Today, I’m off to SMX East, and will be presenting on the topic of Reputation Management. So, I thought I’d put together a quick 6 step guide to managing your reputation.

1. Find out whether people are talking about your company, your product, your executives, etc.

Alerts and RSS feeds will give you an insight into what’s going on now.  But, you need to go back into the past in order to understand what’s been said before and to create a baseline.

2. Find out where they’re talking.

Don’t just assume that Google and Yahoo will give you every discussion on every site…they won’t.  There are many instances where a site or a forum discussion won’t be indexed, either intentionally (closed forums, noindex, blocked through robots.txt, etc), unintentionally, or because the search engines just don’t dig deep enough into the site.

3. Identify the influencers.

Which channels are the customers engaged on?  Which sites contain the greatest degree of conversations?   Which sites get the most eyeballs?

4. Determine the sentiment.

Are the discussions predominantly positive or negative?  Are there certain locations which sway one way or another?

5. Plan and implement your participation in the discussion.

Maybe you want to reward the positives, talk to the negatives to understand their concerns, and maybe move them to the neutral or positive column.  Or maybe, it’s just that you want to be part of the conversation, showing that you are listening.

6. Identify gaps in the conversation.

If you find that there’s an audience out there, but no central location for them, then, maybe there’s the potential for your company to create their own site for the audience to use.  And, if you can get them there, and they stay, it’s going to be so much easier for you to monitor the conversations.

Or alternatively, you could just send an email to Nan at serengeticommunications.com and let us figure it all out for you.

Last week, Facebook started allowing search engines in to crawl any public areas of the site. Now, groups and wall posts are starting to show up in the search results (i.e. “I Hate Comcast”). Is this a bad thing or a good thing?

I think it’s both. It’s a bad thing in that this content now goes out there to the search engines, so that anyone that searches on the specific phrases could now potentially see that. It’s possible that people were under the impression that ‘what happens on Facebook stays on Facebook,’ so users may be surprised to see this out there (In fact, I saw several open groups that had non-disclosure items in their rules. They can’t really be applied with the data now out in the non-Facebook world as well).

So, what’s the positive side? Well, it’s now so much more easier for a company to find out what’s being said about them on Facebook. All they have to do is set up an alert on – site:facebook.com mycompany – and away they go. So much easier than having to monitor different groups individually, or use the quirky search functionality in Facebook.

So, you’ve made the subjective decision that a particular user is a troll. This user is not just an aggravated customer, an ignorant new user, or an over-passionate process evangelist; but rather a viscous and determined upsetter of the social order on your site. (For more info on identifying trolls see Part 1: UnMasking the Trolls Among Us. So, what do you do?

Well, there’s no easy answer and any true troll who really wants to mess with your site will always find a new and inventive way of doing it. So, how do we stop these hairy beasts from harassing your users and causing civil unrest? There are a few things you can do.

The general wisdom on the Internet is that you should not “feed” the trolls, and this is usually the best course of action. A true troll is only there because he’s getting a rise out of you or your users. If his (or her) antics/attacks don’t register any emotional reaction – then, he will probably move on to a site that will let him cause mayhem. This can best be demonstrated by using the old saying: “Never mud wrestle a pig, you get dirty and the pig likes it.”

What does feeding a troll mean? It usually deals with responding to the troll in kind. Getting angry or aggravated at the troll will only make him happy (like the pig in the mud). If you’ve labeled a user as a troll, you should have already contacted them several times to explain the proper norms for your site in a polite and friendly manner. If they continue to deviate from those norms, then it is best to ignore them or at the very most, send them canned responses that you have vetted for tone through a colleague.

There are, however, (at least) two instances when ignoring the troll might not be in your/the site’s best interest.

1. …If the troll posts wildly inappropriate content like porn on a kid’s site (to state the most obvious example of wildly inappropriate) or content that could mislead new users. Then, you should not ignore the troll and leave the content up, but rather remove it, isolate it, or correct it so that it cannot continue to harm other users. If the content is merely aberrant and unharmful, then it’s probably best to just leave bait where it lay and stay out of the troll’s trap.

2. …If your site is large enough or has enough turn-over that the troll could easily bait other users, particularly new users, into feeding him – you may need to take steps to prevent him from harming those users. These steps could include banning his user account or isolating his comments/posts in such a way that only he or a limited number of people could see them.

The danger here is that you may aggravate him into stepping up his efforts to disturb you. It’s also quite easy on most sites to set up new accounts under a different name/email making the account ban less effective than one might hope. Used judiciously, this can be an effective way of deterring trolls.

