, some companies will continue to believe their reputation is impervious to negativity. Those that invest in some form of reputation management, however, can think of it as a form of insurance against a potential PR storm.
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