How to Choose a Reputation Management Service

You may have heard of reputation management services, but you delayed using this service because you are not sure whether or not you need it. You may feel confident about your company’s marketing strategy and feel that your brand is relatively strong. However, given the speed of the news cycles on today’s Internet media, all it takes is one negative news story to land your company in hot water. Just as you need the number of a good plumber in case your pipes get frozen, so you should also have the contact information of a reputation management firm available if a negative news story affects your company and can persuade your customers to take their business elsewhere.

Be Prepared

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is to frantically search for a reputation management service firm in the middle of a scandal when they are trying to combat a negative news story. In this state of panic, it might be difficult to find the best firm to help your company’s reputation and it might be difficult to counteract negative stories if they have already gone viral. You should be ahead of the game and already have contact with a reputation management service so you can enlist their services immediately if there is a public relations problem that needs to be fixed.
You are more likely to believe negative stories about a stranger than malicious rumors about someone you have known for years. This is true in your personal life and also is relevant in the world of business. It is a good idea to enlist the services of a ReputationDefender Linkedin to build brand awareness so you are protected against any bad media coverage that could erupt suddenly before it spins out of control. You should already be in touch with a reputation management service that has a content and social media strategy to encourage awareness of your brand.

Who You Should Work With

A reputation defender should have years of experience in the field and be adept at marketing, including social media and search engine strategies. The firm should know how to contact mainstream media and pitch stories while ensuring that they are shareable on Facebook. The company should also be skilled at creating Facebook and Twitter updates that attract plenty of likes and comments and engage people in a discussion about your brand. Producing content is an important part of building brand awareness and fixing your reputation. A solid content strategy focuses on both quantity and quality of articles in order to bring more users to your website with the right search terms.

You should hire a reputation management company that is skilled in the use of technology and can use analytics to the benefit of your company. They should be able to tell you right away if the strategy is working or not and how your company is faring on news sites and social media. The company should be able to sense if something is not working and adopt a new strategy that will enhance your company’s reputation. In addition, use positive reviews to your advantage and encourage satisfied customers to share positive testimonials about your products or services in a way that will grab attention.

Don’t Give up Hope

It may be easy to despair when there is a truly devastating news article or series of bad reviews about your product or service. However, think about how many large companies survived a significant scandal only to revive their reputation. Even the bad press does not disappear immediately, every news story has its limit, and if you have a strong reputation management company to work with, you can pick up the pieces.

Sometimes companies use attacks against them to their advantage. Dominos pizza engaged in a rather gutsy PR campaign that acknowledged the negative criticisms of the past. Honestly striving to reinvent its brand, Dominos acknowledged in commercials that its crusts resembled cardboard and created funny advertisements making fun of its former reputation. The honesty and ability to laugh at one’s own brand earned the interest in the loyalty of customers who might otherwise abandon the product. As a result, Dominos Pizza was able to reinvent itself as a direct result of negative criticism about his product.

While the reputation management company can help you recover from a negative publicity buzz, you should not wait for disaster to strike before you have a third-party help you build your brand awareness and create a strong, positive reputation in the mind of consumers. If you already have a strongly positive reputation, it is easier to weather negative publicity storms and to recover from a spate of bad press. Manage your brand often and make sure you keep it in the news and in the minds of your loyal customers. In addition to social media, word-of-mouth is a great way your customers can spread positive news about your company.