The long and the short of it is…you cannot always stop people from being evil. All you can do is try to protect yourself and your users and give them the best online experience you can.

For further reading, check out the Wikipedia Essay: What is a troll? which thoroughly discusses trolls from a Wikipedia editing point of view.

So, you’ve done some buzz monitoring, and you’ve found out that on a fairly well known forum in your field – which is visited by your customers and potential customers – someone has trashed your company / product / service offering / customer services / CEO / etc.

What do you do next?

There are a several approaches you can take:

1. The Ostrich approach. If you stick your head in the sand, it’ll obviously go away… right?  Wrong. Not responding shows that you’re either not listening, or that you consider the conversation beneath you.
2. The Bull in a China Shop approach. You blunder into the conversation without really listening, disparaging everything the user said as wrong.  You don’t become part of the conversation – trying to just shut down anything negative.
3. The Cuckoo approach. You sneak into the forum under false pretenses - i.e. pretending to be a satisfied customer – rather than disclosing that you’re representing the company itself.
4. The Worker Bee. For whatever reason (corporate policy, etc), the company doesn’t respond, but employees in their spare time do. It shows a willingness from some in the company, but as it’s not ‘official’ – there’s an element of the Ostrich in there.
5. The Labrador approach. Open, honest, and trustworthy. Your response states that it’s from the company. You reply in an honest manner, stating when you’re wrong and when the poster is wrong, and suggest ways to correct the issue if further steps need to be taken. Then, you actually follow through.
6. The Weasel approach. As per the Labrador approach, except there’s no follow through, any promises made of improvements, or changes to products or processes are empty and / or false.  This will eventually be seen as such, which will then undermine the validity of your future statements.

So, which animal do you want your company to be? Obviously, in an ideal world, we’d all say Labrador.  That’s the intent that most people have when they start out responding to issues. But, when emotions or corporate policy get involved, that Labrador starts to morph into one of the other creatures.  Most notably the Bull emerges when dealing with people either just trying to get a rise out of you (Trolls, or maybe even competitors disguised as Trolls) or people who have decided that they really don’t like your company – and nothing will change their mind.

If your company forbids any social network interaction, then they’re going to be the Ostrich.  There is also the potential for employees to be Worker Bees or, if the policy would make them fear for their jobs, Cuckoos.

So, in order to be that faithful Labrador, you need to make sure that you are honest, open and transparent (hmm, maybe I should have used a Paris Hilton analogy, since we can get HOT out of those 3).

Sure, you can still have a corporate policy that prevents you from saying certain things or responding to certain issues, but be honest and open about that too, and people will understand.

If you’d like to hear more on the topic of Reputation Management, there are still a few spots left for our 2nd Wednesday Webinar, which this week is on this very topic, so sign up for our Reputation Management Webinar here.

When I saw the coverage of the forced apology by US Olympic cyclists for wearing smog masks at the airport (because of warranted air quality concerns), I thought Streisand Effect. I had just read about the Barbra Streisand effect in Groundswell and it basically states that there is no removing anything from the internet…and the harder you try, the more widely it will be distributed.

US Olympic Cyclist in Beijing

Take the cyclist example. Once the photos were out on the wire, they were gone, distributed to millions and no apology is going to take the image of the harsh black mask (couldn’t designers have made it in a lighter, softer, less obvious color? But I digress…) out of the minds of the public, nor out of image searches.

What the apology did do is give more press to the Beijing smog issue. A better approach would have been to just let the issue die down quietly. As Nan (also quoting Groundswell) told a client last week, “trying to take something off of the internet is like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.” And trying to cover up a monumental smog issue with an apology is laughable.

Break out your level thirty-seven elven rogue and dole out justice by showing these trolls the wrong end of your dwarven hunter blade.

Well not exactly…

First some definitions: Internet trolls are the type of person who consistently – with determination – disrupts the norms of a site in a way that is unhealthy to the site’s community and discourages growth.

Wikipedia defines them this way: “An Internet troll… is someone who posts controversial and usually irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the intention of baiting other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.”

One specific thing to note is that an Internet troll is not someone who is simply vocal in disliking your product/message, but rather someone who is intentionally disrupting and antagonizing users or the system.  If you are to have any viable social media program, you need to have a policy or at least an understanding of these unwieldy Internet beasts.

