These days, a negative review published online can easily destroy a business. It’s therefore very important for businesses to maintain a pool of qualified internet reputation management professionals to deftly handle the organization’s image, and promote its products and offerings online with aplomb.
How do experts handle negative content about their brand? Check out this step-by-step guide:
Direct the conversation and do proper monitoring. It all begins with a good campaign and monitoring system. In here we see the value of using hashtags, for example, to centralize the conversation and make it easy to find content about the brand.
Brands should then sign up for alert systems so as to be notified whenever there is mention of their company or their products. Monitoring should be in place everywhere on the web, but especially in places where the organization published promotional materials.
Decide swiftly whether to delete, report, or retain. In the event of negative publicity, community managers should act fast. The most crucial decisions happen right after a material is posted. Was it published on the company platform, say the brand’s official Facebook page, or was the brand’s Twitter handle tagged in a complaint? It will be quite easy to deduce whether the post has basis.
Browse through the user’s timeline or feed, to learn if it is an account with real history and contacts. Is there a proper photo? Or was the account suspiciously created in time for the launch of your new service? This evaluation phase is crucial for determining whether the post is worthy of further action. After all, company resources – the time and effort of community managers are precious! – should not be wasted on a troll account with no following. It goes without saying that their posts should simply be deleted, blocked, and reported to the admins of the social media platform. If it’s a legitimate user, on the other hand, proceed to the next step.
Acknowledge the complaint and investigate. Complaints should be acknowledged at the very least – and this does not necessarily entail accepting accountability. It is simply about letting the customer and everyone who saw or will see the post know that his concern was received, and will be duly investigated. To facilitate this investigation, the customer should be asked to provide more details: the time, date, and place where the unpleasant experience happened, who was involved, etc. Once it has been found that the company was at fault, sincere apologies should be expressed, along with a commitment to better service. Offer of gifts/free company products may be warranted in some cases.
Inform the public about the resolution. Once the matter has been resolved, it should be reported as a response to the same post, to notify everyone who may have been following the developments.
Partner with GreyBox Creative’s experienced team of marketing specialists today to learn more about the basics of internet reputation management. For almost two decades, we have helped our clients find strategic, cost-efficient solutions that address their marketing needs.