Online Reputation Management: Managing Crises
Managing crises on the Internet is an acid test for any reputation management firm. When your critics have something to attack, their aim would be to use the tools available online and go viral. Because the Internet as a medium works in groups and clusters and everyone is connected to each other in some way or the other, it won’t take long for a bad press to gather wind.
Reputation management experts working for you must go into overdrive to give out the correct, authentic information to people looking for it. When your brand has a goodwill, people will not accept the rumors without checking with you first. If you don’t wake up to the situation and inform them actively about your stance, they will slowly start believing the negative remarks.
The best way to offer information during a crises is to create micro-sites and targeting specific keywords that the users are most likely to search with. Your online reputation management experts can use Internet tools like Google Adwords to hunt out the keywords that would suit such a reputation management campaign and then create ads.
The more innovative you are with the ads, the more people will click and visit your micro-sites. That way you can inform the curious masses about what they want to know about your brand. Crisis management is never easy, given the mistrust and general cynicism around. However, if you are really committed to reaching out and making your voice heard, you can achieve a sympathetic buzz.


