Tag Archives: Online reputation management

Online reputation management, , , , , , ,

“Content” is text, video, photographs, podcasts and any other form of information placed online.

It is the biggest influence on a webpage’s rank. Your webpage’s rank determines where it shows up in Internet searches of your and your organization’s name.

Ranking also determines the prominence of third-party content about you, which is a large part of the reason it is important to understand where that content is coming from. Understanding those sources will play a key role in deciding how to manage that content—which is the heart of online reputation management.

Generally, the sites with the most daily visitors and views have the highest rankings, and the most prominent content. Top 10 websites include Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as major media sites. But there are other factors that influence where a webpage shows up. Even obscure sources can show up in the first page of searches.

Strategically crafted headlines

People often see an article about them – or their brands — from a little-trafficked blog (or some other relatively obscure source) on the first page of a Google search. This can often be the result of the way the headline is written, making the article seem especially relevant to the search terms. The longer the article stays near the top of search results, the harder it is to dislodge.

Tags

If you notice pictures of you showing up prominently on Google, it is because someone has tagged them. A tag is a caption that is added to the metadata of a photograph or to an article, blog post or other piece of text that is published online.

Internet data scraping

Data scraping is how your home address, age, family members’ names and age and satellite pictures of your home end up online. Programs (called ’bots) continually scrape the web for data from publicly available sources like county courthouses, telephone directories and other sites. It is then collected by public databases that package, publish and sell that information.  If you find a lot of references to your address online, that is how it got there.

Aggregated content

Aggregated content means content that is republished from another source. The Internet is full of sites that republish content, especially content that will attract a lot of viewers, which includes celebrity- and VIP-related content. When you see versions of your photographs or other content about you on multiple minor sites (including sites that look junky or low-quality), they have aggregated that content.

Anonymous commentary

It is difficult to have anonymous comments about you removed from an online forum or other platform—but it can be done, especially if the material is clearly defamatory. Increasingly, websites are revising their comment and user policies to prevent libel. (The more obscure and independent a site, the less likely it is that they have such practices in place. See our safe browsing tips below.) If you are the topic of such content, look for their user policy. Often they will not only remove the offensive material when requested to do so, but they will block the user who posted it from their site.

Ultimately, you want to control as much of the online content about you and your organization as possible. The more high profile you are, the harder that is. But with strategic online reputation management, it is not impossible. Content drives Google results. It is now the most influential aspect of restructuring them. We are highly experienced in advising clients on what type of content to employ to reboot their Google results. We are experts in creating it, too. To learn more, please visit our Services page.

 
 
Crisis Management, Online reputation management, , , , , , , , , , ,
Social activism impacting reputations

The Washington Post has published “The Fall of Roger Ailes,” an article that references 25 women who claim the former Fox News CEO harassed them. Their details support Gretchen Carlson’s sexual discrimination lawsuit against him. This situation won’t hurt Fox’s ratings.  If anything, it will increase them.

It could hurt the Murdoch family, though. As more proof emerges that Roger Ailes led a culture rich in sexual harassment, the Murdochs will face a growing quagmire. Job discrimination is often linked to harassment. Federal laws govern such discrimination. The Ailes’ lawsuit has opened a Pandora’s box to a company culture that will be revealed in coming weeks. Details will spill online and off regarding not just Fox’s former CEO, but the many executives and news hosts who supported his behavior.

Rupert Murdoch is impervious to such associations. But his sons James and Lachlan, who now run his media empire with him, may not want to be affiliated with such a culture. With Fox their most profitable asset, how they navigate this crisis will be telling.

We often write about reputational threats to CEOs. As a contributor to The Wall Street Journal‘s “Crisis of the Week” column, I follow situations like this as they unfold, wondering how they were allowed to reach such a crisis point. In months to come, Gretchen Carlson’s lawsuit could look small compared to the potential damage Fox News itself may face.

If you are a CEO, there are several ways you can ensure you do not find yourself in this type of position. Don’t stumble in the diversity arena. Stay aware of the key issues concerning women, especially those regarding employment opportunities, the lack of women on boards and the glass ceiling that continues to face many. Tuning in to these and related concerns will help you avoid becoming the focus of the next wave of hashtag protests (and nightly newscasts). It will also help ensure you avoid the type of reputation crisis that can impact your brand as well as your company’s stock valuation.

Here are additional tips to avoid other common workplace missteps:

1. Don’t be an out of touch CEO.  CEOs attract blowback online when their actions or public comments make them appear out of touch with the majority of their customers and their community.

2. Beware of backtracking boards. Before making a big decision that will be evaluated by the greater public, boards of directors should seek outside opinion regarding how their decision will be viewed by the world at large. That includes the part that forms their consumer base. Too many boards continue to green-light decisions from which they have to publicly backtrack after consumers launch protests.  Doubtful?  Check out change.org and scan the numerous public petitions targeting public companies and various other organizations.  These often go viral and end up on national news.

3. Monitor mean managers. And don’t be a jerk at work. Otherwise, you can become the subject of a discrimination suit like this one. So can your managers.

