Ten Online Reputation Management Tips for Companies

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 by Andy Beal

Ten Online Reputation Management Tips for Companies

Over at Mashable, I wrote a pretty comprehensive guest post about online reputation management for businesses. It’s not as comprehensive as my new book, but hopefully it will whet your appetite.

Here are the first two steps:

1. Know your achilles heel

Do you know your weaknesses? No, seriously! I don’t mean the “we try too hard to please our customers” bunk. Do you know the flaws in your products, the areas of your service that suck, or the member of your management team most likely to stick his foot firmly in his mouth?

If Kryptonite had known their locks could be picked with Bic pen, they might have been able to react faster to the meme that spread like a virus. You might not be able to correct your company’s flaws but, by being honest about them now, you can better prepare should they become the topic of a reputation attack.

2. Assume everything will make it’s way to the web

You should assume that every phone conversation will be taped, every internal memo leaked, and every hallway conversation shared with a blogger. No matter what policies you put in place, not matter how many times you tell a journalist something is “off the record” you should utter only the words you’d want to see on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

This is at the essence of being radically transparent–the message you share behind closed doors should match the one you share with employees, customers, and investors.

Want to read tips 3 to 10? Head over to Mashable.

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9 comments on “Ten Online Reputation Management Tips for Companies”

Futon-Matt Says:

March 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

Well, if the next eight are as useful as the first two it should be an interesting read.
Search Engine Optimization Journal Says:

March 12th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

These are great tips. Reputation Management is definitely on the rise as people are realizing the power of Google and their online reputation and the effect it has on their prospective business. It’s great that you wrote a book on the subject because more and more companies/individuals will be looking to clean up their online act!
Jaan Kanellis Says:

March 12th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

Really like the off-line tips here. We have been given to many articles lately for online reputation management that say go create social network profiles and you will be fine.
Nicole Says:

March 13th, 2008 at 4:03 am

The first 2 are so bang-on. It makes the reading the other 8 almost unavoidable.
Flimjo Says:

March 13th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

#2 is real important. I think people should never write or say anything that (a) they don’t want appearing on the front page of the NY Times, or (b) that they wouldn’t want their mother to hear.
Forumistan Says:

March 13th, 2008 at 11:12 pm

Hey, I know my weaknesses
Piper Says:

March 16th, 2008 at 1:11 am

“2. Assume everything will make it’s way to the web”

This is a tough one, and should definitely make companies start re-thinking the use of the absolute cheapest labor possible. A single bad company representative can make a company look terrible if the interaction is with the wrong customer.
Kudzu Business Success Center - Ten Tactics That Could Save Your Online Reputation Says:

June 25th, 2008 at 10:52 am

[...] here to read the original [...]
Kudzu Business Success Center - Five Ways Negative Reviews Help Your Online Reputation Says:

June 27th, 2008 at 11:44 am

[...] here to read the original document Reprinted with permission from Andy Beal http://www.marketingpilgrim.com [...]

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