Digital Reputation Management
How well would your organisation cope with a digital crisis?
- A major multinational company attacked by environmental protesters made matters worse when it attempted to block hostile users on its Facebook fan page. The Facebook furore lasted longer than the triggering crisis and the company was criticised worldwide for a poor response.
- An international food and drink manufacturer faced with a minor customer relations issue over a spoiled drink container received hundreds of angry messages on a Facebook page intended for users to share recipes. Many professed fans of the brand said they would not come back to the discussion group
- A multinational fast food company had its share price affected when two rogue chefs posted video of themselves playing with food on YouTube, alerting millions of people worldwide. Long time customers walked away from the brand and a poor apology from a senior manager failed to win equal coverage to the original video.
The writing is on the wall – whether from your staff, your customers, or hostile outsiders with an axe to grind, you cannot afford to ignore social media if you wish to maintain your reputation. Unlike traditional crises, those ignited via social media can come without any warning but do long-lasting damage to your brand as well as cause prolonged embarrassment.
Media Counsellors can help support your brand reputation online in the following ways:
- We can help you test how your organisation would respond in the event of a real-life crisis using our crisis simulation tool, a chance to let key staff ‘do it for real’. We will develop a realistic scenario and provide a one-day course that will give your people the nearest thing they can get to a real-life crisis situation. It allows you to see how your staff and your systems would perform if a real-life crisis were to strike.
- To help you keep a watchful eye on what others are saying about your organisaiton online we offer intelligent monitoring and listening services that will track what targeted groups are discussing, in a bid to head off any looming problems. Results are presented to you in a sensible, easy to understand way rather than in ‘raw data’ form.
- We will train your frontline spokespeople, senior managers who may have to firefight a crisis in front of cameras, and staff using social media channels proactively on your behalf, showing them potential pitfalls and sharing sensible advice on what to do if there are problems.
- We are able to help advise you ‘on the ground’ in the event of a social media crisis.
- And we can assist you to rebuild your online reputation should a crisis occur.
