Online reputation management—Damage control in practice

Picture this. You have consciously built a brand image for yourself and everyone around is happy because you are on top of the world. But then as you become successful, you attract detractors too. One or more such animals with an axe to grind against you start spreading stories about you and most of them are not pleasant. Some of the posts appear on the first two pages of a popular search engine. You find yourself as the object of ridicule and contempt. You have been branded as an alcoholic rather than a workaholic.

People read negative, exaggerated information and then spread stories adding their own dash of spice in their discussions about you, with their colleagues. You have to seriously safeguard your reputation before some more negative posts appear on the front page of Google.

A reputation-maligning post like this on the front page of Google or such other search-engine is as bad as infamous front page news. When you see a scandalizing post like this affecting you, your profession or business, you have to first analyze the gravity of the situation. Is it really bad for you? Can it affect the way you live or deal with people? A celebrity friend of mine was in a similar situation where her image was taking a beating due to some posts that made their way to the front page of the search results of Google.

My friend cried foul, harped that she was misquoted but the posts kept on coming. She contemplated calling the website owner and threatening to issue a law-suit. However, there was risk involved and it could take off some of her time. She had to protect her image and online reputation management was the first thing on her mind. Some websites were getting regular hits by writing trash about her.

My friend then decided to act wisely a built a strong, positive image about herself through online reputation management. She hired someone who could write keyword driven content for her that put her in the positive light. She joined some of the social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Since they had a fair amount of privacy, she invited people on her friends list. Since she was in direct touch with them through the social networking sites, her friends and fans began to write positive about her in their forums and blog posts.

My friend hired an online reputation management specialist who kept a close tab on posts that appeared on famous blogs, forum sites and major websites. With online reputation tools, and close monitoring of written about her, an action plan was made to make sure that her online reputation was not just salvaged but maintained also. Things began to take a 360 degree turn as my friend’s reputation online was kept in good stead after working hard on the concept of online reputation management. With meticulous care and effort, she saw to it that her image remained squeaky clean from there-on, thanks to some smart online reputation management