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Have you ever felt save while surfing the Internet that you are anonymous to other users? Anonymous status gives people an illusion of safety. They express their opinion freely and sometimes can be honest about something they wouldn’t be honest about in real life. However, this safety doesn’t apply to you when you are doing business online (unless your business is fake, and you are using a fake identity).
It is not enough to be honest with your clients to succeed. Advertising and promotion are the key elements in online sales. Nowadays, potential clients would rather trust “a word of mouth” looking through the comments about your products and services on various forums than trust your carefully developed ad and info page of your website. But what if “the word of mouth” is not as good as you would want it to be?
In the article I read about this particular issue (“Why You Should Embrace Negative Press”) written by Jeremy Schoemaker, the author states that many people take bad publicity very personality and close to heart. Yet, every business and public figure needs to embrace negative public attacks/reviews/criticism. Jeremy lists several reasons why you should embrace your bad publicity, and I am going to discuss 5 of them:
I. New visitors
Whenever there is a new “[add your website] sucks” or “[add your website] is a scam” post you will notice a ton of new visitors that have never visited your site before. Jeremy compares it to a PPC campaign you can launch and pay for it.
II. Authority Status
When someone criticizes you it means they think enough of you to take time out of their life and give you a free critique. They consider you an authority.
III. The Long Term Effect
Long after the buzz from the post has gone away visitors will still return to your site. Odds are they won’t even remember how they got there.
IV. Free Labor
Some people will work very hard to try to discredit you. Sometimes even small groups will become infatuated with everything you do. It’s truly amazing. They are the best PR ROI you will ever see.
V. The Links
It’s hard to criticize someone without linking to them. You can bet almost every negative post about you or your company will include a link. Jeremy believes that these links will give you more authority status in the eyes of search engines and also more the click through traffic.
I would, however, argue on some points. Namely, bad publicity gives you more links to your website and more traffic. There is an old saying that any publicity is good publicity. Even the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie played into that belief; when Captain Jack Sparrow is told that he is the worst pirate someone has ever heard of, he quickly responds “But you HAVE heard of me.” Anyone who runs a business, however, knows that this is simply not true; bad publicity is bad publicity, and can cost a large company millions of dollars.
That’s the two-edged sword behind the fact that negative comments about a company tend to rise to the top of the SERPs very quickly.
In his article “Responding to bad publicity”, Terri Wells lists several things you should do when faced with bad publicity.
Analyze the Problem
The first thing you want to do is analyze the problem. What accusation is being leveled against you or your company? Who or what is making the charge? Is it believable? Is it legitimate? When Wendy’s was faced with the finger in the chili rumor, it began an investigation to discover whether the rumor was true, even making public offers of rewards for any information. What you do next depends on what your analysis turns up.
Get the Word Out
The most succinct way to correct your reputation involves three steps: monitor, optimize, and engage. Specifically, when someone looks up your brand in the search results, you want them to find your sites.
For example, when millions of toys were recalled because they were finished in China with lead-contaminated paint, Mattel bought AdWords space for terms such as lead paint toy” and “toy recall.” Clicking on those ads linked searchers to Mattel recall list and their public statements about the matter.
You should also try to see to it that readers of the blog that critical comments were posted at hear your side of the story as well. This will give you more credibility and help earn the respect of readers. You can even leave a way for readers to contact you if they want more information.
Using Your Resources and Contacts
Finally, if the negative publicity is serious enough and/or persistent enough, by all means you should address it on your own site. If it seems like a serious accusation, saying nothing at all about it is worse than not addressing it.
At the end, it is very important to embrace your bad publicity. Never shy away from what users say about your company or services. Continue to monitor your reputation online, optimize your websites, and engage with social sites online. Remember, you’re not always “a master of your fate” in publicity field, but you sure can be an unknown leader to those who create it.
Twilight Zone Art 