It’s clear that thinking strategically about what to share and not to share online is critical to maintaining security, as well as a reputable corporate and personal reputation.

Balance is needed to know what to share and what not to share online. Playing it safe and just staying off the virtual airways is not an option for today’s companies. By 2021, it’s estimated that 216 million people will use social media. That equals a huge potential for brands to reach their target markets. Developing your brand’s personality through social media and other online forums is critical to success.

There’s Power in Numbers

In a report from Sprout Social, researchers studied 289,000 public social media profiles and surveyed more than 1,000 consumers. Forty-eight percent said they preferred to buy from brands that were “responsive to their customers on social media.” Even more telling, 36 percent of respondents said they are more likely to buy from a brand that is viewed as humorous. Seventy-nine percent of Millennials and 84 percent of other generations said they like it when brands let their personalities shine on Facebook. Witty. Funny. Popular. Cool. These are all traits that are important for companies to develop through their social media marketing strategies, both the company’s accounts and the individual accounts of company leaders and employees.

However, sharing content that is “cool” is a slippery slope. You risk offending some of your audience or potentially leaking confidential information. The same survey found that 51 percent of respondents will “unfollow” a brand that does something they do not like. Twenty-seven percent will report them as spam, and another 27 percent will completely boycott the brand.

Clearly, the stakes are high when it comes to what is shared online. How can an effective corporate reputation management strategy help companies strike a balance?

How to Control the Conversation

The key to developing an attractive online personality for your brand is to control the conversation. Realize that you don’t need to share everything. Think carefully about what content will evoke emotion in your customers. Be honest and open, but don’t be an open book. Whether it’s your personal reputation or your brand’s, an executive’s job is to distill the data and crystallize the story. Even if you need to address something that could reflect negatively on the company, the conversation must be introduced by you in order to set the tone and minimize damage. Consider five tips for controlling the conversation, and how they apply to both social marketing campaigns and personal social feeds.

1. Move from communicating to conversing

It might seem like a contradiction to talk about controlling the conversation on social media. According to most experts, social media has put the customer in control of content. In fact, Forbes put it this way, “Thanks to social media, brand managers have lost the power to control the perception of their products.” Turn this tide by creating conversation, not simply communicating. Here’s what we mean.

Communicating would be posting a promotional video about a new product. Conversing would be prompting followers with a question, industry trend or eye-opening statistic that will open a conversation about your product. Better yet, have a brand ambassador open the conversation. Whether you are posting a photograph of a staff event, a promo about a new product or just an inspirational quote, ask yourself, “am I just communicating or am I starting a conversation?”

2. Be transparent

We live in an age of transparency. Operate under the assumption that nothing is secret. If you post something that is going to come across as hypocritical, you are going to be called out on it. Take Dove’s “Real Beauty” Campaign for example. Praised by many for starting a conversation about what defines true beauty, critics were quick to note that Unilever (Dove’s parent company) also sells skin-lightening cream, diet aids and cellulite cream. While these products were not secret, Dove came under some pretty stiff criticism, making their brand personality seem hypocritical. Hypocrisy can be seen in more than just product promos. Does your personal social media account reflect the mission and vision of your brand, or is it contradictory?

3. Stick to your core values

Most brands have more than one demographic they are trying to reach. Therefore, your messaging must stick to established core principles, not specific product details. Here are two great examples.

McDonald’s has a great business in India, operating 370 locations. In a country where beef is forbidden, McDonald’s maintains a strong reputation by sticking to its core value of providing affordable food, while catering to vegetarian diets.

Similarly, Cosmopolitan magazine is thriving in Islamic countries, nations where attitudes toward females and sex is vastly different. How does Cosmo maintain its reputation? Once again, they stick to their core values of fun and femininity, making the necessary local adjustments. How does this relate to what you post online? Before sharing anything, ask yourself, “Is this in line with my (or my brand’s) core values?

4. Don’t be afraid to start a debate

Let’s get back to the apparent hypocrisy of Dove’s campaign. How could they get ahead of the negative feedback? Address it head on. People love to give their opinion about a passionate topic. Give the perception of transparency by starting the debate yourself.

For example, Dove (or one of its ambassadors) could ask followers, “Do you think women can be confident in their appearance and still want to purchase products that improve it?” Phrase your question in a way that tries to reconcile the contradictory feelings. Even if there is no resolution, you’ve shown that your brand is transparent and you welcome the ideas of your customers, even if they are negative. Give your customers a voice. Empowerment is a core value of that campaign, and you’ve just leveraged it. In the same way, if you find your brand in the middle of a controversy, control the conversation by starting the debate. Ask followers what they think. How would they like the brand to resolve the issue?

