Digital and Online Reputation Management

Wednesday, August 6, 2014, 1:30 PM, Northern E-3

Take Control of Your Reputation Online

About Chris Abraham

Principal Consultant, Gerris Corp

Contact info

chris@gerriscorp.com

www.gerriscorp.com

+1 202-352-5051

Social Media

Twitter.com/chrisabraham

LinkedIn.com/in/chrisabraham

Google.com/+chrisabraham

Facebook.com/chrisabraham

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Chris Abraham

Getting to know your presenter

Intro to Online Reputation Management (ORM)

What Is Online Reputation Exactly?

Your online reputation is

What shows up in the search results

What people say about your company on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites

Any reviews of your company or work environment

Anything published in the mainstream press

Any academic or trade publications

Any photos or videos tagged with your name

Public records connected to your business

You are judged primarily by the first page of search results

Incredibly easy to find and access this information

No filter: everything is available all the time

No statute of limitations: the Web is forever

How People Search

Key Stats

53% of users do not go past the first two results for any given search

89% of users do not go past Page 1 for any given search

99% of users do not go past Page 2 for any given search

You are judged primarily by the first page of search results

The Importance of Online Reputation

More than 80% of reputation damage risks come from a mismatch between the buzz and the reality (Digimind)

Reputation risk is the greatest risk facing companies, with as much as 75% of a company’s value based on reputation (Economist Intelligence Unit)

92% of Internet users read product reviews and 89% of people say that reviews influence their purchasing decisions (eTailing Group)

Some key statistics…

The Importance of Online Reputation

Auto dealerships with few online reviews or negative average scores saw their search referral traffic drop by as much as 86% when Google started placing reviews under business websites (DealerMarketing.com)

A difference of one “star” in the average rating in a typical online business profile can lead to a 5–9% difference in revenues (Harvard Business Review)

72% of consumers trust online review as much as word of mouth (Local Consumer Review Survey)

85% of consumers conduct online research before making a purchase and 89% trust online reviews (Cone Inc.)

Consumers are 25% more likely to research online reviews for high-cost purchases such as automobiles (Cone Inc.)

86%

5–9%

72%

89%

25%

Online Reputation (ORM) Threats

Inflammatory Google Suggestions

Rumors can have a serious impact on your online reputation

Suggestions pop up because many people are curious about the rumor1

High search volume creates a feedback loop: Google thinks this is relevant2

New searchers see the inflammatory suggestions, giving criticisms more authority3

The Web Is Forever

Wells Fargo First Interstate Takeover

Major blunders, such as the Wells Fargo takeover of First Interstate Bancorp, live on in the search results

Critical articles from the 1990s continue to rank prominently

Becomes a permanent black mark for anyone doing research on Wells Fargo

Search Results Are Not Chronological

Wikipedia (contains criticism)

Company profile

Critical news articles

Positive image results

Attacks by blogger

Third-party profile

Company profile

Critical news article

Third-party profile

Mark Hurd, former HP CEO, Google p.1

Results Reflect Old News

Example: D. E. Shaw Group

A good reputation requires positive, high-quality validations by third parties

The D. E. Shaw Group has good control of the top few results, but the rest are misleading and give a poor impression

Google p.1 Results

Outdated news; No mention of D. E. Shaw’s recent positive performance 6–8

No relevant third-party sites in the first page, other than Wikipedia 9–10

Propagation of Misinformation

Example: Whole Foods

A search for “monsanto” brings up the suggestion “whole foods”

