The 3 Types of Online Reputation Management You Need
Online Reputation Management was a relatively late addition to search engine optimization and it was part of a larger marketing trend.
The hype has subsided over the years yet so called ORM or Online Reputation Management is the daily bread of many companies.
Some social media and search specialists really focus on it ever since or even started to sell reputation management services as their main offer.
The Different Types of ORM or Online Reputation Management
I noticed a stratification of the online reputation management types and approaches to it though.
Thus I identified and categorized the 3 types of online reputation management I perceive:
1. Search engine optimization approach
In one sentence: “We have to rule the top 20 of Google for our name”.
2. Social media management approach
In one sentence: “We have to monitor all instances where our company is mentioned and react to them”
3. SEO 2.0 approach
In one sentence: “We will proactively build a reputation for ourselves by engaging in online communications”
I use all three to some extent for myself and most renown SEO experts do too it seems to me. It’s a different thing for clients and companies though.
When Online Reputation Management Goes Wrong and How to Fix it
Sadly I often witness online reputation management gone wrong. Some of the worst practices are:
- Spamming social sites and blogs
- Setting up of fake blogs
- Orwell like monitoring of the Net
- PR people denying any wrongdoing by companies with unsubstantiated claims
- Lawyers intimidating bloggers
None of these really work, in contrast, they aggravate the reputation problem in most cases. There are good examples though.
- Contacting with bloggers and/or commenting on their blogs in a responsive manner
- Setting up and nurturing your own communities
- Fixing actual problems and being outspoken about it
While these examples work and are appreciated by the public in the SEO 2.0 sense they are still not enough to fix your online reputation problems.
Building Trust and Credibility Instead of Fire-Fighting
It’s not enough to manage an existing reputation that is in a way independently being forged by others.
In SEO 2.0 we focus on long term reputation building. We react but we also act before issues appear.
We engage in online practices that shed a positive light on us. Thus we build trust and establish credibility. Some ORM techniques are:
- Socializing with experts in an industry
- Altruistic participation in online communities
- Non profit projects that aren’t directly self-promotional
This is only a very short introduction but I think it enough to get started with reputation management online or ideally proactive reputation building.
Low intensity ORM becomes mere fire-fighting after disgruntled customers have vented their anger or worse the press has reported about you in a negative light. You can shed light on your true achievements upfront.
Lawyers fiercely intimidating bloggers ?!?! Why would some lawyer ever intimidate a blogger? Copyright issues? Sounds cary really.
Very interesting .I believe reputation building is very important too.
Hey Tad,
I think this is an extremely well thought out and written article. The faster people can be educated about the correct way to apply these techniques the better. I am not into SEO and yes it does get a bad wrap on Social Media sites at times. I firmly believe that if more people read articles like this then they will get a better understanding. Good job man. (Yeah, yeah, I know it seems like Hell has frozen over getting this type of comment from me.)
SEO Pune: So just try it, you’re very SEO 1.0 it seems to me.
Bolkie: In fact a common practice in Germany. I know black hat SEO companies who sent the lawyer the instant something is published about them.
Thanks Jay: Appreciate the positive feedback as for me it’s often twice as hard to get accepted anywhere on the web due to my job. I’m used to it though as a Pole living in Germany (Germans do not like Poles, remember WWII) so I have to fight prejudice all the time.
Amen Tad. Really good piece. Funny … I see so many parallels between this and the Authority concept I’ve been talking about lately. And to some extent … its about building a certain level of notoriety or dare I say fame.
You make some great points. Sometimes it is very difficult to really engage in communities and build up a profile for example if you are working with a Fortune 500 company who are very strict on what you can do.
Perhaps A.D.D. is setting in..
I just don’t get it.. I think it would be difficult to reputation manage a cat in 1 sentence..
I do think its worthy subject matter… That could be expanded on a bit..
Its all a bit Under-Credentialized.. My New Word! AND always triggers lower user or reader response rates..
Didn’t notice a link directly to me just now, thanks.
I started to focus on Reputation management more for a few reasons (do you think it would be good to do a more detailed post on this?)
1. Taking on personal clients for consulting is clashing with my current full-time job that I’m using as a big learning experience into the corporate world with large clients. That is with social media work.
2. I find reputation management to be more rewarding and something I have a little more control over i.e. tracking what is being said rather than having to get people talking
3. It combines all the things I love, SEO, reporting and social media into one service, plus I think there is big opportunities in this field.
Cheers, and great post that I’ve bookmarked in delicious for future reference
In SEO, the name is the brand and hence reputation for the name should be as important as for a brand.