One of the difficulties a site owner can have to deal with is online reputation management. Reputation management can be sufficiently problematic offline, but the complexity of the ‘search world’ means that most site owners do well to offload the responsibility for taking care of their brand on the net to specialist SEO experts. One of the problems with the net is that while a successful campaign can lead to unanticipated positive outcomes through a diversity of unexpected means, a faux pas can bring condemnation from quarters from which one might have predicted silence. This is especially the case due to the evolution of the new social media because there can be a tendency of Facebook friends and Twitter followers to get involved in issues which do not directly concern them.
At SearchEngineOptimisation.co.uk we recognise that reputation management is a complex and serious business which demands focus, attention and skill. This recognition is of value because it helps ensure that we provide a great service in this area. By observing the mistakes that others have made it is possible to avoid repeating them. The following list may prove to be of some use for newcomers to the field:
• Some business people have a surprisingly thin skin. One might have thought that the competitive ethos of the modern world would have made individuals less sensitive to criticism. It is vital not to take criticism personally. A complaint about your firm may be based on any number of things, but it is important to respond in a calm fashion.
• It is amazing that some firms are taken aback when somebody complains about their goods and/or services. The modern consumer is typically prone to bouts of irritability and occasional complains are almost as hard to avoid as the weather. A system, then, needs to be drawn up when a firm begins trading. It may need to be refined as time progresses, but it is arguably very foolish not to have anything in place.
• A common error is to overreact to a hostile review or a blog which savages your firm. Just mentioning it unnecessarily is poor reputation management. For example, in an online interview a prominent historian once named someone who had been critical of his work and revealed that he had almost considered taking legal action. Readers of the interview probably had not heard of the attack before, but the historian had not only given it publicity but had also shown that he did not like being criticised. This may have encouraged his critics and also led some readers to think that ‘there is no smoke without fire’.
• Another mistake is to assume that giving someone who complains a free gift will stop their criticism. This tactic may lead to further complaints and may not prevent the original complainant from continuing with their denunciations.
• A final misjudgement is to assume a storm will blow itself out. It can be important to respond courteously to a complaint in a fair way, ignoring it is unlikely to help matters. If the person making the complaint is an influential blogger, ignoring their anger can be risky.
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Posted by Phil.
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