This was a comment made by Hill & Knowlton’s David Jones at the Social Media Breakfast in Ottawa.
His point was that potential clients and employees use Google to learn more about your organization. They not only find your shiny new web site and thoughtful corporate blog, but also they find all the derogatory comments and aspersions cast by others. You can’t stop someone expressing a personal point of view and sharing it (unless it’s libellous), but you can ensure that your organization’s perspective is shared and that more positive views are available. Achieving a high natural ranking in search engines is important, having a presence in search engine ads helps, having multiple links is good, but you need to manage your online reputation and not let others steal it. Potent examples given in the presentation were large public companies like Exxon Mobil and Nestle.
But not all organizations need to invest heavily in social media expertise. There are many business-to-business sectors where this tendency to (a) share a personal experience, and (b) use other people’s comments as part of a selection process is of marginal relevance.
An effective marketing audit, particularly in the online arena, can identify areas where the reputation is at risk and match organizational objectives with marketing effectiveness, metrics and presence. The question is whether it makes sense to rebut every statement blogged by a disgruntled employee, or to comment on an occasional online news story that misrepresents you. The important thing is to stay alert and assess when it starts to become business-relevant, before engaging more deeply.
Just a thought.
Tim
Related blog post on understanding when you need a marketing audit.
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Intersting piece Tim.True enough about not being able to stop what is said about you.I guess the answer lies in not providing any ammunition!
As for responding to every negative comment I am with you,that may tend to add fuel to the fire so to speak. Better to lead with positive’s.
This an interesting issue to touch on, as the lack of control corporations have now on what is being said about them online. I believe ultimately, it’s not possible to control, one can only hope to “influence” the conversation about them online in a positive way.
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