Tag Archives: reputation

Online reputation management, , , , ,
The Many Uses of Online Reputation Management

Online reputation management (ORM) is commonly thought of as the way to remove negative commentary. But it is far more than that. This list provides many examples of how and why online reputation management is utilized. It also includes examples of some of the crises we have responded to with ORM:

– To create a strong online presence that acts as a protective barrier against third-party content, including anonymous and defamatory content.

– To remove home addresses, ages and related personal information from online databases, which often continuously scour the Internet to populate themselves.

– To replace old, unflattering photographs or caricatures and doctored images with new photographs. When the old images are cached or can’t be removed for some other reason, we minimize their prominence in searches.

– To ensure that factual, credible reference material is readily available online, minimizing the chance that fraudulent information will impact a brand.

– To provide insurance that your story is told by you and not by former partners or other biased parties.

– To rebrand Millennials when they enter the professional arena and Boomers when they reinvent themselves.

– To establish a reputation within a particular area of expertise on multiple online platforms.

– To create an online legacy for a VIP who is preparing for retirement or to exit a company or organization.

– To pair content with the most up-to-date SEO strategies to maximize its impact—keeping in mind that the quality of the content is the most important factor Google and most other major search engines now consider.

– To monitor social media and online forums for red flags signaling potential on- and off-line threats against high-profile individuals.

– To ensure up-to-date and accurate information dominates search results for an organization or individual’s name.

These are examples of some of the crises Reputation Communications has successfully mitigated using online reputation management:

– Emails and internal company documents were leaked and published online by inside sources.

– Online defamation campaigns—against both an organization and its key executives—organized by anonymous operators.

– Impersonation of prominent executives on social media and other online platforms.

– Long-resolved controversies were still commanding prominent placement in searches of an organization’s name.

 
 
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Today, Business Insurance published an article about how global expansion adds to companies’ reputational risks.

I was interviewed for the piece. An excerpt:

“While the speed at which information can travel through social media can enhance reputation risk, social media can be a valuable tool in managing reputation risks, said Shannon M. Wilkinson, CEO of Reputation Communications in New York. Social media audits can provide important information before a company enters a market, she said.

“Social media provides a barometer into all those kinds of things,” she said. “It can be done quickly. It can be done cheaply.”

Such social media research can provide information on perceptions of products, companies or marketing campaigns, as well as an opportunity to learn from competitors’ experiences, Ms. Wilkinson said.

“They can go to Twitter and they can see what their peer group’s doing,” she said. “It’s a very good way of observing best and worst practices.”

It also can provide information on whether signing a particular celebrity spokesperson might be a big reputation risk mistake.

“He might be a face for a different kind of product, but not in this area,” Ms. Wilkinson said. “All of this is researchable and it’s not so much about making a judgment; it’s about determining what is the most appropriate affiliation for your company or your product launch.”

A full copy of the article is available at Business Insurance.

 
 
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Your answers to the following questions will determine whether you need to update your online image. That is the first step forward in expanding, correcting, repairing it…or simply establishing a more comprehensive one.

How much of the content in the first three pages of a Google search of your name includes positive, neutral and negative information and visuals?

What is the context and source of that content?

How up to date, accurate and authentic is it?

How credible are the sources?

Is the prominence of this content the result of benign neglect? Or is the content the result of a well-managed and organized campaign?

How significant are the platforms the content is on: is it a top 10 platform such as YouTube or Wikipedia, or a personal blog with a small audience?

These are questions to use when evaluating you or your organization’s online presence and its impact on your reputation:

Do you have a strong presence online, one that presents a factual, accurate and current image of your strengths? Do you have a monthly or quarterly plan to update and expand it?

Does your current brand identity reflect the direction of your professional, personal and philanthropic trajectory?

Are your photograph, website, blog, biography and related materials still relevant? Do they deliver a consistent message? If not, is this an appropriate time to rebrand?

For businesses whose international presence has increased significantly in non-English speaking countries, is it now necessary to create translated versions of website(s) and marketing materials?

Are your head shots and other photographs online over two years old?

If you are listed or referenced in Wikipedia, is the entry or reference up to date and accurate?

Is your privacy compromised, meaning is your personal address, age and family members’ names published in several public databases?

 

 
 
Online reputation management, , ,

In its early days—the mid-1990s—online reputation management (ORM) focused on repairing malicious content: anonymous, negative online commentary posted on Internet forums and in the comments sections accompanying blogs and media platforms.

