Has brand reputation become currency and cornerstone of our society? Seems like it is taking that direction.  At…

Has brand reputation become currency and cornerstone of our society? Seems like it is taking that direction.  At least that’s been true of celebrity for as long as there has been celebrity. Take Britney for example.  She’s still considered a superstar in the eyes of many, but a lot of people now question her mental fitness, thanks to the celeb news rags.

Back in the early 2000’s, I was managing the online membership directory website of the local chamber I belonged to.  The site—a mammoth set of deeply embedded PHP files and a sprawling MySQL—was the first database-dependent site ever endeavored by me.  But I digress.  Before it was morphed into the big database-reliant monster through which each member had their own login and control of their listing, local business owners who were members of the chamber would contact me to update theirs.  I remember there were a couple times in which a member would call, begging me to take down a Google search result for a company they’re no longer affiliated with, or some article they didn’t like about themselves was written and showing up online.  I had to the bearer of bad news and explain to them in plain English that unfortunately, you cannot manipulate content which is not your own, and only time will take those results down.  But that’s only in some cases (keep reading).

Even back then, people thought I worked for Google ;)  I don’t. It’s true (like the article says), your digital footprint is not easily removed and whatever’s there can really make or break your brand’s reputation.  You have to keep your eyes open and your ears to the wire and pay attention to what’s being said about you so you can respond and nip it in the bud and/or make things right.  Acting immediately can’t always help though, because even if something is deleted online, traces of it in the form of pingbacks, Tweets, etc. can remain for years, and in the case of a few stories out there, Twitter statuses have been used against people and cost them their jobs, started political scandal, and forced resignations.
  
The takeaway?  Being careful to avoid negative things being said about your brand in the first place (whether real or perceived) is a lot of work, but can pay off.  –Bobbi Jo Woods 

Full article: http://www.blur-marketing.net/profiles/blogs/brand-reputation-part-2-this-time-it-s-personal