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Online Reputation Management (ORM) Services
By Bruce Gow Director Search Engine Guy Pty Ltd
www.searchengine-guy.com.au
Imagine an editor of a major newspaper instructing his
journalist to track down a story on an up- and-coming politician or celebrity.
Where do you think they will go? They'll Google it of course!
Journos and
newspaper reporters will start their assignment ploughing through Google news
and the organic (free side) of the search engine results.
They will typically dig much deeper than your average online
visitor as they have to make up compelling stories with great "facts" that they find
on the internet. They are in fact now trained to do work like this to satisfy
their boss by fulfilling their news reporting assignment.
These "facts" may not always represent the truth, and they may erupt
into scandals that are not in your best interest to be made public.
Case Study No 1: Kevin Rudd, Labour Party PM
Do a search for Kevin Rudd online in Google and read the 1st
page
results, including No 6
http://kevinruddlies.com/lies/kevin.htm
It has a strategy to keep up a steady link building, mocking
& denigrating
our PM
Even misspellings can harm as seen by this attempt to
discredit Kevin - aka Keven :-) Pity this guy can't spell!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keven-Rudd-Is-a-Dudd/36022194914
Most reporters have a fine reputation themselves for coming up with responsible
newsworthy content, but unfortunately there are some out there that will get it
wrong, unintentionally or otherwise.
The worst part is that once the erroneous material is up
there online, you then have to contact the source and get them to take it down
or ask the newspaper to make a retraction or take it to court. This can be very
time consuming and costly. Then you have to deal with the articles about you
defending it in court.
I can counteract this by populating the first and second page results online
with positive articles and press releases.
This will help bury the negative or erroneous listings with truthful, positive
results on what you are doing for the community. These services will also
include how to manage your website Corporate PR issues & online Public Relations
Management.
What I can do for your Online Reputation Management:
- Monitor the internet for negative issues
- Publish articles online
- Offer recommendations for SEO of your website
- Release SEO press releases online
Case Study No 2: Tiger Woods
The forums section of Tiger Woods' official website has finally been shut down.
Administrators of the website had continued to allow angry fans to express their
disgust at the golf superstar's fall from grace, with many of the posts highly
abusive.
“You are such a piece of garbage ... good job wrecking your family, butthead,”
said one of hundreds of postings.
Another said: “You are a laughing stock - just another arrogant athlete who
thought he could get away with anything ... your image was nothing but a fraud.”
However, almost a month after the car accident outside his Florida home that led
to the unraveling of his image, website administrators have closed the forums.
Tiger Woods admitted infidelity during his marriage to former Swedish model and
nanny Elin Nordegren and up to 14 women have been linked with the world's best
golfer.
Woods is said to be sailing on a boat in the Bahamas to escape the scrutiny and
media coverage while Nordegren, 29, is believed have spent Christmas in Sweden
with her family.
The scandal has proved to be fodder for Facebook users with groups and fan pages
attracting large numbers. Among the most popular has almost 400,000 fans, while
another "I did not sleep with Tiger Woods" has 40,000 fans.
Less popular are the groups "Free Tiger Woods" with 1000 fans and "Get off Tiger
Woods already!" with 400 followers.
During the height of the scandal marketing experts had expressed bewilderment at
the lack of action from his agents, International Management Group, to protect
their client's image.
Major sponsors initially pledged support to retain Woods, but he was suspended
by Gillette on December 11, and completely dropped by Accenture on December 13.
Looking at Tiger Woods' Facebook page, you would hardly know anything of
interest had transpired lately in the life of the world's top golfer and one-man
sports brand. The last update on the page is dated Nov. 6, when Woods posted a
behind-the-scenes video about shooting a public service announcement for his
foundation.
Fan posting on his Wall has been shut off as well, so there are no messages
either of scorn or support in connection with the scandal that broke late last
month over his multiple affairs and has since forced him to take an indefinite
break from golf. It has also cost him a lucrative sponsorship deal with
Accenture and led other marketers like Tag Heuer and Gillette to scale back
using Woods in ads.
His Facebook page does not even contain a link to the December 11 statement on
his Web site announcing his forced retirement from golf, acknowledging his
"infidelity" for the first time and issuing a broad apology to fans and others.
Woods also has a Twitter account, but the last tweet dates back to June 26,
announcing the launch of his Web site.
Woods has already come under widespread criticism for failing to follow the
Letterman playbook of coming clean quickly and openly about his extramarital
affairs to help put the scandal behind him that much faster and quell the media
feeding frenzy. Social media experts believe Woods has also missed an
opportunity online to help manage the crisis.
"When a Facebook user 'fans' a page, that brand or personality has the ability
to communicate directly with users," said Mike Lazerow, CEO of Buddy Media,
which manages brands' presence on Facebook, Twitter and other social properties.
"In Tiger's case, that means that he has the ability to communicate directly
with fans without the filter, editing or slant of the current media outlets that
are fueling this story."
He suggests that Woods, for instance, could have released a video statement
about the controversy on his Facebook page directly addressing his 1.3 million
fans on the site, and then posted relevant updates on a regular basis. He also
noted that each fan typically has about 120 Facebook friends. "So that's a nice
distribution channel he owns to get his message out," he said.
As for an Australian slant, without trying to be too crass, I would definitely
erase this Facebook fan comment - "Chris from Connecticut asked me who I'm
rooting for in the MLB playoffs." - for obvious reasons!
For a free assessment of your website and to find out what
terms people are using every day to find you online, call Bruce Gow on 0417 251 911 or email him at
bruce@searchengine-guy.com.au
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