Call in a professional

In today’s world of social networking sites and blogs, anybody can be a critic, and an attention-getting critic at that.

Prior to the advent of widespread Internet, the media was more centralized and it was easier for companies to control their brands. Widespread communication was subject to more safeguards and controls for accuracy and responsibility.

Now things are different. The Web has given individuals a louder voice, and an easier way to exchange ideas, beliefs and gripes. While this is a very positive development in many ways, it can be harmful to a business’ reputation if one individual with a complaint — valid or bogus — can draw enough attention online.

The sad truth is that every business, no matter how conscientious to rules and regulations or how focused on customer service and civic responsibility, is going to make someone angry at some point. Prior to the information age, most private gripes between businesses and individuals stayed quiet, but now even the pettiest grievances can become national news if a savvy blogger can direct enough traffic to a site or a post bashing a business.

Brands and reputations are the result of years of hard work building relationships and a record of good service and reliability. Watching them go down the drain because of one person with a chip on his shoulder and a flashy Web site is gut-wrenching, frustrating and completely unnecessary.

By hiring a professional online reputation management firm, you can make sure that all the positive things going on in your business — new products, job creation, mergers and acquisitions and community service aren’t drowned out by unfortunate events, one-time mistakes and the rantings of solitary disgruntled former employees or customers.

Professional online reputation management firms monitor the Web for potentially damaging stories and postings and then take pro-active steps to bury these items and boost positive news about your company and its accomplishments in the search engine rankings. Devoting employees to this task can be labor intensive and requires specialized technical knowledge. Many companies are choosing to outsource the task of online reputation management to professional firms who’s only business is the business of guarding the carefully created brands and good names of companies and corporations.

Reputation Management Action can handle all of your online reputation management needs. Our team of professionals will ensure that:

— There are no individuals or companies using a corrupted version of your domain name to bash your product or conduct business that could potentially damage your brand.

— Monitor search engine results and engage in suppression strategies to push negative news items or postings about your business down the rankings.

— Push the positive press releases and news about your company to the top of search engine rankings, allowing your company to make a favorable first Web impression on folks who research your site.

— Create social networking sites that frequently publish the positive events going on at your company, and that invite others to become part of your online community, thus establishing a sense of loyalty and a favorable impression among a new customer base.

According to research, a growing number of people are using online searches to check out products and services before buying them. Having a negative news items or blog post show up first on a Google search can be potentially lethal to your business. That’s why calling in a professional like Reputation Management Action is the smart move.