Managing an online reputation bashing

Two organisations I have spoken to this week have a current issue with reputation in that when you do a brand search on them, negative stories appear on the first page of the search results.

Unfortunately, you can’t do exactly what both people wanted, which was to get the bad listings removed; but you can do something to counteract the negative attention that may be damaging your reputation online and potentially losing you ‘click-throughs’ and enquiries.

It’s not an area that I have lots of experience in, but this is what I would do.

Acknowledge the problem

Let’s face it. There’s usually no smoke without fire and denial won’t make it go away. Acknowledge the problem and look at how you can leverage the feedback to engage with the perpetrators or press.

By understanding why someone has said what they said and seeing the situation from their point of view you can create a more rounded resolution to the problem of reversing opinion.

Combat the content

If the comments are specific, look at opportunities on your own web profile where you can leverage the same keywords. If, for instance, the word is “scam”, create content on your website that uses your company name, the offending word (and variations) but in a positive way. Perhaps, in this instance, a FAQ section battling questions head on would work.

Create a spin on the negative

As well as updating your own website content, can you create a positive spin PR piece (or two) that will combat the negative press?

Some organisations seem to be in a position whereby the only thing anyone will ever say about them is negative and they don’t get a chance to get their point across. By creating a positive PR piece embellished with quality third party quotes or testimonials, not forgetting to utilise the brand and problem keywords, you will have ammunition to ‘fight back’ in the search engines.

Publish and promote

Next, I would publish the PR news or opinion piece and share it to gain maximum exposure. Your website is just one part of that tactic. Why not send your piece to relevant local or industry press who may publish online, this using the power of a press website to your advantage. Also, a very quick and easy way to distribute your PR piece is to publish it to an online PR distribution service, such as PR Web.

Take the high road

If your negative feedback is on a news site or in a forum, you need to tread very carefully. Forums, for instance, tend to encourage people who want to get things off their chest and have little in the way of anything to lose by doing so.

Some forums also work very well in search engines and gain good rankings. By engaging with these people you could be stoking a fire – be careful.

Summary

Nobody likes to air their dirty linen in public but it’s a fact of life that we all make mistakes sometimes. But, with the proliferation of social media, this can become VERY public, VERY quickly.

By accepting that the horse has already bolted, you can start to repair the damage, or even turn it to your advantage but you must empathise with the initial problem.

PR agencies make a living from combating this kind of thing. If you have a PR agency, or are looking for one for a project like this though, make sure they understand the web – because very few of them actually do.

If in doubt, turn to an SEO company or online marketer that does.