Social media reputation management

By Caroline Smith, Head of PR, Flow Communications

The ubiquity of social media and networks has given brands, and individuals, more opportunities for direct engagement and word-of-mouth referrals than ever before – but they have also meant that errors no longer go unnoticed. Now, if you make a mistake, or a customer thinks you’ve made a mistake, it’s possible for the whole world to talk about it and impact your reputation.

Reputation has always mattered – and now, more than ever. Here are seven suggestions for safeguarding your societal standing:

1.Act with integrity all the time

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That way, if you make a mistake, you have a bank of goodwill, good actions and good intentions to lean on. And don’t just act – talk about what you are doing. Any brand that only participates in the global conversation in order to defend itself is starting off on the back foot.

2.Tell the truth

Don’t try to fudge or spin an issue – the backlash from getting caught out in a lie or an evasion will be far more damaging than the original issue – because you’ve just proved yourself untrustworthy and that nothing you say can be believed. Acknowledge, apologise, make reparation and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

3.Tell it fast

The longer you don’t respond, the more opportunity there is for rumour to run rife and for the issue to get even bigger. Even if your initial response is a simple acknowledgement, make that response, don’t wait.

4.Ideally, be first

If you find out something damaging first that is likely to become public – tell the world. Don’t wait and hope it won’t be discovered. If you are the first to acknowledge an error, you have taken control of the conversation immediately – and then you are much better equipped to guide it appropriately, because you are not being defensive. (On rare occasions, and for small mistakes, you might get away with keeping quiet. Never tell a journalist something negative they don’t know.)

5.Monitor

Don’t let people talk about you without you. Where possible, automate monitoring for keywords – but have a human there too, because machines are far from perfect. This monitoring can be combined with engagement – even if people are saying nice or neutral things about you, letting them know you see them builds up a bank of goodwill.

6.Make sure your operations match your communications

If you are consistently making operational errors, no matter how good your communication is, your reputation will be damaged.

7.Don’t be too quick

Remember, one tweet does not a Twitter storm make, and human beings are faster to criticise than to compliment. Encourage people to compliment you, and amplify it when they do, so as to make it obvious that negativity is isolated and not the norm. Build up a bank of goodwill and brand fans, who will help you keep negativity in check.

Caroline Smith, Head of PR, Flow Communications
Caroline Smith, Head of PR, Flow Communications

In a nutshell, or the TLDR version – if you behave with integrity all the time, you are far less likely to ever have to do reputation management in a negative environment.

- Advertisement -

The ubiquity of social media and networks has given brands, and individuals, more opportunities for direct engagement and word-of-mouth referrals than ever before – but they have also meant that errors no longer go unnoticed. Now, if you make a mistake, or a customer thinks you’ve made a mistake, it’s possible for the whole world to talk about it and impact your reputation.

Reputation has always mattered – and now, more than ever. Here are seven suggestions for safeguarding your societal standing:

1.Act with integrity all the time

- Advertisement -

That way, if you make a mistake, you have a bank of goodwill, good actions and good intentions to lean on. And don’t just act – talk about what you are doing. Any brand that only participates in the global conversation in order to defend itself is starting off on the back foot.

2.Tell the truth

Don’t try to fudge or spin an issue – the backlash from getting caught out in a lie or an evasion will be far more damaging than the original issue – because you’ve just proved yourself untrustworthy and that nothing you say can be believed. Acknowledge, apologise, make reparation and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

3.Tell it fast

The longer you don’t respond, the more opportunity there is for rumour to run rife and for the issue to get even bigger. Even if your initial response is a simple acknowledgement, make that response, don’t wait.

4.Ideally, be first

If you find out something damaging first that is likely to become public – tell the world. Don’t wait and hope it won’t be discovered. If you are the first to acknowledge an error, you have taken control of the conversation immediately – and then you are much better equipped to guide it appropriately, because you are not being defensive. (On rare occasions, and for small mistakes, you might get away with keeping quiet. Never tell a journalist something negative they don’t know.)

5.Monitor

Don’t let people talk about you without you. Where possible, automate monitoring for keywords – but have a human there too, because machines are far from perfect. This monitoring can be combined with engagement – even if people are saying nice or neutral things about you, letting them know you see them builds up a bank of goodwill.

6.Make sure your operations match your communications

If you are consistently making operational errors, no matter how good your communication is, your reputation will be damaged.

7.Don’t be too quick

Remember, one tweet does not a Twitter storm make, and human beings are faster to criticise than to compliment. Encourage people to compliment you, and amplify it when they do, so as to make it obvious that negativity is isolated and not the norm. Build up a bank of goodwill and brand fans, who will help you keep negativity in check.

Caroline Smith, Head of PR, Flow Communications
Caroline Smith, Head of PR, Flow Communications

In a nutshell, or the TLDR version – if you behave with integrity all the time, you are far less likely to ever have to do reputation management in a negative environment.

- Advertisement -

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