Time moves on different terms in the realm of social media. An online reputation can take business years to grow. But when a crisis hits, that hard-earned reputation can crumble in a matter of days. Read on to learn how you can build a positive brand image on social media by exploring 4 key factors of social media reputation management.
Social media is a two-way street. Businesses can harness their almost infinite reach to connect with an audience that is constantly hungry for content. That same, watchful audience can respond and react to a business’ every move and is often quick to do so. This is why building a healthy online reputation requires constant effort and supervision. It is not enough just to focus on amassing followers or likes. A good social media strategy must entail the ability to anticipate when the tides of public perception will turn against your brand, and when it does, how to respond in the most appropriate and timely manner.
The digital landscape is rife with stories of businesses that have risen and fallen on social media. Here are some examples of them, and what we can learn from the paths already trodden.
Respond in a timely manner
The Internet waits for no one. Content is generated, exchanged, and discussed at a breakneck pace. When a business finds itself in the crosshairs of the Internet, a swift response can often mean the difference between winning and losing online support. Sitting on negative online content without responding allows the buildup of comments and narratives that may not align with the truth or the business’ objectives. In the long run, these comments can eventually drown out any response the business may have later on.
When the National University Hospital was accused of leaving a pregnant woman unattended for over two hours, which apparently led to an unfortunate miscarriage, the hospital wasted no time in putting out a statement. The response contained a short, but carefully-worded apology that conceded verifiable facts such as how the patient in question experienced a two-hour wait, and what her eventual diagnosis was. There was a promise to investigate the matter further, but no admission of broader liability.
While the initial availing online sentiment was that of sympathy for the patient, further investigations revealed that the patient may not have actually lost her baby at the hospital. The husband of the patient (who posted the initial allegations online) publicly apologised to the hospital publishing a speculative post that resulted in online abuse against the hospital and its staff.
While the hospital eventually had its name cleared, things might have ended far worse for it if it did not put out its initial statement, which had the effect of placating online vitriol pending fuller investigations. An effective crisis management plan in the digital sphere requires organisations to have expertise and knowledge in crafting careful yet accurate responses to negative online content.
Don’t be too quick to pull the legal trigger
It can be tempting to gravitate towards legal avenues to shut down negative online content. Some of these options include sending the content’s authors or publishers a legal demand (through lawyers) to remove or retract the content. Or, in more draconian situations, starting a lawsuit against the content originators.
Invoking the mechanism of the law is a powerful response. However, legal approaches can also bring about overt public-relations repercussions. When a business with perceivably deep pockets takes legal action against an individual, the public may see the business as engaging in bullying behaviour, even if the negative content truly warrants legal action in the eyes of the law. Furthermore, demanding the retraction of online comments published by, say, customers or clients can often be seen as attempts to silence honest public reviews. Or, in certain circumstances, an affront to free speech.
A florist in Singapore threatened to sue a customer after the latter posted an online review about her dissatisfaction with a flower basket she purchased. In response, the customer published the legal threats she received, and news of the dispute went viral after it was reported in various online media. The ensuing public sentiment was largely against the florist: many saw the business’ threat of legal proceedings as an intimidation tactic geared towards stifling a genuine (though negative) customer review.
It is possible for a lawsuit to trigger large, and often unexpected, repercussions in some other instances. The Streisand Effect, named after singer Barbra Streisand, is an online phenomenon where an attempt to cover up or remove content results in that same content being circulated more. Lawsuits, especially those initiated by public figures or big businesses, make for sensational news. And when a lawsuit attracts media attention, the public will invariably pry into its details, which ironically amplifies the content the lawsuit was started to suppress.
If you are considering legal action to respond to negative online content, you may wish to pair it with a targeted public relations plan to mitigate any further reputational consequences that might result from going public with the legal action.
Own your narrative
Jeff Bezos famously showed the world how he put himself in the driver’s seat in controlling what would have been the nastiest corporate controversies. When an influential tabloid threatened to publish highly personal information that would hurt Bezos’ reputation, instead of doing damage control and bracing for the fallout, he did the exact opposite—he went public with a blog post, detailing the communications from the tabloid for the world to see.
In a matter of minutes, the attention shifted away from Bezos’ salacious intimate life, and keywords like “threaten”, “extortion”, “blackmail” were dominating news headlines instead, shifting public opinion to Jeff Bezos’ favour. In the process, he also cemented his branding as a decisive, no-nonsense businessman as he famously wrote: “If in my position I can’t stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?”
Hitting closer to home, beleaguered Night Owls Cinematics co-founder Sylvia Chan had the impossible task of standing up against the tide of negative public opinion when allegations surfaced of her ill-treating her employees. She held her silence for weeks, then did a tell-all interview with youtuber Xiaxue, revealing intimate details of her marriage. Online rhetoric quickly shifted from workplace abuse to the opinion that the initial allegations levelled against Sylvia was a smear campaign led by her ex-husband. Public sentiment swung 180 degrees, with netizens suddenly siding Sylvia and castigating Ryan. In a dramatic reversal of narratives, Sylvia turned from aggressor to victim in the short span of the tell-all she gave.
In these examples, both personalities put forward information that could potentially damage themselves financially and reputationally. Yet by taking this risk, they managed to control the narratives and put other parties on the defensive. They also picked their platforms wisely: Jeff Bezos used a well-structured narrative text, combining story and data in a simple format. Sylvia Chan used YouTube: a platform she was familiar and comfortable with, which gave her the opportunity to emote and connect with the audience.
More importantly, with such a move that may be seen as counter-intuitive by many, the individuals were able to put a hard stop to the issues, and move on.
Restoring your reputation
But what happens if you find it difficult to own the narrative? Sometimes, it feels like the media and the world is completely against you or your mistakes, and there seems to be very little or nothing you can do about it. And the worst part of all - all the negative news about you or your brand turns up top when in a Google search of you or your brand. There are also instances in which a company or brand genuinely erred, and no amount of positive public relations can replace the need to eventually accept responsibility for the mistakes made.
This is where you might need to consider online reputation restoration. Unbeknownst to many, there are ways to influence Google’s search rankings. Businesses and brands may be familiar with search engine optimization (or SEO for short) - a process that improves the visibility of web presence by manipulating a site’s content, accessibility, and backlinks.
But just like there are ways to bump up a content’s ranking on Google, one can similarly push down the ranking of, say a negative article or page, through what is called reverse SEO. Such a technique is typically used by companies plagued by negative content. When they want to get those pages removed from the first page of Google search results—the pages where most people look first, businesses can use reverse SEO to push them down below as low as possible.
Anticipating, assessing, and dealing with negative online content is important. These are all part of a sound crisis-management plan. But a good crisis-management toolkit should also include resources and expertise for “cleaning up” after an online crisis - which is where restorative strategies such as reverse SEO will come in handy.
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This article was contributed by Fong Wei Li, Managing Director of Forward Legal LLC and one of the trainers for the Advanced Certificate in Online Reputation Management for Business programme.
Wei Li is a well-rounded disputes lawyer, who is able to advise clients in a wide variety of issues across the commercial, civil, criminal, and matrimonial fronts. His advocacy skills span the gamut of modern dispute resolution platforms - litigation, arbitration, and mediation. He also stands out for his expertise in reputation management and internet law.
Psst, if you are still looking for more tips to managing your online reputation for your business, read our blog post here.