5. Keep it visual

Check out this fun fact from the Content Marketing Institute. “Neuro-imagery shows that when evaluating brands, consumers primarily use emotions rather than factual information. This is as true for brand-created content as it is for traditional advertising spots and banners.” Dove’s success, in spite of some negative feedback, was largely due to its imagery. Real women in their underwear resonated with the majority of the female population. Customers love when brands are humanized. Show pictures of your staff in day-to-day activities, working hard and facing challenges.

However, these candid posts must also be shared with caution. For example, if your brand is targeted to average income Millennials, showing pictures of a lavish holiday party will not only not resonate, but might distance them from your brand. You’ll be viewed as out-of-touch.

Practical Applications

So, we’ve covered some general tips and how corporate brands applied (or didn’t apply) them. Let’s consider three scenarios that illustrate the pitfalls of oversharing and how these tips can help.

TMI Puts Your Reputation at Risk

Let’s consider John, an executive for a prominent non-profit agency that is working on relating to his donors on a personal level. He wants to humanize his brand by being more “real,” showing his followers he’s a real guy with real struggles who is working hard to make a difference. His firm is participating in an event that focuses on sustainable sourcing. In fact, they are sponsoring it, and he’s flying to New York City to represent them. He sees positive PR all around. He’s following the principle of “keep it visual.”

When Oversharing Doesn’t Seem Like Oversharing

But, he knows what to share and not to share online. No photos of receptions with free-flowing alcohol. Check. No photos of the fancy hotel that costs $400/night. Check. That would leave this waste-conscious group with a negative impression. John launches his journey by snapping a photo of his boarding pass to post on Instagram. John fails to realize how much data can be gleaned from his boarding pass. True, a cyber criminal could change or cancel his flight simply by having his e-ticket number and booking reference. However, a silly prank like that is the least of John’s worries.

Critics of John’s brand can access information to shed a negative light on his trip. How so? Passenger portals can often be accessed through the barcode on the boarding pass, giving easy access to payment information, the names of other people in the party and where you’ll be staying upon arrival. Barcode readers are cheap, and disgruntled investors or other organizations competing for John’s firm’s dollars can easily purchase them.

When Oversharing Breeds Professional Criticism

Armed with the data gathered from his boarding pass, John’s critics comment on his post. “Was it really necessary for the firm to send five employees to an event that costs $1000 a ticket?” “Thousands of dollars are being spent on just the accommodations for this group. Is that a wise use of donor funds?” “The event is only three days, why is your stay a full week, a vacation on donor dollars?” Without even realizing it, John has set off a firestorm of criticism about the use of funds, jeopardizing the firm’s reputation.

How can he repair it? Use the same principles. Be transparent. Keep it visual. Stick to the firm’s core values. John needs to make sure he monitors the account while his is actively posting. So, John sees these negative comments immediately. He can give a sound, transparent response. For example, “Yes. I decided to take a few days to meet with city leaders about sustainable sources within such a large city.” Or, “I decided to take a few extra days on my own dime.”

John must be truthful and proactive. Responding immediately puts John in control of the conversation, and will prevent more people from jumping on the bandwagon. After responding, John can leave it alone. In a sense, he has started a debate. John should let his followers talk it out. He can continue to closely monitor the responses, but he should let his advocates come to his defense.

TMI Can Have Legal Consequences

Sometimes we’re not victims of sabotage. We’re just victims of our own poor judgment, or that of others. Let’s talk about Jane now, a Millennial lawyer whose firm is representing a client in an age-discrimination suit against their former employer. As with most lawyers, Jane knows the importance of confidentiality. Part of the agreement included a confidentiality agreement, and she reminds her client not to talk about the terms.

Unfortunately, her client’s husband bragged about the settlement to his 600 Facebook friends, causing the employer to yank the majority of the settlement. The post wasn’t Jane’s fault. However, her firm appears to have lost the case.

Jane’s client and her husband learn a tough lesson about sharing too much, but Jane also learns that the online activity of others can affect her reputation. Companies must have an online policy in place. As a rule, do not post pictures of other people without their permission. Always ensure your posts stick to your core values. That is, your company’s and your individual values.

TMI Can Jeopardize Your Future Prospects

Michael had a rough week at work. His boss was highly critical of his project, and Michael feels unfairly judged. He vents through a long rant about his boss on social media. His boss doesn’t follow him, so Michael feels there is no risk. Still dissatisfied, he starts looking for a new job.

After an initial interview, his prospective employer Google’s Michael and finds his Facebook account. The post about his boss catches the prospective employer’s eye. Michael’s unprofessional manner does not impress the employer. He doesn’t bring him back in for a second interview.