Results strongly suggest Whole Foods was bought by or supports Monsanto

In fact, Whole Foods has been a vocal critic of Monsanto for many years

Google p.1 Results

p.1 #2–3

The Reputation Economy

Example: Vodafone

The Web gives powerful tools to consumers to validate corporate communications

Online reputation often more important than brand

Consumer Generated Art

“I Hate Vodafone” Forum

Parody Websites/Social Media

Key People Affect aCompany’s Reputation

e.g. Commercial Estates Group Limited

Gerard Versteegh has received criticism online for his extravagant tastes

Top of his search results is an inflammatory post on CrazyBillionaire.org

This result ranks on a search for his company too

A Note About Style

News articles appear in embedded news feed more easily than press releases

Google p.1 Results

Example: Forest Laboratories

Critical news articles highlight tension between company and Carl Icahn

Public companies have higher coverage based on performance, making losses more visible

ORM is not SEO: Negative Content Is Also Optimized for your Search Results

News page only shows negative information, company appears silent in midst of turmoil

Waiting several days to respond gives negative press more time to take over results

News

Online Brand Attacks by Consumers

Company website 1

Attacks on forums and social media 2–7

Attacks on forums and social media 9

Defamatory Attacks by Former Clients

• One-star rating in the results is enough to deter most searchers

Critical blog postings 1–2

Negative reviews 3

Even if libel is proven, website likely to remain online

Mistaken Identity

e.g. Timothy Thurman Lawyer

Top 8 results are about Timothy D. Thurman, arrested by the FBI for committing mortgage fraud against Korean immigrants in Los Angeles

• Search results include negative reviews, news articles, and blog attacks

Timothy B. Thurman practices law in Pittsburg and is unrelated to this issue

Only about 10% of prospective clients would actually get to the bottom of the page before deciding to try a different lawyer

p.1 #7

Armoring Your Online Reputation (Before a Crisis)

Google Abhors a Vacuum

Creating online content and dominating search is notabout filling Google with junk – but you need to fill the void

If you leave your reputation to chance, online, Google will fill the void that is left by your inattention or fear. You need to create fresh content.

Hiding a Needle in a Needle Stack

• Users typically retain their browsers default setting of 10 results/page

• Remember that 93% of people never go beyond the first page of search engine results and almost no one goes beyond page three

• Online reputation management is akin to defensive SEO

• Controlling – and owning – your reputation online depends on pushing negative content down past page three of Google, etc. – owning all the beans

People Are Already Talking About You Online

Listen Before You Leap

• Get to know what people are saying about you online– Be specific– Include your staff and executives– Don’t make any assumptions

• Note Potential Allies and Enemies– Collect a list of people who are already talking

about you • Consider who you may engage• Keep an eye on those who are critical

People Are Already Talking About You Online

Alerts

There are online tools that will let you know if you, your brand, and your staff are mentioned online

– Google Alerts (free)• www.google.com/alerts

– Sysomos Heartbeat• sysomos.com/products/overview/heartbeat/

– SDL SM2• sdl.com/products/SM2/

– Synthesio• www.synthesio.com

– Radian 6• salesforcemarketingcloud.com/products/soci

al-media-listening/

General Principles

Prevention is more effective and less expensive than treatment1

Aim to control as many of the search results as possible2

Empty search results create vulnerability3

Avoid clicking on negative/critical websites, which increases their relevance4

Be proactive with online reviews5

(Almost) never comment on critical blogs or forums Avoid communicating with attackers Avoid discussing the defamation in online channels

Diversity is important: choose several types of sites

Building a Good Reputation is Not Easy

Actions need to match words1

Pay close attention to public sentiment2

Proactive online reputation to protect against attacks or misunderstandings3

Ongoing, high-quality interaction with stakeholders4

Reputation Management for key executives or other prominent figures5

Do an Aggressive Domain Name Buy

• Misspellings Domains– yourecompany.com, yurcompany.com, yourcompanie.com, for example

• Variation Domains– xyzprogramme.com for the British, for example, rather than

xyzprogram.com

• Similar Domains– Domain investors and marketers often steal traffic and harm brand by

creating similarly branded and named properties that succeed parasitically off of common user error and intentional misdirection

• One example is bedbathbeyond.com, rather than bedbathandbeyond.com for the home wares superstore

• Transposed Letter Domains– youcrompany.com, yourcompayn.com, etc.

