Reputation Management for Small Businesses Et Al.

Photo Credit: Gayla Baer via Flickr under Creative Commons license

It is a rare occasion in marketing when what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Reputation management is one of them. Whether or not you are a small business, corporate entity or individual with a personal brand, the tips John P. David offers in his post, Every Business Needs a Reputational Firewall, will help you build and safeguard a favorable online reputation. Here are a few highlights:

Stake your claim to your name. This is really basic stuff but it merits repeating. In a crisis, it is important for your customers and the public to be able to hear your news directly (or as directly as possible) from the source. Your company should have a Twitter account, a Facebook page and a LinkedIn page if for no other reason than it verifies your company’s identity and authenticates your news.

Build your online firewall. If your business could be hijacked by negative reviews and online attacks, then you need to ensure that you regularly publish your positive news and build a legacy of positive Internet results.

Manage online reviews. …It is difficult to get negative reviews removed, especially from large review sites; and some websites have made a business of posting negative information about companies and individuals. Negative reviews have to be countered because they won’t “just go away.” Further, time has shown that consumers like to look at reviews and read feedback on businesses which they may patronize.

Read the original article at Huffington Post.com.

Digital marketing expert Susan Baroncini-Moe describes online mismanagement as one of the biggest threats to brick and mortar businesses and provides additional tips to safeguard your business reputation. Read her suggestions here.

In the meantime, if you are a fan of the television series Mad Men, you’ll appreciate this piece of advice from two of the series’ characters: If you don’t like what they are saying, change the conversation.