“Your
reputation is important. Today’s organizations and individuals are at the mercy
of the 24/7 internet media. Unflattering news, reviews, pictures, and even
outright lies can be posted instantaneously and spread throughout the online
world swiftly.” (Digital Firefly Marketing, 2013)
One
of the main roles of Public Relations is to foster a positive perception of a
company or brand. With the
ever-increasing number of on-line forums and platforms for people to express
their opinions freely, there is always the added complication of negative
feedback.
As
the world moves ever forward towards a digitally savvy society, negative
feedback and harsh criticism online can be quite damaging for a brand. Reputations
can be destroyed overnight! Information online can live forever and is
accessible to everyone. But not matter how hard you try, there is no way you
can please everyone. Whether negative feedback is warranted or not, it must be
addressed. Once something is published online it is open to the world to view
and further comment on.
- Monitor continually your brand’s online reputation – consumers may disregard your products based on reviews and comments found online
- Don’t escalate the situation - avoid adding fuel to the fire by steering clear of inflammatory comments
- Remain professional and have a calm approach
- Address the situation – protect your reputation
- Respond quickly and factually
- Remember the information you post is accessible to anyone
- Reinforce the values of the brand in your response
- Turn the negative into a positive brand opportunity – Rise above it!
- Move onto the next thing – change the topic by creating content to draw the attention away from the negative comments and guide the audience in a more positive direction
To delete or not to delete? Everyone is entitled to their opinion and even though deleting the post may seem like the best way to protect your brand – it is important to act with transparency and remain open to all feedback. Criticism is also a great way to gauge the consumers’ perception. It can be an opportunity to discover ways to adapt a product in order to cater to consumer needs more effectively. It can even be a chance to ask for suggestions on how elements could be improved. Resist the urge to engage in a social media slinging-match it will only generate more negative exposure. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, such as, when negative feedback includes discriminatory or highly offensive content. In this instance, it may be best to delete the harmful content but then to provide an explanation for the removal.
I found that the professional placement
experience was an excellent opportunity to witness Public Relations techniques put
into practice in “real-world” situations. To illustrate the above points I want
to relate an experience that I had during my professional placement at Magenta.
Magenta has established a leadership position in retail marketing with a focus
on lifestyle and represents leading Australian and International brands. This
includes Magenta managing the social media elements of particular clients. One day at Magenta I was notified that a
client’s brand had received negative feedback online. The negative content related to the design
aesthetic of the client’s product and was posted as a comment on a Facebook
photo. Although the negative comment was
a relatively minor one, I learned some very important lessons when dealing with
online criticism.
In
my case at Magenta, the negative comment on Facebook was effectively defused by
using a variety of the media monitoring strategies mentioned above. As a result of excellent social media
monitoring the Magenta team were able to react extremely quickly. The negative comment on the Facebook photo
was located and replied to within the hour. The reply was constructed using a calm and
professional approach and acknowledged the opinions of the Facebook user in a
positive light. The response then went
on to remind the Facebook user that for every product purchase a portion of
each sale was donated to a specific conservationist charity. This information was included to reinforce
the values of the client’s brand.
Presenting these facts could also encourage other Facebook users to
continue to support the brand knowing that funds from every purchase would be
contributing to a worthwhile cause. After the comment reply was completed
another constructive tactic was implemented. New positive content was posted
above in order to move the damaging comments further down the page. I thought this was a very clever strategy and
a great way to shift to a positive focus.
So
remember these handy hints and send those Trolls packing!
Jacinta
McDonald #13958888
Digital Firefly
Marketing. (2013). Reputation Management Services. Retrieved
from https://digitalfireflymarketing.com/reputation-management-services