Do an Aggressive Domain Name Buy

• Search String Domains– Make a list of keyword search terms and phrases that one might use

to find yourcompany.com and register as many of them as possible

• Staff Member Domains– Consider registering the domain names for your executive team, C-

suite, and board

• Unfriendly Domains– It is important to make sure that any derisive domain names are

registered– Competitors are not above hosting slanderous web sites and web

properties– Even though yourcompanysucks.com may never be used or even

registered, the price of registering even dozens of domain names at $9/year is cheaper than any crisis response or legal actions

Dominate the First Page of Google

Control all possible social media profiles

• One of the easiest ways of doing a quick search results land grab is to secure as many social media profiles as makes sense– Be sure to spend some time filling out every

required section– Links, bios, names, and keywords are essential

parts– Be sure to include all keywords terms that are

apropos

• KnowEm.com can make the process easier

Review Sites

• Encourage your customers to say nice things about you

• Make it as easy as possible to write reviews for you– Name the preferred review sites by name– Include review sites’ names (Charity Navigator, Yelp,

etc)– Suggest what to write (people have writer’s block)

• Don’t be shy to make bold requests for reviews– Displayed at point of sale or in stores– In a message on sales receipt– As part of the official messaging via email, mail, or

newsletters– Via social media

Social Networking Services

Social media is becoming an essential pulse point for Google and other organic search engines

• Google+ Page – the least popular by arguably most important for influencing Google’s organic search results

• Google Profile – Google’s algorithm has changed; Google requires that each contribution is backed by an identifiable “author”

• YouTube Channel – The 2nd largest search engine with results that come up in routine Google search

• LinkedIn Page – LinkedIn is a powerful and search optimized

• Facebook Page – SEO optimized and a powerful platform to prepare in case you need to message during a crisis

• Twitter – Ditto

Goodwill as a Publishing Empire

• Blogging – as long as it’s on a separate domain

• Publishing – many online magazines accept articles– Huffington Post, Medium, BuzzFeed, Forbes, etc

• Aggregation – some sites aggregate “best of” content– Business2Community and others repurposed good

content– Many feed their content to Google News and Yahoo

News

• News Source – apply to become a wire service– You can apply to be a source for Google News

• Cross-Pollination – many hands make light work– Sharing up – GII can aggregate best of content from

regionals– Sharing down – regional Goodwills could share GII

news– Share laterally – cross-pollinating across regional

Influencer Marketing

• Online Engagement – people collect and self-organize – find them!– Facebook & LinkedIn Groups, Pinterest boards, Flickr groups, online forums

• Blogger Outreach – if it exists, there’s a blog about it– Include the long tail – reach out to hundreds of bloggers and not merely top-25

• Content Marketing – creating stories others will post and share– Guest Blogger– Infographic– Videos– Events– Pledge Drives

I have been doing earned media marketing for over seven years, including blogger outreach and influencer marketing for Alzheimer’s Association, The Fresh Air Fund, Greenpeace, Habitat for Humanity, International Medical Corps, and Miriam’s Kitchen – bloggers and other influencers are willing to bend over backward to help out – for free (that’s what earned media means)

Evading Long-Term Damage (After a Crisis)

When a Crisis Occurs: Don’t Panic!

• Don’t click– If you find anything bad online don’t click on it (Google tracks building interest)

• No, do not speak to the media– Take time to prepare your response– Your response has consequences– Rely on your crisis managers– Stay off of Twitter, Facebook, etc.

