If you’re running a business then you should be keeping a watch on the terms that are important to that business – these are the terms that relate to your reputation management. Your business name, your brand, your own name if it is in the public arena and the names of any employees – again, only if their names are published through the business. You can use Google Alerts or buy in more sophisticated software.
The main purpose is to counter any negatives before they do to much damage to your business. What about positives? Google Alerts for example will alert you whenever one of your requested keywords is mentioned in a blog or web page, positive or negative.
In a recent discussion one colleague wondered if it was ‘right’ to promote any of the positives you came across, particularly positive reviews. In a way it depends on what is meant by ‘promote’. I am sure the reviewer would be happy to have a link to their site to linking to positive independent reviews should not be a problem – if you do have doubts, ask them.
What about bookmarking? Is it right to bookmark these sites? I say most definitely. Why? Think about what a bookmarking site is all about. The very name, ‘bookmarking’, says it all. If I find a positive review, I am going to ‘bookmark’ it for future reference. The fact that my bookmarks are public is irrelevant – after all, I am not bookmarking my own pages.
It makes sense to keep a record of all positive reviews and using public bookmarking sites makes the job a whole lot easier. Part of your reputation management program is to know what is being said. Keeping a record of all the positives that you can refer people to at a later date may cap any damaging comments that arise from a single unhappy customer. It only takes one customer to ruin your reputation – the more weapons you have in your reputation management cupboard the better.
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