The 5 Most Important “Don’ts” of Online Reputation Management

With all of the excitement of PubCon wearing down, many of us are digesting quite a bit of information as we head into the weekend.  Whether you attended the conference or not, chances are you’re hearing a lot about it online right about now.  With all of the great checklists and tips to implement your to do list is likely growing by the minute.  Instead of adding to those lists, we’re going to give you some things to not do in order to help maintain your reputation.

• Don’t feed the trolls – If a customer has a legitimate complaint, by all means, take the time to make things right.  However, some people are just out to stir up trouble.  They may be a competitor in disguise, a person having a bad day, or just one of those complainers who is never happy unless everyone around them is miserable. [highlight color=”yellow”] Don’t feed or encourage these haters, they will keep coming back as long as they have your attention.[/highlight]
• Don’t bash the competition – Ever.  This is just tacky.  Focus on highlighting your own strengths and achievements, and people will see others’ weaknesses without you appearing petty by pointing them out. [highlight color=”yellow”] Talking bad about others often makes the person doing the talking look worse than the person or business they’re trashing.[/highlight]
• Don’t say anything bad about your customers – Never ever.  If trashing your competition is tacky, trashing your customers is even worse.  [highlight color=”yellow”]Remember, silly jokes on personal Facebook profiles can be (and often do get) shared![/highlight]  Think you’re in the clear if you don’t use the customer’s name when making a joke on Twitter?  Think again.  That customer following you will have a good idea that you’re badmouthing them.  In fact, it’s more likely that several customers or associates may think you’re referring to them, causing awkwardness or hurt feelings unnecessarily on multiple levels.
• Don’t use bad customer service – [highlight color=”yellow”]If you don’t trust your employees enough to empower them to speak on behalf of the company, you probably shouldn’t have them working for you.[/highlight]  Trust employees to share your company values to ensure that customer service is consistent and of high quality.
• Don’t forget to say thank you – Okay, this one requires a little bit of work, but it is critical to maintaining a great reputation online.  [highlight color=”yellow”]Thank people for mentioning your brand and sharing your content.[/highlight]  Be genuine.  People appreciate knowing that you’re listening to what they have to say, and this will foster future sharing.

Just by not doing these five things, you’ll be well on your way to getting (or keeping) a great reputation.  Can you think of any no-no’s that we may have missed?