The internet and social media have created a platform to share ideas, draw attention to issues and mobilise public opinion as never before. This means that businesses are under increasing scrutiny from regulators, NGOs, employees and consumers. Despite this, many companies still fail to understand the damage poor online reputation management can do, opting for a reactive rather than a proactive approach.
And it's often the dissatisfied that speak the loudest. As Ed Coke of the Reputation Institute notes, "negative social media campaigns against brands are in response to [companies'] inauthentic actions", such as the recent Twitter storm following Protein World's #BeachBodyReady tweets.
Take United Airlines. It allegedly broke singer/songwriter Dave Carroll's guitar in 2008, and after refusing to fix it, Carroll took to YouTube. His melody 'United Breaks Guitars' was an immediate hit, achieving over 14 million views and costing United a huge $180 million in lost share price. And as United demonstrates, all it takes is one major issue to destroy a reputation.
It's not just sharing of information that poses a threat to a company's reputation. There are some organisations whose sole purpose is to collect information on a company and publish it against them. This so-called 'cyber hijack' hit Shell in 2012. Greenpeace and The Yes Lab created a fake website Arctic Ready, detailing the threats to Shell's contentious Arctic drilling programme.
However, businesses with effective reputation management programmes that assess the risk through media monitoring and long-term strategic plans will reap the rewards. According to Samsung's European Communications and Digital Director, Greg Dawson, the firm was proactive in its approach to reputation management strategy through daily news monitoring and monthly reputation meetings. This, Dawson argues, allowed Samsung to more effectively reach out to its customers and create a dialogue, meaning Samsung jumped from 43rd in 2011 to 10th in 2014 on a list of the world's most reputable companies.
If companies fully embrace the opportunity to engage with their online reputation, lucrative opportunities are bound to arise. As David Crundwell, Director of Corporate Affairs, EMEA and Asia Pacific at Thomson Reuters notes, 'digital' and 'social' are now the norm and being successful requires "great data, a decisive mindset and a real empathy for your audiences globally."
With the digital sector continuing to grow exponentially, companies need to own their online brand identity and stay proactive in their online strategy. It's important to never underestimate the cost of a poor reputation and to remember: whatever industry or sector, people are talking about you right now.
By Kate Hamilton-Bailey, Head of the Corporate Communications Practice at Odgers Berndtson.
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