This document discusses online brand reputation management and monitoring. It provides tips for controlling what people find when searching for a brand online. Key points include: - Why it is important to monitor for negative sites, reviews, and mentions to control your brand image. - Methods for monitoring include Google alerts, RSS feeds, and hiring a professional firm to track brand mentions across the web. - The importance of engaging on social media like Facebook and Twitter, responding to comments, and using analytics to measure engagement. - Tips for using press releases, corporate blogging, and social media to positively promote a brand's reputation.

1. Online Brand Reputation Management When people search for your brand, can you control what they find?

2. Who Am I? Got on the Internet in 1986 Working online with search since 1996 Paid & Natural Search – all aspects Ecommerce, Publishing & High Tech Worked with Orange, Sony, COI Blogging, Online PR

3. Topics Covered Why Monitor What To Monitor How To Monitor Press Releases & PR Corporate Blogging Leveraging Facebook

4. What is reputation management? The active monitoring, engagement and manipulation of information publically accessible in order to present a company or person in the most positive possible light

5. Why Monitor? On a brand search, you may find negative sites come up for your company name Consumers increasingly turning online for 3rd party reviews – distrusting company PR Angry & happy consumers increasingly blogging, commenting, engaging Competitors can undermine your image Discover problem or issue previously unaware of Track customer service issues Discover news mentions for PR use

9. You, Your Brand & What It Means You are a brand Unique, valuable, identifiable

10. Why Monitor Yourself? Employers performing searches before hiring on Google, Facebook and Twitter Your image is dictated by what is found there Companies on CV being checked Need to be aware of possible questions On a search, you may find negative sites come up for your name or your company name Being aware of brand you will impress employers Discover news mentions for personal PR use Manage your reputation

12. Some of these were not me!

13. MUCH BETTER!

14. What to Monitor Everything related to your company including variations of your names, key employees name mentions, all product or service names Don’t forget the competition Industry news Track forums, lists, user groups, boards, etc Technorati, Digg, Reddit, etc Watch out for RipOffReport, ComplaintsBoard, PissedConsumer and the like – ‘reviews’ may be false

16. Digg, Technorati & Reddit

17. How to Monitor Simple Google/Yahoo search for your target terms Create and use RSS feeds to monitor keywords - Bloglines Google alerts & Yahoo alerts Create shortcuts to quickly monitor (vertical search, tag search, etc) Hire a professional firm

18. Subscribe to Search Results

19. Subscribe to Search Results

20. Example Feed

21. Yahoo alerts

22. Google Alerts

23. Analytics Know your goal: reach, engagement, traffic, etc Set a benchmark of your goal Understand Twitter – no one reads all followers tweets above a certain volume Have appropriate tools in place Love your analytics at least an hour a week

24. Twitter Analytics Potential reach is direct account followers plus followers of those followers Message must be shorter than 140 for ease of RT Around 20% of followers on some accounts will be spambots Not everyone will retweet (RT) May be picked up for blog or news – use unique URL with bit.ly

25. Analytics

26. Press Releases & PR Use press releases for news-worthy items including hiring new department heads, new ad campaigns, and new product launches Don’t undervalue your company’s achievements – shout about them Utilise one PR distribution channel – you will not impress a journalist by spamming them Link press releases with website pages dedicated to the news but use different copy

28. Corporate Blogging Authentic voice – PR company cannot write CEO’s blog Talk beyond PRs and news items – consumers will engage more when less formal, more “personal” information is shared Engage – respond to comments (don’t flame or respond to trolls) If valid negative feedback appears, consider it, respond and follow up Promote employees’ blogs even when not official corporate blog – ie. IBM, Microsoft

29. The CEO Blogs… Where time is at a premium, the CEO could blog as part of a larger project. Note the personal, genuine voice here with the CEO of McAfee– it is essential

30. IBM Features All Bloggers

31. Leveraging Facebook Constant engagement required – cannot just set it up & leave it Observe how competition has done it & do it better Feed corporate blog through to page Create buzz through specials for Facebook fans Advertise Facebook presence through emails and normal communications Applications and widgets can do well but focus on engagement through fan pages first

32. Questions?