Online Reputation Management: Whether Personal or Corporate, Every Brand’s a Fair Target

It’s a saga that’s been unraveling in the gossip columns for months now. Vanity Fair, the glossy celebrity rag that specializes in long-format exposés and puff pieces on all things Hollywood, has been threatening to publish a major profile of actress Gwyneth Paltrow. To be included: salacious details of her alleged affair with billionaire hotelier Jeff Sofer.

 

Paltrow’s camp went into major defense mode, doing everything it could to block the story from even being written, let alone published.

 

Paltrow ended up taking matters into her own hands, personally writing emails to all of her famous friends and asking them to boycott the magazine’s legendary Oscar’s party. The rumor now is that the tactic worked, and while Vanity Fair will still publish a story, it will be a much softer-hitting piece.

 

“Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence for celebrities,” says Mike Zammuto, president and CEO of Brand.com, an online reputation management firm. “When you’re in the spotlight, your personal brand will always be under attack, whether it’s warranted or not.”

 

With the proliferation of unmanaged internet content and the power of social media, brand image and personal reputation management has become a growing market service, and Brand.com is just one of several major players that do that. Last month, though, the company launched their own proprietary technology designed to de-stabilize negative content entirely, which they call a “De-Indexing Program.”

 

A sample client homepage on Brand.com. The company recently released its own proprietary technology designed, they call a “De-Indexing Program,” designed to stabilize and drive a brand’s online reputation.

“Many firms like to take the traditional Public Relations route when it comes to their overall reputation,” says Zammuto. “But with the constant evolution of the Internet, the focus needs to shift on effective use of ORM [Online Reputation Management].”

 

Of course it’s not just people like Gwyneth Paltrow who are attacked. Major companies suffer considerable fallout from attacks on their reputation. Case in point, Lululemon, which is still reeling from its recent woes over its foot-in-mouth CEO.

 

 

 

 

Oops, I said it Again: Lulemon Chairman (Top left) Chip Wilson’s comments about  transparency issues with the company’s famous yoga pants and “the problem” with women’s bodies snowballed into a major fiasco. CEO Christine Day (below) only added fuel to the flame with her poor choice of words, doing little to reassure investors.

 

It’s estimated that about 83% of companies will suffer a range of reputation attacks over the next five years, attacks that can measurable impact a brand’s bottom line by as much as 20 to 30-percent. This according to Oxford Metrica, an analytics and advisory firm that focuses on corporate reputation and puts out a yearly “Reputation Review.”

 

Brand.com’s De-Indexing Program goes beyond just drowing out negative source materials. In some cases, their strategy will include the development of positive content, effectively removing altogether negative search engine results.

 

At a base price of $5,000, it’s not exactly a bargain, but when it comes to a brand’s reputation, who wants to chance a bargain strategy over one that has a higher guarantee?

 

In the meantime, there are still plenty of things that can be done to monitor and keep one’s online reputation in check, and that goes for individuals as well as business entities. If you still haven’t done an internet search of your own name, you’re already way behind.

 

What are top 5 strategies you can’t afford to overlook?

 

1) Be proactive. Even if you have a crystal clear online reputation at the moment, one future attack can ruin everything you worked for.

 

2) Search yourself. Make yourself the subject of an internet search, both your company name, expertise, and even your key people.

 

3) Respond to customers’ complaints and concerns. Companies need to learn to pick and choose their battles. However, responding to customers can be a huge image booster and can potentially enhance an online reputation.

 

4) Have an Online Reputation Management plan. Too many companies today don’t manage the flow of their brand message. When are things being said, who’s saying them, and where are they being broadcast?

 

5) Drive the conversation. How many companies have you seen with weak or non-existent blog pages, or shallow social media? If you’re not able to generate great content about you, have someone else do it. Brand.com, for instance, has it’s own stable of content writers who’s goal it is to generate positive results.

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