How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?  Or, in this case, separate the mildly annoying user who is ignorant of the proper process, overly passionate about the subject, or who simply disagrees with you from the nasty troll who lives only to cause pain and torment?  Well, sometimes it’s difficult.

The label troll is a black-and-white title, but in reality the process of identifying a troll leaves a lot of gray areas. Therefore, it is important to label someone a troll and deal with them as such solely as a last resort and then, only with a list of documented instances.

The Mark of the Troll
Sometimes, a new user might not understand a process or content restrictions and post something  (a comment, a video, what have you) that goes against the norms of your site. Generally, it is best to assume that they were simply misinformed.

Point out the fault in a nurturing way that helps lead to discussion rather than biting their head off. If the user continues to post content that is inappropriate or inappropriately placed even after their error has been clearly explained, then it is possible this person is a troll.  If the user harasses other users and continually participates in personal attacks without adding anything to the discussion, then the person might also be a troll.

You should initially err on the side of kindness since we have all said and done things in the heat of passion that we would like to take back. Repeat offenses after clear communication as to why that behavior is inappropriate should raise red flags of possible troll-hood.

Any troll worth his salt will find new (and sometimes interesting) ways to game the system. So, there’s no way to specifically define what a troll does or does not do. Plus, sometimes a user may unintentionally do the things a troll does either by ignorance or by impudence as a result of passion.

Generally, a troll will rear his ugly head by consistently and determinedly attempting to disrupt and frustrate users. Because of the ambiguity and amorphous nature of trolls, it is best to tread carefully in your troll labeling.

N.B. It is important here to also say that someone vehemently disagreeing with you or hating your product/message does not make them an Internet troll. These are generally the people you should listen to and find out more information from.  These are the people that are taking the time to be honest with you. If you take the time to listen to them, you may learn a lot about your product and its perception in the marketplace.

This is vital information in the process of making your product better. If you have an open policy towards criticism, you can make changes that benefit both you and the user.  You may turn a vocal dissenter into a vocal yet loyal customer. That said, if you are attentive to the person’s criticism and they continue to find problems and issues that are nit-picky and that others are not finding, then that person may be a troll.

Next Week: Things That Go Bump in the Internet: Identifying and Dealing with Trolls Part 2: Disarming the Vagabonds and Turning Trolls to Stone

Unless you belong to Manassas Community Toastmasters, your next best chance to hear me, Simon Heseltine, talk is going to be online at our Webinar Wednesday sessions.

On Wednesday, August 6th (in 2 short days) – I’ll be presenting a webinar on Pay Per Click Marketing (PPC), on Wednesday August 13th I’ll be talking about Reputation Management and your business, and on August 20th the topic will be Blogging and Social Media for your business.

The price doesn’t reflect the quality of these presentations, as they’ll all be free.  So, jump on over to register for them now, as space is limited.

If you miss the webinars, or you quite simply prefer the in-person thing, we offer personalized training sessions for your company.  Or, I will be presenting at 3 sessions at Search Camp Philly in September (6th – 7th), and at the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA) mid-year marketing conference in Las Vegas in December (8th – 10th). There will probably be a few other opportunities to hear me speak in between, but none that are confirmed as of yet.

Photo by Tamar Weinberg

…You’re supposed to say “Wednesday”… you know… so I can say “Webinar!” and then… Oh forget it.

Throughout the month of August, Serengeti Communications will present a weekly, one-hour Webinar every Wednesday (say that five times fast). We’ll be covering various Web 2.0 and marketing strategies each week and helping your business get just a little bit better at using that new-fangled thing called the “Internet.” (All the cool kids say it’s going to be the next “sliced bread.”)

So, what are these Webinars going to cover? I’m glad you asked.

And, all this for only twenty-seven easy payments of nothing. But wait, there’s more…call right now and you can get your whole team to attend for nothing. That’s right just twenty-seven easy payments of nothing. That’s nothing for you, nothing for your co-worker, and the extra special low price of nothing for your great-uncle Ted.

So, invite your co-workers, your bosses, and obscure relatives to The Wednesday Webinar Series. Operators (i.e. Stacy) are standing by so Register Today.

I sent my three year old grand nephew a little present from Amazon recently.  I called him on the phone and told him it was coming, so he was in a high state of anticipation when the delivery man rang the doorbell.  Unfortunately, when he ripped open the box he did not find the very cool toy I sent to him.  Instead, he found granite cleaner.  Since the toy was intended as a reward for being good on a recent airplane trip, the granite cleaner was a bit like getting a lump of coal in the Christmas stocking.  Needless to say, my nephew was not amused.  Neither was I.

