Reputation Management

The increasing popularity of the Internet has become an important resource for information and
research over the last few decades. It has played its part in shaping the reputation of people and
companies all over the world. Any individual can have an opinion, correct or not has no bearing,
and can be heard by billions of people. This means it is essential for any growing or large business
to be able to manage their reputation better. Reputation management is a growing trend spurred on
by organizations. These organizations are increasingly worried about the information being spread
regarding the image of their company and would like to have more control over it.
Companies engaging in reputation management are primarily categorized into proactive and
reactive companies.
Proactive approach
Companies or individuals that are actively seeking reputation protection follow the proactive
approach of reputation management. As the term suggests, these companies will usually look to
keep tabs on their companys image on the Internet at regular intervals. They will usually hire a
reputation management consultancy to be !"n#Call.$ These agencies will form a task force to
monitor the companys reputation and be alerted as soon as any information comes up. The
information is then dissected and dealt with, if re%uired, by certain strategies that have become the
norm.
&iven the wide landscape of the Internet, reputation management is a labor centric business and
there are generally large teams of people working on establishing, modifying, and engineering the
reputation of the company. The power of the Internet and how it can affect your company, positively
or negatively, should not be underestimated. 'ate websites and message boards will usually have
more opinions of individuals listed in them and the bigger your company, the more feedback you
are likely to get. A couple of %uick %uestions to ask yourself, do you find there is a great deal of
negative information on the internet about you and(or your company) 'ave you taken the right
steps to make sure that your business is *ing of Content before something negative is placed
online)
Reactive approach
A reactive approach to reputation management will usually be performed by companies that are
small and still in the process of growing into their full potential. &iven that their consumer base is
significantly smaller than large businesses, they will usually not e+pect a negative public image
through the Internet until it actually happens. "nce it happens though, it can have %uite an effect on
the brand image as well as the confidence that the investors and owners of the business have in their
own sustenance.
The reactive approach will see teams of individuals covering up information on Internet message
boards, social networking sites, and professional networking sites that affect the brand. They will
try to diffuse the situation. ,ut since everything happens so fast on the Internet, there might be a lot
of work re%uired. Covering up negative information, whether it is fact of personal opinion, can be
much harder once that piece of information has been allowed to shape opinions of thousands of
minds.
-espite this, there are advantages to the reactive approach as well. This is because there is more
focus on the issue at hand, rather than throwing a blanket cover over the entire reputation of the
firm.
Choosing the right approach
Choosing the right approach for reputation management depends on an organization. The techni%ue
that is necessarily good for one organization may not be what is best for another. Cost, size of
business, type of business, as well as ruthlessness of competitive brands should influence the
decision you make. .ome companies are of the opinion that the proactive method is better. /ou
should put your brand out there and build as much positivity as possible before someone smears the
name. 0hile this is ideal, it does cost a lot in terms of manpower, time, and money. /ou will also
have to prevent any hate groups from starting a reputation damaging following. If costs and
manpower are an issue, then reactive reputation management might be the best approach for you.
Article by Tracy Lee Thomas
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