4. Encrypt your emails. Or just don’t say it in an email.

 
 
Internet Legal Issues, , , , , , , ,
reputation management for lawyers

U.S. authorities fighting human trafficking have identified the Communications Decency Act as an obstacle to stopping the crime. Anti-trafficking groups agree. Free speech proponents beg to differ, though. So does Silicon Valley.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article showing both sides of the issue. “Is Backpage.com a Champion of Web Freedoms or a ‘Dystopian Hell’?”, by John. D. McKinnon, illustrates its complexity. The Communications Decency Act, a law passed in 1996, is the main reason why little can be removed from the Internet in the U.S.

As the Journal article points out, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon.com are among the tech companies that benefit from the Communications Decency Act.

We have written extensively about how the Communications Decency Act impacts online reputation management. If that is a topic of interest to you, then you will find Mr. McKinnon’s article illuminating.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , , , ,
Manage the Conversation: Online Reputation Management

1. Own your brand. If you don’t manage it, the rest of the world will do it for you.

2. Remember that perception is reputation.

3. Manage the conversation. Savvy social media use will help.

4. Emails aren’t private. Always think twice before you hit “send.”

5. Authenticity is the best way to build trust…and we are in a trust-based economy.

6. Diversity matters. Especially if you are a CEO.

7. Treat employees well. Consider each as an ambassador for the company.

8. Embrace transparency. The truth always comes out anyway.

9. Be careful about what you say online. It may stay there forever.

10. Spin doesn’t work anymore.

 
 
Crisis Management, , , , , , , , , , ,
PR, buzz, gossip

Entertainment superstars Johnny Depp and Taylor Swift have been making more headlines than usual. Johnny Depp is going through an acrimonious divorce. Taylor Swift recently ended her relationship with DJ Calvin Harris. Amid a sea of headlines, both are managing their messaging well.

When the news of his divorce broke, Johnny Depp issued one statement:

Given the brevity of this marriage and the most recent and tragic loss of his mother, Johnny will not respond to any of the salacious false stories, gossip, misinformation and lies about his personal life. Hopefully the dissolution of this short marriage will be resolved quickly.”

As social media ignited with speculation about Taylor Swift’s breakup, Calvin Harris tweeted this statement:

The only truth here is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect.”

Taylor Swift retweeted it.  And that was that.

When celebrities face a crisis or escalated public interest in their lives, they are on the public stage. Anyone can play a role, whether by defending the celebrity or by escalating the crisis. Celebrities can’t control the conversation. But as Johnny Depp and Taylor Swift’s statements show, they can impact it.

The challenge to a successful career as a celebrity has long been attracting publicity while avoiding overexposure. Striking that balance has always required a nuanced strategy. In the old Hollywood studio system, every aspect of a star’s image was carefully orchestrated, including occasionally avoiding overexposure by pulling him or her out of the limelight for weeks, months, or even years. That is next to impossible now.

Constant online access

The Internet has presented many new opportunities, and challenges, for celebrities. It provides them with far more control over their messaging: they can publish statements and reach the public on their terms using their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms. Beyonce has had tremendous success using that strategy. So has Rihanna. But with the opportunity for constant engagement it’s important to know where to draw the line. Not even the most popular star can maintain the public’s attention indefinitely.

Singers and other performers have more leeway in this area than movie or television stars, as new music, concerts, tours and other developments give them more relevant information to share with their audiences. Justin Bieber, for example, has built his career by sharing his music and life through social media. But he has also established more boundaries over how available he wants to be there.

Choosing the smart approach

When deciding to dial up or dial down your outreach, strategic monitoring of social media and mainstream discourse can provide data that, when analyzed, serves as a valuable management tool. During prolific periods of their careers, social media is an incredibly effective way for celebrities to harness and maintain their audience’s support. Between those peak exposure periods, celebrities can use them as less direct or invasive channels of communication. Philanthropy initiatives can also give stars new content to talk about and share online.

If you are a public figure aiming for longevity in your career and want to minimize the inevitable bumps along the way, following the messaging approach of stars like Beyonce, Johnny Depp and Taylor Swift will help you to succeed. Equally important is developing the right social media strategy. That includes deciding in part how much usage is too much, and which platforms work best at different times. And then, knowing when to step back.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , , , ,
social media reputation risks

Bret Easton Ellis has penned an opinion piece about the ascendance of reputation management for the New York Times’  “Turning Point” magazine. “Bret Easton Ellis on Living in the Cult of Likability” claims that reputation management depends on a “blanding” of identity, on “maintaining a reverentially conservative, imminently practical attitude.” But that doesn’t need to be true—the best reputation management does not whitewash or hide valid points of view.

Mr. Ellis has been at the center of a few reputational crises himself. His books have often been controversial (the uproar over American Psycho may still be simmering), so his viewpoint is based on experience. It is certainly worth considering.

 
 
Internet Legal Issues, , ,
reputation management for lawyers

Lawsuits happen for many reasons…and can impact the best businesses. Once they occur, many types of legal notices appear on the Internet. They can stay there for years. In this week’s Reputation Reboot, we answer a COO’s question regarding how long it takes for an online reputation management campaign to lessen the prominence of such material.