Never talk about your current or future employer online. It just reflects poorly on your reputation. Don’t jeopardize your future prospects with distasteful posts. Avoid posting pictures of your big night out, or how drunk or high you got over the weekend. Definitely don’t mention how you called in sick to have an extended weekend. Employers want employees that are going to be an asset to the company’s reputation, not a liability. Ensure employees know the risk. Make social media training part of your onboarding process. Explain that their reputation reflects on the company’s reputation.

The team at Reputation Sciences is passionate about helping your company manage its online reputation. Is your company equipped to effectively manage negative reviews, press and feedback, replacing it with positive search results. Contact us to talk more about your corporate reputation management strategy.

The post Control the Conversation: Know What to Share and Not to Share Online appeared first on Reputation Sciences.

Our Reputation Team offers this free ORM toolbox to help you build the positive online image you deserve. 

Whether you’re seeking a job, raising a family or managing a business, how you look online matters.

Without strong online reputation management (ORM), your digital brand is at the mercy of an unpredictable online environment. This could potentially damage your image, reputation and even decrease potential revenue.

Fortunately, we’re going to help fill your ORM toolbox.  Here are key services that can help you build a better search engine presence and manage a stronger online brand.

Popular resources for your ORM Toolbox

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is an easy-to-use monitoring tool that emails you each time your name or business pops up on the web.

How to Use This Tool for ORM: Google Alerts can help track new mentions of yourself and your brand online.  This allows you to adapt your online reputation strategy and mitigate potential threats quickly.  

Google Analytics

The Google Analytics platform allows your business to analyze traffic through your website, monitor keyword performance and determine how your marketing efforts are driving user behavior.

How to Use This Tool for ORM: Google Analytics can provide the keyword and content analytics your brand needs to shore up search phrase weaknesses while strengthening keyword association and industry authority on the web.

ReviewTrackers

ReviewTrackers is designed to monitor your company’s online review presence while providing insights into customer feedback and behavior.

How to Use This Tool for ORM: Once you learn of new reviews through the ReviewTracker platform, your business and develop an appropriate response quickly—an effective way to mitigate the impact of negative commentary on your online brand.

IFTTT

IFTTT is a device/app connection service that can send automated alerts once your brand is mentioned online. 

How to Use This Tool for ORM: Real-time brand alerts give you the chance to craft and adapt your brand reputation strategy quickly.  This allows you to mitigate negative items and promote online positivity more effectively.

The Brand Grader

A free brand analysis tool, The Brand Grader offers a brief glimpse into your brand’s online presence.  It includes digital mentions and sentiment on social media platforms.

How to Use This Tool for ORM: Running your brand through The Brand Grader can reveal potential reputation threats and gaps your brand faces on social platforms.  Brand Grader also makes you aware of any customer engagement opportunities you may be missing.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a paid membership service that focuses solely on managing your social media presence and boosting user engagement.

How to Use This Tool for ORM: Hootsuite tracks mentions of your business on social media platforms and schedules posts. This gives you the opportunity to steer the conversation and control your social media reputation.

SEMrush

Built to optimize your paid digital marketing potential, SEMrush offers keyword and marketing performance, monitoring and analytics solutions.

How this fits into your ORM toolbox: Using metrics and analytics provided by SEMrush, it allows you to better manage and improve your performance for important industry search terms while strengthening outreach and brand authority.

Google Keyword Planner

The Google Keyword Planner is useful for locating, researching and analyzing search phrases to include in your new or existing ORM campaign.

How this fits into your ORM toolbox: Google’s Keyword Planner can be used to identify keyword opportunities. It can help you map out content strategies to build a stronger online reputation management strategy for your brand.

Bing Webmaster Tools

The Bing Webmaster platform provides your business the opportunity to create alerts, analyze site traffic and track performance in Bing search results.

How this fits into your ORM toolbox: Bings Webmaster Tools provide the insight needed to master brand presence and search engine results pages (SERPs).

GT Metrix

GT Metrix offers insight into how your website’s speed and performance, as well as recommendations for improvement.

How this fits into your ORM toolbox:  Insights into the customer-website interaction can be used to improve the user experience.  This can cultivate a more positive brand association and grow your bottom line.

LSI Graph

LSI Graph works to locate secondary keywords to help optimize your brand’s content and performance online.

How this fits into your ORM toolbox: LSI Graph can be used to identify and capitalize on industry-related search terms you may be missing out on.  Those which can improve brand performance and deliver a powerful competitive edge in key market areas.

InfoSweep

In today’s digital world, online privacy protection is a smart move to protect yourself and your family. InfoSweep is an affordable online privacy monitoring service. InfoSweep makes it easy to locate private information online and gives you the power to have it removed. With InfoSweep, you can set it and forget it.

How to Use This Tool for ORM: 24/7 brand monitoring makes you aware of online mentions as soon as they happen. It can be used to develop strategies, responses and actions to mitigate problems before they become online nightmares for you and your business.

