With the right amount of collaboration, PR firms and Online Reputation Management firms can work together seamlessly; relying on each other’s unique skills to produce the best outcome for the client.

The mutual goal is to fortify and present a natural, positive set of search results for the client’s branded searches. This type of online public relations campaign also functions to counteract any negative or questionable content ranking in the search results.

While a PR firm knows the client inside and out and can effectively produce content representing the client’s brand, Brand Titan understands how to optimize and package the content so that it has the strongest potential for a web presence. In other words, the PR firm knows the intricacies of the client’s brand messaging and can convey that in all the various materials Brand Titan will promote to the top of search engines. Without being as close as the firm is to the client and working with them for as long as the PR firm has, an online reputation management firm could not do as good of a job on the content development.

On the other hand, with over 8 years of search engine optimization experience and a team of trained link development personnel; Brand Titan can act as the online marketing arm for the PR firm. Brand Titan will effectively optimize and manage content related to the client’s brand; establishing a strong web presence.

Table A: The following chart shows the various stages of an online reputation management campaign and how each organization works seamlessly together to achieve optimal results.

In result, the partnership covers the breadth of client relationship management, content development that adheres to brand management criteria, search engine optimization and content distribution, and link building which is the crux of search engine rankings.

For example, issuing press releases alone will not suffice to dominate the top search results for the client’s brand. It’s variation in content placement, SEO technique, and solid, consistent link development that makes the difference.

In other words, an online reputation management firm like Brand Titan fills the gap and allows for the PR firms content to go the extra mile. And, the work that a PR firm is a vital part of the success and helps Brand Titan exceed goals and expectations for clients; achieving faster results and operating more efficiently as a whole.

As displayed in the chart, the relationship between and online reputation management firm and PR firm is symbiotic in that the PR firm is critical in content development and messaging while the online reputation management firm is able to optimize content and the page on which the content resides.

As a result of the collaboration of their PR firm and Online Reputation Management firm, the top 20 results for the client’s brand will consist of content controlled by the client.

Online reputation management might be the newest online marketing strategy on the block, but it’s certainly not a new idea. Before comparing online reputation management to the offline world, it’s best to define the exact goal of online reputation management. The idea is to fortify the search results for your brand name with positive web assets in order to leverage the organic search traffic. By positioning positive web assets in the top 20 results and taking control of these results, you will likely be able to bump down negative content. Recent trends are showing an influx of online consumer activism. Websites like The Rip-Off Report, Pissed Consumer, Consumer Affairs, Complaints Board and My3Cents are channels for consumers to use in order to turn a complaint into a thorn in the side of the targeted business. Thus, fortifying your search results becomes increasingly important to building business.

Sample of a bad / negative result for a major keyword or search term

With this new ability for consumers to speak out, there are those who take advantage of the system. Disgruntled employees and competitors can easily post a negative review about a business and before long, the negative post is ranking in the top 3 search results for the targeted brand. Or, a company who has served 249,999 happy customers but didn’t do so well with one customer, finds this customer venting frustrations online. We’ve seen losses reported as much as a 10% in revenue as a result of the negative content.

Now that the importance of positioning positive, meaningful, business producing web results in the top 20 search results for your brand is understood, how does it relate to the world as we’ve known it for the past 50 years; before the Internet?

• Before the Internet, angry customers picket in front of your business for days at a time warding off customers from entering. This practice still goes on. However, angry protestors go away once the dispute is settled. These days, an angry customer can post their frustrations in one of many online consumer forums. When it comes to negative posts on sites such as the Rip-Off Report, this content will linger for years and years.
• Before the Internet, negative press would show-up in the daily newspaper or nightly news and then go away. These days, in the unfortunate scenario of receiving negative press, the press sticks with the business forever by showing up in search results. It’s difficult to shake the negative story associated with your brand if there is relevance from the perspective of the search engine. (Read When Bad Reviews and Complaints Attack to learn more about this.)

Online results don’t go away until you take action and engage in an online marketing campaign with a company like Brand Titan.

The importance of online reputation management

Search traffic is happening now. People are searching for your brand. Doesn’t it make sense to position or fortify your search results with positive, business generating web results? Next time you search for a well-known brand, take a look at the top 10 search results and determine if they’ve made an effort to leverage or funnel in the natural search traffic for their brand. Most of the time, we do not see companies investing in what seems to be one of the most important marketing strategies there is. More often than not, the main website will show-up at the top with 9 random web results following. Even worse, one or more of those results might be a negative press hit, consumer complaint or even a competitive website.

Comparing again with life before the internet, have you ever noticed how Macys or Nordstrom’s invests heavily for street side displays for the window shoppers. It’s the same idea. There is foot traffic walking by the building so why not capture that traffic and lure them in to the store by creating a beautiful fashion display. Natural search traffic can be captured in the same way.

