Online Reputation Management Now A Recognised Industry

Writing by Nick Stamoulis Tweet

And why shouldn’t it be? Reputation Management has been around for many years in the bricks and mortar world, trading under the name of ‘Public Relations Consultants’. Online reputation management can be done in many different ways, public relations being one of the major components through the use of social sites, forums, blogs and press releases.

The issue surrounding reputation management online is whether or not it is ethical to use search engine optimization techniques to out rank negative comments or campaigns. By its definition, you should not always need to use these strategies if your reputation management strategies have been effective from day one. Going into overdrive when you detect a problem is like the proverbial bolting horse and the gate. Keep the gate shut and the horse wont bolt.

Reputations can be tarnished in many different ways. You may find your image or that of your product the subject of negative gossip throughout forums or through social media sites. You may find a well respected individual delivering negative statements through their blogs or websites. If they rank well then these comments may well appear on the first page of search results pages. Do you now commence a reputation management campaign to reverse or hide any negative impact?

I believe the question should be moot. Online reputation management should, in the first instance, be about developing a positive online image. If this is done successfully you are halfway to solving any negative publicity if it ever arises. If you have built credibility and trust, any statements made in response to negative publicity should be well received.

Andy Beal from Marketing Pilgrim, in his post reporting on BusinessWeek’s acceptance of reputation management as an industry, admitted that:

“The majority of inquiries that I get are from people who are looking to do a cover-up,……”

Andy went on to say:

“…..They’re not necessarily interested in trying to fix the problem. They just want to make sure that other people can’t find it.”

If you have developed a strong image and a good reputation, you are going to be heard when you deliver your response. If there is a problem with a product then it is your actions that should be examined. Do you do the right thing, perhaps recall the product and offer refunds or replacements. Or do you undertake a black hat reputation management campaign to try and bury the problem – invariably failing and making the situation worse.

I think the issues have become blurred. Reputation management is simply a form of online public relations. Trying to cover up problems with a product is unethical whether you use print media, search engine manipulation or any other media. Perhaps the biggest problem in this debate is not whether or not reputation management is ethical, it should be whether or not we call it ‘reputation management’ or give it its real name, ‘online public relations’ since this is what the work involves. Yes, search engine optimization strategies are used as part of these activities but is this any different to using radio, TV or print media to promote your bricks and mortar business? I think not.

Marketing, public relations or online reputation management they all strive to achieve the same goal and are ethical activities. Covering up a problem is the unethical activity whether it is through white hat or black hat reputation management activities. Oh and by the way, to add my two cents to the argument; online reputation management should be recognized as an ethical industry, at least, as ethical as the offline public relations industry.