Professional Online Reputation Management

When it comes to managing your online reputation, you have endless options to choose from. If you’re serious about building the ultimate ORM toolbox—and carving out the stronger online presence your brand needs to thrive—it’s time to consider professional online reputation management.

As leaders in ORM solutions, we offer your brand everything it needs to be is best on the web. Our award-winning internet reputation services include:

• Individual reputation management that suppresses online negativity, restores visibility and helps to promote a more positive online image.
• Business reputation management solutions that work to heighten search engine rankings, strengthen brand authority and improve your brand’s digital reach.
• Business review management that helps you better manage, control and improve your brand’s online conversation.

When you choose Reputation Sciences to manage your digital brand, you’re getting the expert advice, support, services and technology you need to elevate your online profile to an all-new level.

To schedule an appointment, call us today at 844-458-6735.

The post Your Ultimate ORM Toolbox – Free Guide Included! appeared first on Reputation Sciences.

When you find negative content about you or your company online, knowing the right way to defend and define yourself online can be tricky. If you rely on a reactive, passive approach, your efforts will be too little, too late. The damage to your brand will be hard to overcome. If you move too aggressively and go overboard with your public response, you might alienate people or invite further negativity.

As you search for a balanced strategy—being proactive but also knowing when to use silence and a less-is-more approach—it’s helpful to look at real-world examples.

The following three stories of individuals will provide a nuanced glimpse at how to defend and define yourself online:

• In the first story, a CEO who is slandered online by her former company. She must learn how to artfully launch a proactive social media approach while also working behind-the-scenes to find allies in the industry who are willing to speak up for her publicly.
• In the second story, an honest, hard-working lawyer finds himself in the middle of a firm with serious ethics violations. He must find a way to distance himself from the firm and use the negative situation to launch something that’s not only positive for his career but helpful for the legal community.
• In the third story, a successful, on-the-rise investor discovers with dismay that his past struggles with alcoholism (and some of the embarrassing incidents caused by those struggles) have reached daylight in the news media. Although he successfully overcame his alcoholism and turned a new leaf, he must fight to defend and define his reputation online. He is already very active in social media, so it’s not a question of expanding platforms or increasing content. His challenge is to change his fundamental approach to social media and take a quality-over-quantity approach.

Three Stories to Show How to Define Yourself Online

1. The Executive Who Was Defamed

After a CEO was fired by her company’s board for unspecified reasons, she began the painful but necessary task of leaving a company she had worked hard to build. She contacted an executive recruiting agency to help her find a good fit for a new job and began researching potential opportunities on her own.

To her dismay, her recruiting agency was not getting any interest. Month after month, they’d come back to her with no interview offers. She decided to try a different agency, so she began to research ones that might do a better job for her. After an evening of researching online, she was tired and began to meander on the internet. She wondered how her previous company was faring, and she went to the company’s blog.

And that’s when she found it.

About four weeks prior, the company had quietly published a blog post about her that provided some details into their reasons for firing her. Although there had been strife between her and the board—particularly between her and one individual on the board—she had been a well-liked CEO by the average employee at the company. The board knew that, and apparently, they felt a need to justify their decision to their employees.

As she read their reasons, her face turned pale. She could feel her pulse racing. She was horrified.

The company accused her of:

• Unreasonable compensation expectations.
• Undermining board governing authority.
• Insisting on out of the norm “golden parachute” provisions.

The truth about her character and conduct could not have been more different. And as she thought about it, she suspected one particular controlling board member was likely behind the accusations.

The First Allegation

For one thing, her salary had been based on a market survey conducted independently that examined peer companies of similar size. Her salary was at the 50th percentile of the current market rates. It was a fair compensation across the market, but it was higher than what previous CEOs had been paid at the company. She had been aware of this and wanted to be sensitive to many of the company’s non-executive employees who were going through a difficult time financially. The small city where many of them lived had suffered flooding and many families had lost their homes. She had initially agreed to a lower salary at the 44th percentile, but the controlling board member did something odd. At the eleventh hour, he launched a persuasion campaign to bump her salary to the 50th percentile. He listed all of her accomplishments and made a convincing, heartwarming case.

At first, she resisted it and only agreed to it after securing a commitment from the board to give every employee in the company a much higher bonus that year and a pay increase the following year. The company’s blog post never mentioned this and implied that she had pushed hard for her increase on her own and had nothing to do with the bonus payment or pay increase.

Did the controlling board member increase her pay, then set her up for the accusations that he knew would be coming later after she was fired? She began to suspect as much.

The Second Allegation

The second allegation only deepened her suspicions. That particular board member had approached her to do some research into creating a new product for the company. He wanted it to be on the down-low, more of a side-project until its viability was determined. She had always been great at identifying up new products, and his technical background and insight it would be a valuable shortcut to determine viability. Did he set her up through the appearance of unsanctioned work that normally would have board visibility.

