Crisis Comms Online: Keep Pushing And Please Don’t Feed the Trolls

A real estate mogul somewhere in the U.S. had a longtime business partner, but somehow the relationship went sour. The partner went on online and stated that there was an FBI report that had been filed against the real estate agent. It became the No. 1 result on Google when one searched the agent’s name. Business started to go bad immediately for the agent.

To Tony DeRoia of L.A.-based SEO consulting agency Think Tank, this is the “Oh s____t! moment.” Unfortunately, for plenty of businesses large and small, as their Web imprint grows, these moments are getting more frequent.

That’s why online reputation management incorporating SEO tactics is an important topic for communicators to know about. According to Kent Lewis, founder of search engine marketing agency Anvil Media, it’s not a question whether or not you should be managing your reputation online, it’s a question of how. “Just because you haven’t drawn fire from detractors online yet doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” says Lewis.

So that’s why you should develop a plan beforehand and be proactive, says Kai Blum, director of search engine marketing at Ingenex Digital Marketing.