Today it is easier to remove such information. But not always. When that is the case, it can be displaced from one page to the next, and many more, through a combination of strategies. As a result, ORM is often described as “pushing down” or “suppressing” negative content.)

Taking Ownership of Your Digital Profile is Essential Today

With the much larger role the Internet has assumed in our lives and industry, ORM now encompasses taking ownership of your digital footprint—all of the publicly available information about you and your organization online that you have control over, either directly or indirectly. That includes claiming your name on all key social media platforms, whether you use them or not. The goal is to own as much of that digital real estate as you can…especially on the first page of a Google search in your name.

Online reputation management lessens the prominence of and counterbalances negative and false content. It also ensures an accurate and powerful image of you is presented online (ideally, in the top results of a Google search of your name). Done effectively, online reputation management is a proactive tool that reinforces your credibility and influence in supporting the issues important to you. Bottom line: the more control you have over your name online, the less the world does.

If you want to take an active role in determining how others perceive you—rather than leaving it up to others— online reputation management is a must. Our article, The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs, provides an in-depth overview of what you need to know.

 
 
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Online reputation management is exploding as an industry. As it has grown, so have its components, such as social media management and search-engine optimization, as well as reputation monitoring, which has become much easier to execute thanks to the renaissance in Big Data. There are reputation advisers, branding companies and crisis management firms announcing reputation management services, reputation monitors, global brand and reputation managers at mainstream and public companies, and SEO companies rolling out new reputation management tools.

Venture-capital funded online reputation management firms are preparing to go public. Mainstream PR firms are approaching firms such as this one to explore partnerships and buyouts.

As the fifth anniversary of Reputation Communication’s founding approaches in June (the fourth of our incorporation), this is an appropriate time to revisit the essentials of online reputation management and look toward the future.  As the industry continues to expand, it will divide into niches. There will be an increasing need for specialization within online reputation management services. The more you understand them, the better the choices you can make for your organization – or for yourself. So follow these posts in coming days and weeks to learn what you need to know.

You can also follow us @reputationnews for a bird’s eye view of reputation management issues and resources that impact the highly specialized practice of online reputation management.

 
 
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She may not have won last Sunday’s Daytona 500, but rookie NASCAR driver Danica Patrick definitely attracted the most buzz. Most of that attention focused on how she became the first woman to earn the pole position at Daytona. While some may still know her by her appearances in risqué GoDaddy.com ads than for her driving, a closer look at her story reveals just how much time, effort and planning has gone into her brand. According to an in-depth ESPN Magazine profile by Janet Reitman, it all started with “Plan Danica.” Reitman describes how Patrick caught the racing bug as a young girl and soon had her own “hero cards, the flashy racing version of baseball cards, as well as T-shirts featuring her name and picture.” After her father signed her up for a public speaking course, Patrick “blossomed into a polished pitchwoman,” said Reitman.

Off to the Races

When major media outlets came knocking a few years later, Patrick was ready, and her hard work both on and off the track continued to pay off. In 2002 she was picked up by David Letterman’s and Bobby Rahal’s Rahal Letterman Racing, and in 2005 she was named “Rookie of the Year” at the Indianapolis 500. Another major strategic decision was Patrick’s move from IndyCar to NASCAR. Her recent success will surely be a boost for the racing league, which is already a huge industry. “Right now, the spotlight is on Danica Patrick, someone who has no problem making headlines and handling same,” writes Forbes’ Darren Heitner. “Her 720,000+ followers on Twitter do not mind the attention Danica is demanding.  Neither does NASCAR.” An early start isn’t the only factor that has contributed to Patrick’s success and high profile. Her gender has made her story unique in the racing world, but her management of that story has been the key. Sally Jenkins’s Washington Post column sums it up perfectly:

“What’s most interesting to me about Patrick, though, is not her womanness, but how she deals with it. Watching her walk through her fledgling career as the only female in NASCAR is not unlike watching a driver adroitly pick off cars, negotiate curves and avoid trouble in a crowded field. It’s an essay in control. In talking to her about this larger performance, what you get is a blast of cool intelligence, a fundamentally composed whip-smartness.”

Shifting Gears

After earning her place at the front of the pack, she has begun tackling her next challenge: getting major wins on the racetrack and refining her brand. “Patrick finally seems ready to shed her reputation as a model and finally contend in races this year,” writes The Sports Quotient’s Will Hayman. Her success at Daytona was a big step, and she’s also been letting the public see more of her genuine self. “The difference between the Patrick of old and today’s version is the newer one appears to be more open and less guarded,” observes NBC Sports’ Tony Dizinno. Another smart move was picking up a Coca-Cola sponsorship last year. “It’s amazing how much my message aligned with [their brand] so well,” she told USA Today. “I feel you really can have it all in life if you do it right and work hard enough.”