The Third Allegation

The third allegation was untrue. She knew it was the company’s general counsel, a good friend of the controlling board member, who had created the “golden handcuff”provisions and was advocating for the longer severance packages.

Besides any obvious courses of litigation, she needed to take immediate action to defend and define her personal brand online. A business news site that catered to her niche industry had mentioned and shared the company’s blog post. The wildfire of rumors had already started. This helped explain why no company would touch her with a ten-foot pole after she began working with an executive recruiting agency.

If she wanted to save her career and keep working, she needed to fight the rumors online and rebuild her damaged reputation.

And though her company had fired her, she didn’t want to see it crash and burn. The selfish actions of the board member not only sullied her reputation, it was casting a dark shadow over the company. After pouring her heart and soul into the company’s success, seeing people talk about it so negatively was hard. She knew what the study by the University of South Carolina said:

“When something negative happens to a CEO’s reputation, the negativity quickly transfers to the company’s reputation.”

It was a lose-lose situation for everyone, except the board member who plotted against her and successfully campaigned for the company’s general counsel to become the CEO.

How the Executive Responded

After she discovered what her former company had been saying, she did not waste any time. Her initial goal was simple: increase the visibility of her online presence and responses to at least match the visibility of the company’s communications. So she did a few simple but effective things:

• She created a blog and wrote a concise but persuasive article rebutting the company’s claims and defending herself. She concluded her defense by listing the positive things she did for the company that demonstrated how unlikely it would have been for her to do the things the company claimed she did.
• Then, she found former employers and other colleagues in the industry who knew her well and were willing to go on the record to defend her. She placed these quotes at the end of her article like the book endorsements an author would place at the end of a press release.
• And she used this article as her foundational link online—the primary link she would be sharing in her online campaign. She updated all of her social media bios to include this link.
• She expanded her social media to include any platforms she had not used. For example, she had a profile on LinkedIn and Facebook, but not Twitter or Instagram.
• After all of her social media accounts were created, updated, and ready for her campaign, she began to proactively search for every mention online of her company’s claims about her on each platform. She left respectful, professional but firm comments on websites and on social media posts defending herself. And she always linked back to her article on her blog.
• The people who went on record to defend her agreed to post and share her social media posts and make statements defending her online.
• Finally, she appeared on a podcast and a vodcast (video podcast) that were popular in her industry and answered questions about the claims. She made sure her article link was mentioned in the interview and in the podcast’s webpage.

A Proactive Response with Reputation Management Professionals

It was a tiring process, of course, and in some cases, she missed some comments that her company made online about her. Ultimately, she invested some money in the effort and hired experienced reputation management professionals who had the technology and know-how to uncover every stone online and create additional strategies to bolster her initial effort. It took time and work, but eventually the positive content online about her personal brand outweighed the negative. The momentum online was pulled in her direction, and eventually, her reputation was improved. She got a job heading a new, fast-growing company. In fact, some of the passionate defenses by her allies online served as references for her new job.

2. The Lawyer Who Stumbled Into a Perfect PR Storm

A talented lawyer found himself ascending in a large firm. As he got closer to the highest ranks he began to notice irregularities in the firm’s handling of its finances. He conducted a quiet investigation behind the scenes and discovered evidence that the firm was mishandling client funds, committing fraud and forging documents.

What the Lawyer Did Next

It was a difficult decision. However, the corruption seemed to involve the majority of the partners. So he decided to resign and submit a complaint to the state bar. When an official criminal investigation came about and the situation became public, he was quick to do interviews with law publications about the case. He also did some research about where the law firm had been most visible on social media. And then, he created accounts on those platforms and began posting links to his interviews with the media. In addition, he also started a blog about whistleblowing at law firms. And he became known as a thought leader on the topics of integrity and ethics in law.

In the end, three out of the four partners were convicted and left the law firm. The fourth partner was not involved in the fraud. The one who remained rebranded the firm, essentially starting a new one. And they hired the whistleblowing lawyer to help rebuild the firm’s reputation. Even though it had a new name, journalists knew it was the old firm re-born, and skepticism was prevalent online. The whistleblowing lawyer knew there would be a hangover effect. And so he maintained a regular schedule of media outreach indefinitely to help the firm’s reputation. This also strengthened his personal brand.

Not every whistleblowing story ends so happily for the whistleblower. But, the key to this lawyer’s success was being proactive by creating influential social media and blog content. He leveraged the bad situation as a platform to launch an effective thought leadership role online.

