BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

The top six social media tips to know before you leave the office.

Even though social media titans such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn have become household names in recent years, many companies remain unaware of the deeper functionality that these and other sites provide when it comes to online reputation management.  With brand critics already demonstrating a mastery of these tools, forward-thinking companies would be well-served to level the playing field by taking heed of some lesser known opportunities to build company profiles, recruit brand ambassadors, and monitor what others are saying – especially in places one might not think to look.

This week’s Six @ Six outlines six reputation management opportunities you may not know about that can play a key role on both monitoring and improving your online brand reputation:

1. LinkedIn Company Profiles

LinkedIn is the world leader in professional, career-oriented social networking. With 60 million members establishing profiles that list current and former employers, LinkedIn automatically creates pages for those employers that anyone with a functioning company e-mail address can turn into a customized company profile. These profiles can include company descriptions, a logo, number of employees, industry, locations, and even feeds for a company blog. Setting up such a profile not only helps potential recruits and clients better understand the company, but also provides another high-authority social media profile, indexed by search engines, where you can control the content. However, bear in mind that anyone with an active company e-mail address can change this account. This emphasizes the importance of training your employees on social media use and empowering them to help you police this channel.

2. Wikipedia Content

Wikipedia is routinely criticized for relying on potentially non-expert sources for content. At the same time, however, the site receives 300 million daily visitors, and its millions of articles are routinely ranked as some of the most authoritative content by search engines such as Google and Bing. Thus, it is imperative to understand and regularly monitor references to your brand on this popular site, and work to correct misinformation should it appear. If you find your company or members of your executive team under attack on Wikipedia, there is somewhere to turn for dispute resolution. The Administrators’ noticeboard/incidents page enables you to reach out to the volunteer corps that helps protect the site against content uploaded by those with hidden agendas. When telling your story to these moderators, be sure to present an unbiased version of the facts – running counter to the community’s commitment to accuracy could alienate the people who serve as the only line of defense against brand attacks.

3. Google Labs

Google’s search algorithm is constantly changing, but significant changes to the way it works are often previewed in what the company calls Google Labs. Activating these new features before they are pushed out to the general Google audience will give you a heads up to any potentially troublesome changes to search results. Recent examples include the predictive search box that guides users to popular search phrases that can be negative in tone. Even more recently, Google has turned its attention to social media sites. The millions of daily updates to sites like Twitter and Facebook will soon be some of the top results for your brand. Use the social search “experiment” in Google Labs to get a preview of results on your key terms today.

4. Twitter’s Verified Users

Just as entrepreneurial individuals captured and squatted on potentially valuable website domains in the early days of the Internet, similar efforts have been made on Twitter in recent months. In initially setting up a Twitter profile, you may have found that your preferred handle was already taken, requiring you to settle for something less obvious. But if somebody else has captured your preferred Twitter handle – and particularly if they are using the handle to hijack your brand online – fear not, for there is a way to take back control. Twitter’s Verified Account badges can authenticate official profiles and differentiate Verified Accounts from impersonators. While the Verified Account system is still in beta-testing, you can still contact Twitter directly to initiate the process of verifying your account.

5. Google Sidewiki

While browsing the Internet, users can now share and read others’ comments on any particular webpage. Introduced in late 2009, Google’s Sidewiki is a new plug-in incorporated directly into a user’s Internet browser that gives anyone the power to associate their commentary with a particular webpage. If used effectively, Sidewiki provides tremendous opportunity to mobilize existing brand ambassadors and spark positive conversation about your brand. Even though most Internet users do not have this tool and will not see the conversation directly surrounding your website, those who do will be impressed with the level of savvy. Start by claiming your Sidewiki profile, as this will ensure that your comments appear first – before any potentially critical commentary. And be sure someone in your company is responsible for monitoring both positive and critical commentary posted on Sidewiki.

6. Online Forums and Review Sites

While it can be tempting to focus your reputation monitoring resources exclusively on the well-known social media sites, do not overlook forums and review sites. Internet users are placing more focus than ever before on peer reviews and online forums in making purchasing decisions, which means that it is more important than ever to keep track of these comments and respond when appropriate. Sites such as Glassdoor.com provide a forum for employees – both current and former – to share their perceptions of your company (often in a negative light). Google’s vast array of forums includes discussions about brands (again, often negative) that are ranked highly by Google’s search algorithm. And online retailers such as Amazon.com prominently feature and encourage buyers to review products they’ve purchased.  Your team should regularly monitor the most prominent and relevant online forums and be prepared to get involved in the discussion by reaching out to users who post negatively with ways to address their concerns. There are few better ways to demonstrate your brand’s responsiveness.

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