Social media has changed the online marketing game - for better or for worse. While traditional marketing and physical activations still have their place, online channels such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are giant platforms that can’t be ignored. In fact, they’re dominating.
As of January 2022, there are a total of 3.96 billion social media users (or approximately 50% of the world’s population) across all platforms, and social media spending is almost SGD$250 billion. And digital spending doesn’t stop there. Here are some other avenues that brands have used to create campaigns or launch advertising:
• YouTube
• Pinterest
• Twitter
• Snapchat
• Blogs
• Forums (such as Reddit, HardwareZone)
• Marketplaces (such as Carousell)
With digital marketing creating such a broad customer-facing presence online, it becomes inevitable that negative experiences will occur. From unread messages on Facebook or Instagram to content deemed insensitive by the woke crowd, the online perils can occur even when one is not actively marketing online. And just as the impact of online platforms can be helpful, this is when virality - long sought-after by marketers for its incredible reach - can also become a nightmare.
Many of digital advertising’s strengths can just as quickly become a weakness if there is no one to manage a brand’s online reputation. While many businesses are quick to hire a team to produce campaigns and ads, they are often not aware of or de-prioritise the need for those who manage online reputation. And this can be dangerous.
Engage your online audience
As explained, this is not only about putting out ads, it’s about having someone or a team to manage the responses that come through. After all, online platforms are loved for their ability to engage, and consumers often use them for various purposes. From this, some best practices like responding quickly and answering in a concise manner have become synonymous with a good online presence.
From replying to reviews (both good and bad) on Google or Tripadvisor, moderating comments and feedback on Instagram or TikTok, to having chat agents primed to deliver quick and accurate solutions, your business online reputation can quickly escalate into a crisis situation in the blink of an eye if not properly dealt with.
The internet, as much as it has given us the freedom to create, has also not many checks and balances. Any user, for example, could drop a comment about not receiving their order or experiencing nasty customer service, and a good portion of readers will believe them. Even if not true, the online community has a tendency to apply the “guilty unless proven otherwise” thinking - no doubt leftover by the unfortunate “customer is always right” ethos. So even as the comment is posted, the damage is done.
Train your team to be nimble
This is where the team’s agility matters. Unless a team presents a fast and thorough reply, a bad impression (however true or untrue) will leave a stain and even cause a ripple effect. And when the collective becomes big enough, it becomes a crisis.
Being in the digital space also means this will happen at lightning speed. Something posted online can be easily screenshot, shared, reposted or engaged with. A controversial tweet, unflattering picture or video taken out of context can easily multiply into the thousands and millions - especially when it’s sensational. Thus, managing an online reputation requires an especially nimble team, with the ability to track down incidents and provide solutions (if needed) in any engagement, in as short a time as possible. Multiply that across the many platforms and you have yourself a veritable full-time job.
When it happens, always seek to de-escalate matters by apologising in some way or another, offering a remedy or recovery action if necessary. If you need more time to investigate, always acknowledge the feedback and estimate a timeline. Never ignore or delete a negative comment. Or take it offline if possible, and always offer to be kind in your interactions.
And here’s a sneaky tip: always inject something personal in there to remind the person that they are interacting with a real person. A name and title can do the trick.
Always a work in progress
Even when not actively engaging with users, businesses also need to manage their online reputation through diligent checks. Other less thought-of actions to maintain online hygiene include checking for impersonation accounts to ensure integrity, purchasing similar domains to prevent address abuse or spam, or updating essential details to maintain accuracy.
The measures needed for online reputation management are both preventive and restorative - a holistic application that maintains and hopefully improves public opinion and minimise the impact and repercussions of negative interactions - because yes, there will always be haters out there. And they can appear next week, today, or even within the next hour.
Given how this fast-paced environment develops, every second counts. Businesses may need to get up to speed with existing trends and design their internal protocol for managing online reputation promptly. To find out the best current industry practices, SMU Academy has designed the Advanced Certificate in Online Reputation Management for Business to help companies of all sizes to improve their online presence.
It includes modules like “How to Handle and Respond to Online Crises from the Communications Perspective” and “Tackling Falsehoods, Smear Campaigns, and Other Acts of Sabotage - How the Law Can Help” to fully equip both legal and marketing teams with the entire ecosystem of actions.
There are also modules directed to nurture a healthy environment and community, with topics like “Prevention is Better Than Cure - Developing Pre-emptive Strategies that Protect Against Online Crises” and “Controlling Online Narratives” being offered.
These will equip all types of businesses - from MNCs to SMEs and start-ups - with the right tools to manage their online reputation as they navigate their online space so that no one will get caught off-guard again.
Click here to find out more about the Advanced Certificate in Online Reputation Management for Business by SMU Academy.