3. The Investor With a Past

An influential investor who lived in a hot spot for tech investment had a troubling past. When he began attracting media attention for some high profile investments, journalists dug a little and found his troubling history. For a few years after college and before he was serious about investing, he was a violent alcoholic. He was charged with assault at a bar. And there were also rumors about his troubled marriage because of an incident of domestic violence. The latter incident, which almost cost him his family, shook him to the core and he finally sought help. He was able to become sober and rehabilitate his relationships. He was now a hard-working, successful investor. His family was happy and supportive of him. And his life was finally free from the personal demons of his past.

But not in the eyes of the media.

The truth about his past was out—not only in professional circles but also publicly in online articles covering his career. Unfortunately, the coverage magnified the negatives and all but ignored the positives. The publication that most aggressively ran the story had a personal dislike for him, though he did not know why.

How the Investor Overcame the Negativity

The investor was already active online in blogs, interviews, and on social media. But up to that point, his posts had been all business, no personal content. Besides aggressively (but calmly and professionally) responding online to every negative attack by highlighting the many positives of his story—that he was able to break free from alcoholism and rebuild his relationships—he opened up about his personal life. He was protective of the privacy of his family. But with their permission, he began to post pictures of his family life (i.e. vacation photos, heartwarming candid moments).

Most importantly, he did not mention the negative news stories about his past when he shared these pictures; he simply let the world see the joy and restored relationships he was enjoying in his family life. Eventually, the public understood that his story was actually a positive one, not a negative one. Many people who had struggled with alcoholism themselves became sympathetic toward him. And the public opinion turned against the news outlets who were attacking him.

The investor was already very proactive online. But he had to change his approach and content to counteract the false narrative of his life online. When he became vulnerable and shared the truth about his past and restored life, people rallied to his defense.

Be Proactive, Invest in a Comprehensive Strategy

Whether you are defending and defining your personal brand or your company’s brand online, a successful strategy will always be proactive and comprehensive. These efforts must be tireless. There’s too much at stake. Negative public perception can damage a company’s revenue, hinder its ability to attract quality prospective employees, and potentially ruin the company. Defending and defining your valuable reputation online is not a short-term campaign. It’s an indefinite task that demands maintenance for the life of the company and your career.

About Marca Global

Founded in 2015, Marca Global LLC provides online reputation and privacy services through proprietary technology solutions. The firm was ranked #538 on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing company list and has garnered recognition from TopSEOs, Forbes and was listed as one of the Top 250 Private Companies in Colorado.

Reputation Sciences has advanced technology and years of experience in protecting, defending, and defining personal and corporate brands. It can be a monumental task defending and rehabilitating your reputation, but we know how to get it done. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you define yourself online.

The post Defend and Define Yourself Online: 3 Stories of Reputation Management appeared first on Reputation Sciences.

The Importance of ORM: Online Reputation Management for Business

In the 21st Century economy, the internet is the dominant force affecting all businesses. We’re approaching the third decade of the internet millennium. And “digital transformation” has moved from just a novel marketing innovation to become the fundamental building block for any business with an eye to sustained growth and profit.

We’ve reached the point now where businesses either go digital or go home. Those who ignore the importance of web presence in the 21st Century economy are sure to go the way of the candlemaker after the invention of the light bulb in the 20th Century. The internet can cast a wider net for customers.  But it can also cast a wider net for negative feedback. The reputation of a business has never been more important than it is in today’s digital age. And it also has never been so vulnerable. Online reputation management for your business is imperative for continuing success in today’s demanding corporate environment.

ORM is an ALL Business Solution

Even local businesses relying primarily on foot traffic need to be aware of just how much they could be losing due to a negative reputation in the wide-open arena of social media and consumer review websites. Your most loyal word-of-mouth customers can’t compete with a single negative review rocketing through social media. Make no mistake, today’s tech-savvy consumers know how to hit where it hurts. And a chronically disgruntled customer can easily post a scathing review whether they are justified or not.

For e-commerce businesses, there is simply no getting around the need for effective ORM. Brand building and reputation are the cornerstones of these enterprises. And damage to either could topple a business overnight when ORM is a low priority and negative comments go viral. An e-commerce enterprise which resolves to just “take the hit” in good stride may suffer. Even worse, they may not find itself in business long enough to cash in on the tidal wave of e-retail which is on its way now.

In 2017 1.66 billion consumers purchased online, with global e-retail sales reaching an astounding 2.3 trillion dollars in the US alone. By 2021 that amount is projected to reach 4.48 trillion US dollars. That’s trillion with a T, just to be clear. With that kind of enormous jackpot up for grabs, businesses have never faced a more competitive environment. Maintaining an enterprise’s reputation must become an essential business norm, a fundamental best practice for continuing growth and hard-earned prosperity.

Businesses Live and Die Online

Today’s most successful enterprises, from e-commerce startups to well-established traditional brick and mortar businesses making the digital transformation, all understand the importance of web presence, fast-loading user-friendly websites, and search engine rankings. Just as critical to online success is the 21st-century version of “word-of-mouth” respectability, which is the online review. The internet has already replaced traditional TV and radio campaigns and print ads are quickly going the way of, well, yesterday’s newspaper.

