Reputation Management in the Digital Age

Reputation management has been a core focus and responsibility for public relations professionals even before the digital media age. However, with the emergence of digital media where every individual can be an authority and voice their concerns on just any matter, the importance for reputation management has become more important and even business leaders are now required to pay attention to managing reputation in order to remain in business.

Brand reputation is a costly currency and there is the need to take action and communicate effectively during a crisis or potential crisis. This applies to not only brands or businesses but even to individuals, especially people of influence in society. Neglecting reputation management is quite expensive, this is why, when there is an incidence that is very likely to damage a strongly built reputation, it is advised to understand the facts before rushing into a response because your response as a communicator or spokesperson is what regains public trust in the brand and restores stakeholder’s interest.

It is a very common saying in the digital media age that “The internet never forgets”. Reputation management is important when there is a crisis because a crisis negatively affects a brand or entity’s reputation, license to operate and stakeholders (RLS). Read about the difference between issues management and crisis management here. When reputation is at stake, you need to ensure that the public sentiment is addressed effectively to the satisfaction of stakeholders because, in the digital media era, all it takes for reputation to be damaged is one person reporting negatively about your brand on a social media platform and when the post trends, it arouses conversations that can even escalate to the point of society beginning to question your license to operate.

Source: gniyte.co.uk

Social media easily creates public interest and activism which could potentially attract more interest, including that of major stakeholders like the government and regulatory bodies. Reputation management at a time like this would require that you demonstrate care, show that actions have been taken and you are in control of things (this is very important with life-threatening incidents like fire outbreaks, work accidents, etc.) and ultimately reiterate your commitment to serving the people with measures in place to avoid a reoccurrence. When the reputation management steps are not satisfactory to the public, it only escalates the crisis which is very harmful to the brand. In situations where there is a social media crisis, managing the brand’s reputation must be done in a way that does not take people for granted.

In social media crises, it is common to see violent attacks on brands and public figures involved in the crisis and the best way to de-escalate this is by identifying a mediator (or trusted voice) if it is difficult to engage directly with the public. Some stakeholders cannot be reached directly and this also requires a targeted reputation management strategy from the communications and public relations professional. Here, you can conduct a stakeholder analysis to realize who or what is amplifying the crisis. Following this, the identified stakeholder is engaged and communicated with through trusted relationships to resolve the issue appropriately.

Social listening tools are also very effective for reputation management in the digital media age. What these artificial intelligence tools do is effectively monitor and track where a brand or entity is mentioned on social media and for what purpose. In cases where there is a negative mention on any digital media platform, it is a poor reputation management response to spin, avoid the facts or be defensive because as much as social media is a great tool for business growth, the citizens of a country who form the social media users have the power to dig things out and ensure social justice on the individual, brand or business involved.

In reputation management, it may be necessary to seek legal dress in a case of defamation depending on the circumstance. However, the tone of communication must always be in check and moderate because when communication is unclear or defensive, the public is in doubt as to who the actual aggressor is. What is core in reputation management is ensuring that actions are taken to ethically and transparently protect a brand’s license to operate.

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