• Alert your chain of command– You’re probably not properly trained

• Call Communications & Public Affairs– They can give you guidance

• Prepare (or activate) talking points– Do not wing a response– Prepare in advance if possible

• Initiate online reputation management plan– ORM is about keeping the crisis off of permanent search results– Just because something’s in the news doesn’t mean it’ll end up on search

The Technique

• SEARCH – Actively seek out positive and neutral content about your brand that already exists and aggressively “promote” it to all of the search engines

• CREATE – Create additional positive and neutral content about your brand

• LEVERAGE – After positive pages and content has been identified and created, leverage established Google mojo

Online Reputation Management (ORM) Briefing

The Effect

• NEGATIVE RESULTS BURIED – Those pages we promote climb past the negative pages, and push the negatives down to a point in the results where very few people are ever going to stumble across them

• POSITIVE RESULTS KEEP THE SEARCH ENGINES’ ATTENTION – We compare this strategy to the sort of countermeasures – called soft-kill measures – that aircraft use to evade missile attacks: chaff-decoys, flare-decoys, and radar decoys

Online Reputation Management (ORM) Briefing

Online Reputation: First Steps

Claim www.yourcompany.com and as many useful variations as possible1Fill out profiles on industry listing sites, review sites, social media (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter)2Create new content: start a blog, publish information of relevance to the business, generate positive press, get involved philanthropically3Be a part of the conversation: the Web is going to say something about you whether you like it or not4Engage in social media, communicate regularly with your stakeholders, respond authentically to their concerns, share information of value5Keep tabs on all of the websites connected to your business, especially those you don’t control: forums, review sites, social media6

Common Mistakes

Mistake: ORM Isn’t SEOExample: Com Hem

One of Sweden’s largest telecom providers

No amount of SEO spend can fix an ORM issue

Company website is optimized 1

Critical websites/forums also optimized 4–5

Unrelated travel site 10

Mistake: Relying on Litigation

Success rates are low (although sometimes litigation is appropriate)

Weigh the pros and cons: litigation can make the problem worse

e.g. British Chiropractic Association

In 2008, the British Chiropractic Association sued science writer Simon Singh for criticizing them

Provoked serious backlash

Even 4 years later, half of the Page 1 results for the BCA are negative portrayals of the case

p.1 #3–4

Mistake: Will-Not-Review Agreements

Why not?

Ethically questionable

You may end up on the “Wall of Shame” of review sites

Unlikely to hold up in court:

Coerced agreement

First Amendment violation

Alienates clients and prospects

Encourages searchers to go digging for negative reviews

Mistake: Threatening Litigation

Why not?

Most attacks by clients fall under the category of opinion, not considered libel

Negative information may be reposted even if successfully taken down

Litigation tends to attract a landslide of negative reactions

Even if you win, your reputation may have already been irreparably damaged

Search for “gelareh rahbar dds” Google p.1 #4, 2 years later Seen by >50% of potential patients

Mistake: Posting Fake Reviews

Why not?

It’s illegal

Can be detected algorithmically

Short-term, ineffective solution

You will get caught up in the review authenticity “arms race”

Review sites and researchers constantly refining approaches

You need to keep buying into fake-review services forever to one-up them

Savvy reviewers can spot fakes and read up to 10 reviews before making a decision

If people see a lot of fakes, you risk an online backlash

FTC Guidelines on Fake Reviews

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

Mistake: Commenting on Attack Blogs/Forums

Why not?

Places emphasis on the unwanted content, pushing it higher

Search engines will think this content is more important than it is

You probably won’t change the visitor’s mind

Likely to attract additional attacks based on your comments

Search for “edward dove dds” Google p.1 #3, 1 year later Seen by >60% of potential patients

We would be happy to help

Do You Have Any Questions?

Take Control of Your Reputation Online

About Chris Abraham Chris Abraham

Feel free to get – and keep – in touch with me!

Principal Consultant, Gerris Corp

Contact info

chris@gerriscorp.com

www.gerriscorp.com

+1 202-352-5051

Social Media

Twitter.com/chrisabraham

LinkedIn.com/in/chrisabraham

Google.com/+chrisabraham

Facebook.com/chrisabraham

YouTube.com/chrisabraham

Slideshare.net/chrisabraham

Pinterest.com/chrisabraham