The internet never sleeps and every business needs to be prepared to deploy immediate damage control to mitigate the damage done when the online reputation is threatened. Negative comments are inevitable, especially when they are brought about legitimately by unavoidable disruptions to daily operations such as a temporary break in the supply chain, or a temporary IT malfunction. Whatever the source of a negative review, for any business it’s not a question of if but when. The best practice is to have a plan in place to deal with these scenarios before they happen to avoid a panicked mad scramble when they do.

Businesses need to know when their reputation has taken a hit somewhere online, and plan ahead for corrective action. Reputation Sciences has the experts and technology standing by to manage these scenarios and maintain brand integrity, which is so important for success in today’s super-competitive global markets.

Web Presence Beyond Your Company Website

Online presence functions as the 24/7/365 marketing and sales team which never sleeps. It also opens the door to dynamic feedback and interaction between consumers, which were never a concern with traditional marketing methods. The new “social proof” that can make or break an enterprise’s business reputation spans beyond the company’s carefully managed website to social media and third-party outlets such as Glassdoor, Twitter, and Facebook. These are the sites that will inevitably pop up in a search for your brand, and vigilance here is just as vital for sales conversion as SEO is for attracting those leads. To deal with any crisis, you first need to detect it.

ORM to Optimize SEO

Many businesses understand the importance of internet sales funnels for driving traffic in. But many have yet to extend their vigilance to the critical ORM effort which can remove negative search results that can potentially impede a sale.

The most successful business decision makers wisely invest whatever time and bear any expense required to establish an authoritative web presence. They focus on honing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies to ensure the coveted high rankings in the almighty SERP (Search Engine Result Pages).

Many companies have no problem outsourcing to meet these needs. SEO specialists face the enormous challenges of providing the relevant “top-of-the-funnel” educational content that boosts the SERP rankings and attracts casually browsing consumers and converts them to lucrative sales-qualified leads.

Successful SEO Demands Vigilant Online Reputation Management for Business

The company’s website and overall web presence is the new storefront of the new millennia. And it’s a storefront that spans the globe. And just as that global storefront expands the marketplace and increases profitability, it also increases the vulnerability of the organization’s online reputation.

Think of it like this. Traditional brick and mortar businesses need to be vigilant and take prompt measures to remove graffiti which defaces the storefront. So, online businesses also need to devote the resources and deploy the latest cutting-edge technology available to keep their global storefronts on the internet sparkling.

The most effective SEO strategies are easily negated if one negative review happens to go viral. And all the hits in the world can’t save a business that can’t convert those landings to sales.

ORM Technology From Reputation Sciences: Search Engine Control in Your Hands

Today’s internet is like the Wild West of global commerce. Anyone at any time can take a shot at your company’s image. Devious unscrupulous competitors, dissatisfied customers who have somehow slipped through the cracks of your usually impeccable customer service, or disgruntled rogue employees can all bring you down online. There are also the inevitable “malicious actors” who seem to get their jollies from trashing enterprises anonymously for unknown reasons.

Whatever the motivation behind negative comments attacking your brand, you’re in control of your response. At Reputation Sciences we have the technology and proprietary digital processes to take back control of your online image and search results.

We provide the tools and brand management expertise that effectively put the reins of the search engines in your hands. These digital tools allow you to build and maintain your online brand and business reputation while providing effective countermeasures to deal with negative press coverage, disgruntled customer comments and build immunity to the inevitable negativity all businesses will face in the Wild West world of the internet.

The Importance of the CEO’s Reputation

The old truism “any press is good press” has fallen by the wayside in the information age. Today, a CEO’s reputation is one of the top four influencers of a brand’s overall reputation, ranked by executives along with key corporate benchmarks such as the quality of products and services, the company’s financial performance, and the company industry.

Negative search results for CEOs and high profile company personnel could easily affect an enterprise’s bottom line, but damage to the CEO’s reputation, in particular, can have consequences which encumber the company for years. A damaged online reputation can make it difficult to recruit and retain highly qualified personnel, win consumer trust, and attract investors.

When a CEO’s negative reputation carries over to the corporation it can cost an average of 10% more per hire. Reputation Sciences has the tools to protect and maintain a CEO’s hard-won reputation. We allow you to control the Google conversation which, in the information era, can make or break a CEO’s success.

Online Reputation Management for Your Business: It’s All in the Stars

“Try it you’ll like it” is a strategy which just doesn’t work well in the information age. 84% of consumers trust online reviews. And if there are negative reviews posted prominently at the top of the list, they flee to perceived greener pastures. It’s just human nature to skip over those low-star contenders. Consumers trust what other consumers have already tried and vouched for.

