| 1. Have a process in place to deal with negative | | | | research your company or product online before |
| publicity | | | | purchasing. What you don't want them to see is bad |
| Remember that even if you have a PR firm handling | | | | reviews or negative reports. Studies have shown that |
| the public relations for your company, national | | | | the majority of searchers never go past the 1st page |
| strategies are only effective if implemented locally. | | | | when searching. And only a small fraction ever get to |
| Anticipate the unexpected and prepare a crisis | | | | the 3rd page of their search results. Keep in mind that |
| communications plan. Employees should be trained on | | | | the more traffic these negative reports get the harder |
| how to deal with likely crises, such as product recalls. | | | | they are to push down the search results page, so the |
| Don't speculate on anything when speaking with the | | | | key is to suppress the negative pages quickly. Use |
| media; only tell them what you know. In the meantime, | | | | press releases, blogs, and social networking sites to |
| provide them with a steady stream of information | | | | get your name out there. Get your happy customers |
| BEFORE anything occurs so you have good relations | | | | to give you a testimonial, and display the testimonials |
| with reporters in place. If you establish a relationship | | | | on your website and blog. Write for prominent article |
| with bloggers in the online community relevant to your | | | | submissions sites like EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, |
| industry, you'll have a much easier time getting them to | | | | GoArticles etc. |
| cover your side of the story if something happens. | | | | 4. When dealing with extreme situations |
| 2. Responding to Negative Publicity Online | | | | Take action immediately when a crisis strikes. It is vital |
| The internet is flooded with user-generated content | | | | to let customers know that you're aware of the |
| from social sites, blogs, forums, and review. It is | | | | situation and are doing everything possible to resolve it. |
| imperative that you set up alerts for your company | | | | For example, send emails telling customers about the |
| name, your important brand names, top people within | | | | problem and what your company is doing about it. This |
| your company, and other companies in your industry to | | | | gives consumers a sense of confidence in your brand. |
| keep an eye on the competition. With alerts your | | | | You may want to consider buying ad words so when |
| emailed every time something new is published for | | | | people look up the issue, they will be lead to your site |
| subjects of your interest. By monitoring your reputation | | | | and how you're handling the problem. If all else fails |
| you can respond to negative comments quickly. If the | | | | when taking care of negative publicity, create formal |
| problem is more personal, such as a disgruntled | | | | press release featuring the correct information. |
| customer, you can make an offer to make amends. | | | | However, take care not to draw attention to the bad |
| The customer is likely to write about you again, but this | | | | press. |
| time in a more positive light. If you see a negative blog | | | | 5. Ask publishers to remove content |
| post, comment on it to show that your brand is willing | | | | Don't try to censor bloggers, which often makes |
| to take an extra step to resolve issues with unhappy | | | | matters most. Instead, try directly contacting the |
| customers. Try leaving a way for readers to contact | | | | content publishers if there are slanderous comments. |
| you if they want more information. | | | | Usually they will comply if they are unfounded. If that |
| 3. Reverse SEO | | | | doesn't work when someone makes a vicious review, |
| Reverse SEO pushes down bad publicity within the | | | | ask them to elaborate their perspectives, and then let |
| search engine's organic listings. Many customers will | | | | them know if there are any inaccuracies. |