Social Media's Impact on Brand Reputation

 In college, I realized the importance of having a personal brand on social media. My personal brand showcases my creativity through writing and multimedia. Job seekers can use an online personal brand to display to potential employers how their skills and qualities set them apart from other candidates. Businesses establish online brands to showcase their products and services to their target audience. To stand out from the competition, strategic communicators must produce online messages that create an impact and start conversations that can build relationships with clients. Social media has the capability to bolster or damage a company’s brand. When a company suffers backlash from a post on its social media page, then its trust with its customers is damaged. In today’s discussion, I will talk about how to protect and build online brands. 

  

Protecting Brand Reputation

Strategic communicators must have safeguards in place when there is a comment that displeases some of their company’s consumers or a disgruntled customer creates a post that spreads like wildfire. Negative reviews can have an impact on a company’s bottom line. “BrightLocal found that nearly 87 percent of people won’t do business with a company that has negative reviews” (Considine, 2020). Businesses must protect their assets, which includes brand image. It is nearly impossible to be ahead of every calamity that takes places online. Some respected companies will fall victim to posts that go viral for negative reasons. It is important to develop positive content that can counteract any negative issues that arise. Public relations and online reputation management companies use different tactics to act upon online crises. “Public relations companies generally create trending, buzzworthy news cycles to redirect the conversation around negative topics. Whereas online reputation management aims to tell a more accurate and holistic story about a brand or individual by positioning controllable assets on the first page of Google” (Sickler, 2020). Strategic communicators can use online reputation management services to help their company be in good standing on sites like Google. “PR is good for shifting real-world sentiment. But it falls short when it comes to influencing branded search results which drive reputation and allow companies to control their own messaging” (Sickler, 2020). Companies must think about how they fare to their competitors when it comes to their ranking on Google. The higher a company’s ranking on Google, the more traffic and authenticity it has over its competitors.

Managing an Online Crisis

Many companies have had to deal with posts that have gone viral for the wrong reasons. The reason some negative posts go viral is because of Google’s algorithm. Google has an algorithm that sets out to “provide searchers with the best, most relevant set of search results for a user’s query. And if a brand or executive is managing a crisis, that content would be highly relevant” (Sickler, 2020). Backlinks can be helpful for building a brand or detrimental for a company managing a crisis. The more websites sending out a negative article, the more likely Google is going to place it in on the top of its search results. Many consumers tend to be intrigued by the negative headlines just as much as the positive headlines. Companies need to make sure they are gaining followers for positive reasons and not negative reasons. To maintain a positive image, strategic communicators must be vigilant in their efforts to curtail negative content. “According to Brandwatch, leading retail brands receive an average of 2,217 mentions per day on Twitter alone” (Sickler, 2020). There are some negative posts that could slip through the cracks. If that happens, there must be a plan in place to reduce the impact of the potentially harmful content. One way to help prevent some negative backlash is to withdraw from certain topics that are known to be controversial. Sometimes companies must take a position in certain situations. In those instances, understand the risks of commenting on controversial topics. There are going to be some negative issues that companies will have to address. Not every situation goes away on its own. Ignoring negative situations will have a detrimental long-term effect on a company’s brand. The faster strategic communicators can take responsibility and respond to negative comments towards their company, the easier it will be to repair their company’s reputation. Brands can gain more trust from their followers when they listen and respond to online feedback.

 Building a Personal Brand

Creating a personal brand online is essential when looking for a job or starting a new business. Personal brands can showcase a job candidate’s qualities or an entrepreneur’s services. It is important for someone’s personal brand to have a specific purpose that is clear to their target audience. “Keep your message and content consistent to one niche topic to become memorable within a targeted community” (Chan, 2018). An online personal brand must be genuine. There are many copycats that sometimes drown out the authentic personal brands. Someone’s personal brand must stand out from those who are inauthentic. No one wants to engage with a fake. “People can see right through a disingenuous act. The more obviously a brand is a copycat, the more the audience will call out the perpetrator for it” (Chan, 2018). Display a passion that the public can be drawn to on social media. When someone presents a skill in a creative way, the audience will notice and be more willing to come back for more content. Everyone has a story to tell. Those creating a personal brand should not hold back when telling their story. A story is an essential tool that is needed to engage with online users. People creating a personal brand can have other users contribute to their story. "Personal branding is the story people tell about you when you're not in the room” (Chan, 2018). How does someone want others to talk about him or her? Hopefully in a way that puts someone’s personal brand in a positive light. If someone wants to have a strong personal brand, they need to have a clear narrative centered around a purpose that is genuine and that users can connect with online.

In conclusion, social media has the potential to impact a company’s reputation in a positive or negative way. If a company’s reputation is damaged, strategic communicators need to have an effective strategy that will help put the company back in the good graces of the public. Negative content can take down a company if there are not any safeguards in place to limit its impact. In the age of technology, strategic communicators must be aware of potential threats that can sometimes be overlooked by thousands of mentions that many of their companies receive daily on their social media sites. Negative reviews cannot be completely vanquished, but they can be reduced with the proper tools. Brands, whether personal or professional, have a reputation that they must uphold. It is up to the job seeker or strategic communicator to decide on how they want their audience to perceive their brand.

References:

Chan, G. (2018, November 8). 10 Golden Rules of Personal Branding. Forbes. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/goldiechan/2018/11/08/10-golden-rules-personal-branding/?sh=3e5d937a58a7.

Considine, M. (2020, October 6). Reputation Protection - How to Protect Your Reputation Online. ReputationManagement.com. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.reputationmanagement.com/blog/reputation-protection/.

Sickler, J. (2021, May 4). Expert Guide to Online Reputation Management (Strategies & Tips). ReputationManagement.com. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://www.reputationmanagement.com/blog/online-reputation-management-guide/.