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Any business management text could include the subordinate clause among its warnings, a filler regulation close to a commonplace; it would say: "Many years of work can go to waste in one wrong move, going from excellence to failure in the blink of an eye." We would know what it's talking about because we've seen it from the window: it's the fire that always starts in the adjacent buildings and never in ours. Until one day the alarms go off, the room fills with smoke and suddenly, inadvertently, the building, the company that has cost us so much effort to build, collapses fiercely with us inside. Without the level of drama provided by the metaphor, that is the scenario faced by corporations immersed in digital reputation crises.
Every company must build a good name in its digital dimension if it aspires to avoid unnecessary shocks like the one described in the previous paragraph, and professionals dedicated almost exclusively to this function help in building that prestige. But how is a good online reputation built? Before knowing the shortcuts, let's see what the obstacles are: "We encounter difficulties when a company or brand worries about working on its identity, and therefore its reputation, once they have already acted without a strategic basis and, therefore, have encountered reputational crises that they have not known how to manage and/or resolve," summarizes Miriam Barrera, CEO of the Barcelona company MB Marketing.
Problems associated with bad comments on social media can be tackled in several ways, but we must contain our actions as a brand whenever possible, since we should not condition users' opinions.That is the aspect of a crisis X-rayed from the weaknesses of a company, but it is also worth knowing what external aggressions a company faces regarding reputation. Ferran Morillas, online marketing consultant at –the also Barcelona-based– Digital Avenue, details them: "In small companies, the main problem is usually fake opinions on social networks and platforms of reviews, while large ones face bigger problems, such as harmful information spread in reference media," explains the consultant.
Leaving aside the unjustified media grievance, a rarity in the management of reputational crises, both experts agree that problems associated with bad comments on social media can be tackled in several ways, always attending to the particular case. "There is no single valid action. While it is true that dialogue must be encouraged, the truth is that we must contain our actions as a brand whenever possible, as we should not condition users' opinions. Lately, the troll profile has gained a lot of relevance, which can turn a minimal issue into a crisis for the brand. In these cases, prudence (which will always be our best weapon) and silence can be really effective," comments Miriam Barrera.
Criticism on the Internet is deactivated with a lot of dialogue, or at least that is what expert Ferran Morillas also recommends: "When we receive a negative comment on social media, we can always say that they should try us before giving an opinion, because they are very likely from the competition. In the case of restaurants, a bad review is usually answered with a 'we don't recognize your name nor do we have any record of what you are talking about, contact us privately and we will see what might have happened'," recommends the consultant.
Given the possible crises both on social media and in reviews –criticism on review platforms is key in building a good reputation–, it is time to learn about the strategies that build a good online reputation as a preventive dike against the troll: "The key is to have a good brand definition as a starting point, one that transcends all departments. From here, it is essential to know the strengths and especially the weaknesses of our brand and prepare to act according to the opinions received. Improvisation in this area is a bad advisor," says Barrera.
The negative trace on the Internet is almost impossible to erase, not so much for the legal part as for a mere technical issue; however, there is a relatively effective strategy that serves to camouflage past blurs, and that strategy involves counter-programming"First, you have to respond to the comments and the reviews; thanks should always be given for the time invested in leaving the comment. The second is to regret any problem in case there was one and try to solve it immediately. Then I would recommend asking reviews positive to all trusted clients, for example through the emailing. Finally, we can resort –in the case of stores online– to quality certificates and, in parallel, we can build a good image in the media with positive news that acts preventively against possible crises," Morillas adds.
Online reputation considers a final condition that draws the attention of experts: the past. The digital footprint of companies. The two sources consulted agree that a negative trace on the Internet is almost impossible to erase, not so much for the legal part as for a mere technical issue; however, there is a relatively effective strategy that serves to camouflage past blurs, and that strategy involves counter-programming. Cleaning the company's face with positive reviews that counteract the effect of negative ones in a zero-sum game, to, from that tabula rasa, build a much more resilient building. Or even better: fireproof.
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