A company's reputation is often critical to that company's success. The anonymity and vastness of the Internet makes managing a reputation much more difficult than it once was. Businesses must be proactive about protecting their brands and reputations.
Brand Hijacking
Brand Hijacking refers to the act of someone other than authorized
company personnel using the company brand as if they represent that
brand. Unfortunately, brand hijacking is becoming increasingly more
common in social media and on social networks. One of the best ways to
minimize brand hijacking, while not foolproof, is to register the
company brand and product names in all the social media channels,
before anyone else has the opportunity to do so.
In order to check the availability of brands in the various social
channels, you can use the following tools:
NameChk - http://www.namechk.com/
CheckUserNames - http://www.checkusernames.com/
UserNamez - http://www.usernamez.com/
Unfortunately, some nefarious people are getting around this by simply
adding an underscore to a brand name (i.e. "_brandname"). Registering a
brand this way gives the appearance that they represent the brand. If
this occurs, most social websites will disable the offending account
when they are notified of the issue. Many social networks are adding
verification by requiring valid email addresses to help slow down brand
hijacking. You can then create accounts on the social networks that
secure your brand.
Consumer Complaints
The Internet has made it easier than ever to publicize complaints and
short-comings of a company or a product. Now, any sort of "dirty
laundry" can easily be aired publicly with just a few clicks, whether
it be factual or not. Websites have been established specifically for
the purpose of consumer complaints. Consumers are able to post
complaints about products they feel are inferior, or services they feel
are lacking.
Examples of such websites include:
RipOffReport - http://www.ripoffreport.com/
Complaints Board - http://www.complaintsboard.com/
It is critical that companies control the search results for their
company name and brand. The last thing you want is for a complaint
about your company or product to appear higher than your company's
website listing in the search results. Use standard search engine
optimization (SEO) techniques to ensure that your website dominates the
top search results for brand names.
Monitor Your Brand
Use custom ego feeds to monitor the online discussions. The feeds will
update whenever your product or brands are mentioned online. Ego feeds
allow companies to monitor blogs and online news sources for specific
keywords. Knowing what is being said about your company and products,
and when it is being said, will allow you to respond to such things in
a timely and professional manner. For more information about ego feeds,
see:
Ego Feeds - http://www.feedforall.com/ego-searches.htm
When you encounter a mention of your products or services that casts a
negative implication, try not to let anger or emotion dictate how you
respond. Always behave professionally when providing responses, and
always try to offer solutions and assistance. This can often be
instrumental in changing the public perception about your company brand
when problems arise. Your reputation is important, so be proactive!