Bear Stearns Earns An F In Search Engine Reputation Management

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Friday, 28 of March , 2008 at 2:26 am

There has never been a better lesson in reputation management than that highlighted by the recent demise of Bear Stearns. Could they have been saved? We will never know. The one thing that is becoming clear is the lack of effective reputation management strategies to overcome any negative publicity.

Many business houses seem to feel that they are immune to any negative publicity or, at worst, they will only suffer minor bruises when a situation arises. Bear Stearns are not the only company to suffer from a negative rumor that became viral and they wont be the last.

I wont comment on the Bear Stearns strategy itself, that has been done to death already. Rather, I think this serves as a timely reminder to check our own reputation management strategies, if indeed they exist. Size has become irrelevant. Any business, be it online or offline, can potentially be crippled by a few careless words, or the inability to negate a damaging rumor.

Online businesses have a plethora of channels including social media sites, forums and blogs where they can develop trust and respect. When a negative story appears, these same channels can then be used to counter some of that negativity.

Whilst Bear Stearns was a complex issue, any company caught in this tide of negativity needs to be able to respond quickly, over a broad area and in such a way that every negative issue is addressed in a manner to restore confidence, and, ultimately, their reputation.

As business, website owner or blogger, have you thought about your search engine reputation and how to (a) manage and develop it now and (b) counter any negative attacks when they occur?

Reputation management is often but aside as something to think about later - until it’s too late. Plan now, don’t score an F in search engine reputation management when good planning can see you earn an A+ — and so keep your business.

Category: Reputation Management

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