The point is, whether a business has negative search results or not, leverage the search traffic for your brand by positioning positive, meaningful, business generating web pages in the top 10 – 20 search results for your brand. Take advantage of the window shopper. Leverage from the foot traffic. And, most of all, prepare for the next strike. Don’t let the protestors with picket signs run off your customers. If you already have online “protestors,” then it’s not too late to engage in an online reputation management campaign.

Contact Brand Titan to fortify the top 20 search results for your brand. It’s smart marketing protecting the most important asset you have, your brand.

If you have a CEO whose name is generating negative search results, those search results can lead to negative press about not only your CEO, but about your company as a whole. Luckily, there are many things that you can do to ensure that the CEO name gets linked with better search engine results:

1. Talk to your CEO frankly and develop a way to create a better online reputation for your CEO. You will need your CEO’s approval and cooperation to ensure that your CEO’s name gets better search engine results and more positive comments online.
2. Have your CEO develop a personal web page, a MySpace page, and a blog. If your CEO is very well-known, though, and easily associated with your company, make sure that blogs, MySpace pages, and Facebook pages are positive and professional, especially if they mention your company name. Monitor your CEO’s name yourself to ensure that all pages that mention your CEO name reflect your company and your CEO in a positive light.
3. Have your CEO develop professional business profiles on social networks such as LinkedIn, Flickr, Digg, YouTube, and others.
4. Have your CEO set up simple one-page web sites on domains with their names. For example, your CEO should buy out all domains that use their name. This prevents other people from grabbing the domains and making use of them for negative purposes. It also ensures that your CEO name gets very positive search engine results. If your CEO’s name is John Smith, for example, he should have simple and professional sites on johnsmith.com, johnsmith.net, and johnsmith.org. If the actual name is already registered, have your CEO take the closest domain available – john-smith.com, for example.
5. Find positive comments, sites, and blog articles about your CEO and link to them through the company web page, or through your CEO’s blog or web sites in order to get more links to that content and therefore to push that content higher in search engine results. Try adding social bookmarks to anything that presents your CEO positively and accurately.
6. If your CEO has been involved in a criminal case or a serious problem that is resulting in terrible search engine results, seek professional help. A reputation management service can put you in touch with professionals who know exactly how to analyze an online reputation and fix it as quickly as possible. If your CEO’s reputation is costing your business money, you need to act quickly. Professional reputation management services can stem the tide of negative press before it gets out of hand.

Keep in mind that whatever gets put online tends to say around forever, thanks to archives and sites that reproduce content. Therefore, if your CEO’s name is getting negative results on search engine results now, those negative comments that associate your CEO with your company will remain around forever. Taking proactive steps will ultimately benefit you and your company, no matter where your CEO eventually ends up.

Your company name is a key branding tool. In fact, your company name is much more than just a name. It impacts how customers see you and hopefully allows potential customers and current clients recognize your business. In fact, company names are so crucial that they are closely protected by trademark and intellectual property laws. When Internet users write negative comments about your company or company name, your business may suffer in many ways. When search engine results for your company name generate many less-than-positive results, your company may have several things to fear:

1. Lost profits. If potential customers go online to research your company and find a lot of complaints from former customers or employees or many negative reviews, they are unlikely to do business with your company. This means that these customers will be taking their money to competitors and you will be losing profits.
2. Lost branding opportunities. You likely spend considerable time, effort, and money on a branding strategy. Even if your business does not have an official strategy, you likely spend effort and time trying to provide great service or great products to customers. You likely also try to develop a good presence online through a website and a blog, at least. When someone takes your company name and attaches it to accusations or negative comments, all your branding and marketing efforts are compromised, because customers suddenly have a negative view of your business in direct contrast with your claims.
3. Name mix-ups and a new brand identity. Some online critics take a company name and make a funny pun with it. If your company name is “Jane Doe Books,” for example, and a disgruntled customer is writing about your business, he or she may describe a bad customer service experience and then refer to your business as “Jane Doe Blockheads.” Anyone reading that who finds it funny will inevitably remember that name. At that point, all your careful marketing and advertising will be for naught, because the customer will remember your “new” name – and of course, that customer is not likely to want to do business with “blockheads.”
4. Lost authority and trustworthiness. In order to do business, customers must trust you and see you as an authority in your business. It is hard to seem credible when your business is linked to “blockheads” and difficult to seem credible when customers describe your business as a scam. If negative comments online depict your business and not credible and not authoritative, you will have a hard time reclaiming customer trust. You will lose some customers and potential customers forever, because they will never be able to view your business the same way again.

All of these result can affect not only your bottom line but even the ability of your business to stay open. Your company name is a valuable asset – if it is being tarnished online, take action right away. If you need help, contact a reputation management professional for help.