For new startups enduring their growing pains, these early negative reviews can sink the business before it’s even established. Even established businesses can find themselves dropping in the Google ranks if they pile up too many negative reviews.

Google algorithms are formulated to look for reviews and provide the best results for consumers first. A competitor with more positive reviews and an assertive well-managed ORM strategy will dominate the online market. They’ll outperform in searches even if the actual product or service is inferior to a mediocre company. If your company is losing market share to an inferior product it may be time to level the playing field.

Shine the Best Light on You and Your Business With Reputation Sciences

Take a moment and Google your name and the name of your business. If you find yourself among the 50% who aren’t pleased by SERP results, it’s time for Online Reputation Management. At Reputation Sciences we believe that all businesses and individuals deserve the right to control their information online.

For businesses, your competitors are already using ORM to stake out chunks of market share which easily could be yours. At Reputation Sciences our business reputation management strategies cover a broad range. We work on branding, collecting reviews, and even suppressing search results which reflect negatively on your company.

We have the digital processes which give you much more comprehensive control of the search results. This lets the pages which shine the best light on your company rise high in the rankings. And it pushes the negative stuff far down the list into the unobserved wasteland of the SERP.

ORM Isn’t Just for Business Owners

But even if you don’t own a business, the information age can take a personal toll on your career advancement. In the digital age, it’s standard for Human Resource departments to research job candidates online. In fact, more than 75% report using the online screening technique for new hires.

If you’re a professional your online reputation is even more important. When it’s time to enlist the services of a professional, 97% of consumers search online. Once they’ve found you, 85% will believe the content they read about you online. That means they’ll believe it even if it contradicts what they’ve heard about your services from someone in person.

No respectable business, professional, or individual should permanently battle past negative comments. Nor should they find themselves the victim of those malicious actors. In a world where anyone can say anything they please about you or your business at any time, our ORM service gives you the tools and strategies you need to mitigate negativity and control the internet conversation on your terms, so don’t hesitate to contact us.

The post The Importance of ORM Technology and Online Reputation Management For Business appeared first on Reputation Sciences.

Jeremy North opened Fantastically Fresh in 2010. From the very beginning, the restaurant got great reviews: diners raved about it on social media, and the local TV station’s Secret Gourmet gave it five stars.

Almost every day, reservations were booked solid and customers were lined up waiting for tables.  Fantastically Fresh was the talk of the town; its reputation could not have been better.

Then something went wrong. After a surprise inspection, the local Public Health Department ordered Fantastically Fresh shut down due to serious health code violations: fifty-one in all, with twelve of them ranked as critical. These included improper sanitation, food stored at unsafe temperatures, and gross contamination of food preparation surfaces.

ORM for Business: Saving the Brand

The Fantastically Fresh Head Chef, Jeremy discovered, had neglected matters of basic cleanliness. Asked by a reporter about the health code violations, the chef made matters worse by snapping, “I just cook food. It’s not like I’m a surgeon!”

Jeremy fired him immediately. That same day, he contacted Reputation Sciences, a leading brand management and digital marketing firm, for helping in saving the business.

Fantastically Fresh was shuttered for more than a month, as Jeremy North and his team addressed the Health Department issues, and conferred with Reputation Sciences. Before reopening, he hired a new chef with an excellent culinary background, and perhaps more important, a reputation for being a stickler about sanitation, and following Health Department guidelines.

Reputation Guidance

Jeremy North understood that re-launching Fantastically Fresh after a reputation crisis was a serious matter. “A restaurant needs to worry about its reputation more than an ordinary business,” a Reputation Sciences expert told him. “A hardware store doesn’t have to worry about its products making customers sick, but you do.”

With the guidance of this expert, Fantastically Fresh launched a campaign to re-establish its online reputation, and its standing in the business community. “He said the time had come to make some serious online noise,” Jeremy recalled. The campaign included:

• Advertising

Once Fantastically Fresh reopened for business, they needed to let the world know. With Reputation Sciences help, they used social media, along with print and electronic media, to tell the community they were back, and better than ever.

• Monitoring

Reputation Sciences Review Management platform allowed the restaurant to monitor, track and respond to online reviews.

• Encouraging positive reviews

Reputation Sciences set up Fantastically Fresh profiles on multiple customer review sites, including Google Local. Customers were encouraged to share their experiences.

Back in Business

Fantastically Fresh re-opened its doors at the start of September. By November, they once again were the talk of the town; business was nearly back to what it had been. With the start of the New Year, Jeremy North was confident that the entire episode would soon be a dim memory – unpleasant, but a valuable learning experience.

Reputation Sciences is a leading brand management and digital marketing company that partners with its clients to define and grow their business by establishing an effective online presence.

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