I headed to the Amazon site and hit “Where’s My Stuff.”  Amazon was showing that the toy had been delivered.  After poking around for a couple of minutes and trying unsuccessfully to complete a complaint form, I found the “Call Me Now” option and tried it.  Sure enough, someone from Amazon called me within about 30 seconds.  I explained the situation and the Amazon customer service rep assured me that my nephew would have his car within two days (at no extra charge).  Great!  And the granite cleaner?  Please don’t make me tell his parents that in addition to the very loud, obnoxious toy I just sent, they now have to load a monster box of granite cleaner down to the post office and send back to Amazon.  Normally, yes.  If the wrong item is delivered, Amazon requires that it be sent back within thirty days.  However (given that my order was a gift and the recipient was barely three), Amazon’s customer service rep good-naturedly agreed to waive that policy. 

I love Amazon.  They get things right 99% of the time and when they don’t, they fix it.  More importantly, they treat me like I matter as a customer.  With Amazon, I get kissed.  Not spanked.

Compare to Virgin Atlantic.  Recently, I had the unfortunate luck of getting stuck in economy seats on Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow to Washington Dulles.  I was bummed about flying economy, but I really like flying out of London Heathrow because I can buy champagne and caviar in the terminal to consume in-flight.  These little champagne and caviar picnics have become a tradition for me and my husband when we fly out of Heathrow. 

Alas, this time when we opened our champagne, the Virgin Atlantic flight attendant came over and told us that we were not allowed to pour for ourselves.  She explained that Virgin Atlantic likes to ensure that passengers do not get drunk while on transatlantic flights.  Ok, I guess that makes sense, but really – is it possible for two people to get drunk on a HALF split of champagne?  And why haven’t the flight attendants in Premier done this in the past?  We’ve enjoyed our caviar and champagne picnics when we were sitting in Premier on Virgin Atlantic at least a half a dozen times without any hassle.

Sorry, the ultra-responsible flight attendant informed us.  Rules are rules. No exceptions.  (In other words, please don’t whine while I deliver your spanking).  So, she took our tiny, half split of champagne and insisted on serving us a teaspoonful at a time.  I can’t tell you how enjoyable it was to take a bite of caviar and then have to push the call button to get a swallow of champagne to wash it down with.  Amazing, isn’t it?  Instead of letting us slide with our tiny, half bottle of champagne (focusing instead on managing a jam packed flight?), the Virgin Atlantic attendant went out of her way to do something that was both unnecessary AND irritated the customer.

This little incident didn’t cost us any money, we weren’t stuck in an airport for hours because of delays –none of the normal airline complaints that cause people to launch an online attack.  However, it sent a clear message, i.e., “You, the customer, do not matter.  Sit down, shut up and smile when you pay us.”  No one likes to be treated that way.  Why don’t companies get this?

Virgin Atlantic certainly doesn’t — and it shows in their search results.   If VA doesn’t fix their customer service problems, even the best social media campaigns on the planet won’t help them.

Word-of-mouth traffic can be some of the best, most qualified visitors to your site. But, how do you actually know if you are getting traffic from word-of-mouth? PPC and SEO efforts are easy to track because you can segment out traffic based on the specific referrers or entry pages (PPC). You have to be a bit creative to find the word-of-mouth traffic.

1. Check out your direct traffic (no referrer). These visitors either knew your URL and typed it directly into the browser (or they had your site bookmarked). As your brand becomes part of more and more conversations, the number of visitors who will know your URL will increase.

2. Check out your branded keyword traffic. This is the same concept as the direct traffic.  Only for those visitors who cannot remember your URL, the most likely place they’ll look for you is on one of the top search engines. Word-of-mouth conversations about your brand will result in more traffic from the search engines by visitors searching on terms related to your brand.

3. Check out the blogs – free tools (http://blogsearch.google.com). You can enter specific dates to see if the number of postings is increasing month to month. You can set up a Google Alert to periodically receive this information.

4. Check out the blogs and other conversations – paid tools (www.trackur.com). As many companies understand just how crucial it is to know what people are saying about their brand, tools like Trackur are becoming very popular. You can proactively see the conversations about your brand (and your competition) just by logging in.

5. Ask your customers. This is perhaps the most obvious and the most overlooked way to find out if people are talking about you. Talk to your customers. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you customers have to say about your brand. Encouraging and rewarding feedback is a great way to grow loyal customers who will be happy to say positive things about your brand to their friends.