 
 
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As NBC News’ Allison Linn says, the new plane is “receiving plenty of attention lately — but it’s not at all the kind of buzz the aircraft maker had been hoping for with an aircraft that carries such high hopes it was dubbed the ‘Dreamliner.’”

In an article highlighting similar problems with aircrafts historically, BBC News’ Rob Corp notes that, while their seriousness and impact can vary, such issues “can have a detrimental effect on an airliner’s popularity, reputation and sales.” A New York Times article on the 787’s issues echoes that perspective: “While problems are common with early models — including with the first Airbus A380, the Boeing 777 or even the first 747s — analysts say the issue could become a growing embarrassment for Boeing if travelers or airlines begin to lose confidence in the plane.” The company needs to move fast to solve these problems. According to The Wall Street Journal, the 787 and other Boeing models have already experienced “lengthy delays that have damaged Boeing’s credibility.”

Reputation Restored…

Under W. James McNerney Jr., who became CEO in 2006, Boeing has spent recent years improving the company’s reputation following a period of misconduct that “marked an all-time low for the company,” according to Businessweek. In addition to smart moves like “encouraging managers to talk more openly about Boeing’s severe ethical lapses,” McNerney was responsible for Boeing doing the “right thing” when it came to closely watched tax decision. McNerney’s work has earned the company the #30 spot on Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies.

…But Experiencing Turbulence

While history suggests that Boeing will weather this crisis, today’s media environment makes things less certain. A video of smoke coming from a 787 in Japan, for example, has been broadcast widely. “Welcome to the era of social media, Boeing,” aerospace consultant Michel Merluzeau told the Times. “That sort of thing is going to be seen by millions of people.” While Boeing has wisely responded to the issues via social media, if the company can quickly resolve the 787’s problems, they may be forgotten just as fast. “Two years from now, no one will remember this,” Airfarewatchdog.com’s George Hobica says in another LA Times piece. “People still rode on ocean liners after the Titanic sank.

 
 
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A new book published by Harvard Business Review highlights how Whole Foods founder John Mackey’s philosophy has played a central role in the grocery chain’s distinct reputation and success.

Whole Foods’ “higher purpose” is reflected in everything from its longstanding “Declaration of Interdependence” to its recent ban on unsustainable seafood. One key way the company established its distinct reputation was by providing customers with “information and narrative, along with the food.” “It told stories about where the food came from, putting up displays by the seafood counter with photographs and descriptions of the real fishermen who had caught it all,” Nick Paumgarten wrote in a 2010 New Yorker profile of Mackey. Paumgarten also cites the company’s decentralized management structure as a “key contributor to Whole Foods’ success, and to its reputation and self-image as a progressive business,” and that the “high degree of autonomy” of regional divisions and individual stores has fostered “creativity and a sense of ownership.” Some stores, for example, have added bars serving craft beer and local wine, while the company’s Portland, Maine location sells live lobsters. Whole Foods’ strong reputation springs from the fact that its core ideals are reflected throughout its operations.

Mackey’s unique perspective, principles and personality have been the source of the Whole Foods’ guiding philosophy, but, as the CEO of dairy company Stonyfield Gary Hirshberg told Paumgarten, Mackey is “management’s greatest asset but also, at times, its greatest challenge.” In 2007 an FTC investigation revealed that he had anonymously attacked a competitor in online financial forums prior to Whole Foods’ offer to buy the company. That led to a realization, Mackey told Paumgarten: “If I wanted to continue to do Whole Foods, there couldn’t be any part of my life that was secretive or hidden or that I’d be embarrassed [about] if people found out about it.” Such radical transparency has generally served Whole Foods well, though there are exceptions, such as Mackey’s 2009 Wall Street Journal op-ed on health care reform, which triggered a social media-fueled boycott.

That response may have inspired Mackey to more closely examine the expectations that accompany his business’ reputation. According to a Wall Street Journal article from last February, Whole Foods “doesn’t want to be known as the pricey grocery store for well-heeled, organic-food sophisticates” and has implemented a “price perception” strategy to counter that reputation. The outcry didn’t, however, move Mackey to recant his opinion on health care. “So many politicians and C.E.O.s get to be sort of boring, because they end up suppressing any individuality to conform to some phony, inauthentic way of being,” he observed in Paumgarten’s profile. “I’d rather be myself.”