How can you best protect your business brand name and reputation nowadays when any average Joe can write a review online blasting your business?
Most of the time these reviews or Tweets are harmless, but sometimes, they go viral and your business brand is front and center and any news is not always good news.
When a brand loses its good name and reputation, it ends up losing value. People stop trusting it and therefore stop buying its products or using its services. Not only will customers will leave the brand and go to their competitors, but so will employees. That's why protecting your brand is so important!
These 5 tips will help you protect your business brand against baseless attacks online.
Everything on the internet happens fast so you have to act fast!
Prepare for the worst of times so that you can spend the majority of your time celebrating the best. A bad social media post or video can circulate across the globe in just a few minutes, so having a fast response is critical to protecting a brand. Sometimes posting a statement explaining the situation on your social media will be all you need to diffuse a situation. If customer has an angry review that is starting to go viral, de-escalate the situation by being polite and providing superior customer service. Put out the flames before they begin.
Can you sue for defamation?
Did another party write something negative online about your company? Can you bring suit for defamation against them or are they protected by the First Amendment? A business may bring suit for defamation against another party if what they published caused your company to suffer financial loss. If the defendant can prove that the statements were true, then the plaintiff, the company suing, will not be able to collect damages. Additionally, under the Communications Decency Privacy Act of 1996, a company cannot sue an internet service provider that hosted damaging content against the company.
Familiarize yourself with the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016
This act prohibits companies from inserting "gag clauses" into their agreements to prevent customers from posting negative reviews of their businesses. A business may be penalized for engaging in these types of practices.
Increase oversight and restrictions on your internal social media use.
Businesses have the right to regulate their employee's social media use on the clock to a certain extent. While employees enjoy certain protections, the more personal their social media use, the less likely it is protected. Employers always face the risk that their employees may post something inappropriate during work hours. In order to mitigate the risk, they may adopt company-wide policies to ensure that everyone understands what is and isn't appropriate during work hours.
Hire a professional to maintain the company's social media accounts. Restrict access to only those employees qualified to use them. Have your professional social media consultant constantly monitor your company's accounts and what is being said about them.
Remember that the internet is a permanent record.
Post professional responses. Take the emotions out of the equation. Do not try to win arguments. Once something is posted on the internet, the record is permanent, so post thoughtful responses.
