How do you protect your brand reputation from online attacks or negative reviews?

This is very important. Don’t forget Glassdoor, too, where past and present employees can share their experiences. This can give you invaluable information about the internal culture of your company versus your competitors. You can also set up monthly interviews with a random customer to get qualitative insight into how your brand and product is perceived. This is one of my favourite things to do because it gives you regular, honest feedback to monitor and take action on.

Agree – staying attuned to what’s being said about the brand is imperative in staying ready should a crisis need to be averted or addressed. As it relates to valid and negative mentions and reviews, watch how the company responds – what stance do they take? *Tell me about the company without telling me about the company*

Be mindful of spotting patterns in your customer reviews, too. If the same negative feedback keeps coming up then a simple response isn’t going to be enough. You need to actually implement the changes your customers are asking for in order to win back their trust and loyalty.

Definitely agree that it's super important to respond to all of 'em, and in a timeframe that demonstrates responsiveness and that you care. But it's also INSANELY important that your response be authentic, honest, and chock full of integrity and a voice/tone that's in alignment with your brand. And if it's someone who's in the wrong, there are so many ways to respond to that in a way that still makes you look like a star ("Hey X, I know we've already met, I hate that we weren't able to find a resolution that served both parties while honoring the contract. Let me know if you'd like to meet again.") Oh, and if you offer to meet with someone, whatever you do, make sure you don't forget and it actually gets done.

I don't think I can say enough about encouraging positive feedback. Be proactive and intentional! When you have happy customers, or loyal return customers, kindly ask and encourage them to leave an online review. Often times, a simple ask, is all that is required to transform your online reputation.

It’s important to share your values, expertise and achievements so that you can connect with consumers on a deeper level, but your content doesn’t have to be “positive”. The content you share should reinforce your positioning so that people see your brand the way you want them to. For example, if one of your core values is sustainability then you might choose to share alarming information about plastic waste or global warming. Although this content isn’t “positive” it will resonate with consumers who also care about sustainability. The best thing you can do to protect your brand is to be 100% authentic in what you believe in.

This is key! Continue doing you. Being consistent with great content that brings value to the audience is the single best way to combat negative banter online. You won’t appeal to everyone, and the bitter reality is the negative will always be there to some extent. Get laser focused on highlighting what the brand is known for, does well, and the right audience will find the content.

I can't stress enough how important it is to stay on top of your online presence. Even if you think your brand is small and under the radar, negative reviews and comments can still impact your reputation. That's why it's crucial to have a plan in place for monitoring and responding to feedback, creating positive content, and securing your website and data. And of course, learning and improving from feedback is an ongoing process that can help your brand grow and evolve. Thanks for this great article and opportunity to share insights!

Seconding this. When reviewing feedback and data it’s important to see how they relate to your brand and business goals. Where are you now and where do you want to be? Does your feedback reinforce your positioning and bring you closer to your goals? If not, you have gaps you need to work on closing.

LOVE this. One rule of marketing that has never changed is this: you'll always receive exponentially more positive "word of mouth" marketing by recovering well from a bad experience than you ever will from those who only have positive experiences. We've ALL experienced this - "Business ABC cocked this thing up all to hell, but MAN did they own it and look how they made it right!" And we tell EVERYONE. It SUCKS to know someone's had a negative experience when working with you, but that feedback is an invaluable tool for growth as well as epic 180's.

Protecting your credibility and trust shouldn't start when negative review is shared — it should actually begin long before someone becomes your customer. More than half the negative feedback brands receive online comes from individuals they shouldn't have serviced in the first place. While it's tempting to say yes to non-ideal buyers to meet your revenue targets, the ripple effect it can have on your brand's reputation isn't worth it. Ensure that you're attracting the right buyers through your messaging and marketing. You'll satisfy them best because you understand their desires and challenges, and as a result, their positive reviews and feedback will bolster your online reputation better than any clean-up efforts ever will.

Something Erica Breuer said resonated with me in a way that brought up another crucial component: when responding to feedback, be HUMAN first, expert second. It's true, they should already know you're the expert, but this is about demonstrating that you are capable of hearing, understanding, and really getting where someone's coming from. Caveat: this is all assuming the review is from a real person, not a living, breathing, walking troll of a jack wagon.