Track your social and online mentions

On the web, users for the most part enjoy free reign and the right to say anything. With information being shared and posted constantly it is advisable that as a company owner you track mentions which are relevant to your business. There are several free tools you can use including Google Alerts, Google News, Yahoo Alerts and so on. Services such as Hootsuite allow you to track your mentions on social networking sites, enabling you to monitor and respond to developments as they happen. There’s nothing worse than being ‘out of the loop,’ particularly in terms of the web. Due to the viral nature in which information is shared, the quicker you are notified and able to respond to negative press the better.

Maintain and solidify your brand image

When reacting to bad press, it is essential that your brand actively maintains its brand image. Be sure of the route you want to take online, and that your business partners and employees are fully aware of your brand’s ethos. Every aspect of your brand’s social media presence should work in sync and maintain the desired perception of your brand. In exercising this point ensure that various social media accounts are linked to each other and do not contain any discrepancies in information. Often social media accounts will be the first port-of-call between yourself and your customers, so it is therefore essential that good relationships are prompted.

Engage

If you’re going to use social media it is pretty important that you are ‘social’ to some degree. The benefit of social media is that it allows businesses to engage and listen to their customers—take advantage! Customers will no doubt let you know when they are unhappy with your products or services via social media. Respond, apologise and offer a solution. Think of your customer and target demographic in order to anticipate common problems or information they may be interested in.