Search social-media-&-reputation-management-thunder-seo

Search, Social Media & Reputation Management

January 7, 2011

Max Thomas – ThunderSEO.com

In the age of communication …

Things Don’t Always Go As Planned…

What Does Online Reputation

Management Look Like?

Negative

Positive

Neutral

Does It Matter?

Social: The New Search

1. 69% of consumers are more likely to use a local business it if has information on a social-networking site.

2. Gen Now (tech-savvy consumers all age groups):• 93% usage rate for Facebook• 56% find local-business info via companies’ FB

pages• 55% seek peer referrals & recommendations• 75% are likely to use local businesses

recommended

See “TMP Directional Marketing and 15Miles: Bridging the Gap, From Search to Sales, Local Search Usage Study” September 2010

Online Reputation Nuts & Bolts

Search & Rankings

Focus on Search & Rankings

1. Identify “problem” sites that rank for target keywords• Create list of target brand names

• List “negative” search results (“rankings”)

• Evaluate SEO strength of rankings

• Eye-Ball URL popularity and/or website strength

• Conduct in-depth analysis (focus on inbound links and domain age)

Focus on Search & Rankings

2. Increase rankings for “positive” and “neutral” sites for target keywords

Positive Neutral

Website Non-related websites (same name)

Site Links Maps Listing (no reviews)

Blogs Posts (from site) Directory Listings

Online PR’s

Video’s

Review Sites (when pos.)

Media/Press Sites

Directory Listings (company & business profiles)

Focus on Search & Rankings

3. Ongoing Strategy: Brand-Name Platforms

• Claim all sites for person or business on branded platforms:

• website

• Confirm Site Structure (separate page for name or brand, seo-friendly URLs)

• ning.com, Blogspot, wordpress, facebook.com (fan page), twitter.com, posterous.com, tumblr.com, slideshare.com, Linkedin.com, etc.

Focus on Search & Rankings

4. Ongoing Strategy: Online PR

• Determine Topics – Announcements, Discounts/Promo’s, Partnerships, Product Releases, Non-Profit Tie-In’s, etc.

• Schedule – Set multi-week schedule in advance

• Write PR’s for SEO - Tips

• Make your audience care

• Structure matters – Engage your audience in one sentence

• Tips: One page long; include “for immediate release”; summarized in first paragraph.

• Optimize for Keywords – Quotes, boilerplate information, contact info., multimedia, etc.

Focus on Search & Rankings

4. Ongoing Strategy: Online PR

• Submit to free PR sites:

• 1888pressrelease.com/login.html

• log.org/pub/

• free-press-release.com/members/login.php

• pr.com/signin.php

• pressreleasepoint.com/submit-press-release

• pressmethod.com/

• i-newswire.com/Login

• openpr.com/news/submit.html

• pitchegine.com

Focus on Search & Rankings

5. Ongoing Strategy – Influence Content People Find When Searching.

• Conferences

• Slideshare

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Online PR

Online Reputation Nuts & Bolts

Social Media

Proactive Online Conversations

When Positive

• Keep Conversation Public…that’s easy!

Positive feedback and positive response

Proactive Online Conversations

When Negative

• Address publicly

• Remember: Responses and posts are public – you may not convert unhappy customer, but you can positively influence first-time visitors

• Don’t delete unless spam or cannot be solved

Single negative brand mention:

Company’s public response: not accepting blame, but trying to help the customer privately

Online Reputation Nuts & Bolts

Reviews

Today: Reviews Rule!

Respond to Positive & Negative Immediately• Not always necessary to bend over backwards, but definitely acknowledge customer’s complaint or issue• Do not take personally• Try to steer response toward understanding and resolution

Reviews: Impact on Search

Brand Name Search Pulls Page 1 Rankings for Negative Reviews

Reviews: Negative Response Example

Negative Review Reveals Mis-understanding about CA CAP Program. Accuses Business of Scamming.

Business Owner Responds Explaining CAP Program and How Others Can Benefit.

Reviews: Anger for Anger’s Sake

Upward Trend of Angry, Ranting & Hot Reviews

• General trend in increase of angry reviews

• Reviews aren’t event about actual service or for a different company

• Even so, respond immediately with understanding and helpful support

• Again, you may never be able to convert this customer but you can leave a good impression for first-time visitors who read the review and your response

Reviews: Angry Example

Review is for 3 Years Ago. Doesn’t Address Service Provided by Dentist. Almost Irrational Review.

Dentist Thanks Reviewer, Acknowledges 3 Years Time Lapse, States Ethical Belief, Expresses Concern. Very neutral response.

Online Reputation Nuts & Bolts

Monitoring

Search.twitter.com

Twitter

Hootsuite.com

HootSuite

Google.com/alerts

Google Alerts

Blogsearch.google.com

Google Alerts

Monitoring

Recap of Tools & Resources

• Search.twitter.com

• Hootsuite.com

• Google.com/alerts

• Blogsearch.google.com

Counterpoint

When There’s a Barrage of Negative Press, Reviews & Comments…

…Respond with an Integrated Strategy.

Counterpoint

1. Be Prepared – Ask for Help

• If Company has built-up an online community around their site, blog and social media profiles, then they have a ready-to-go network of supports to ask for help, advice and even help spread the word.

Counterpoint

2. Be Prepared – Media Contacts• Leverage social media early-on to create media and

journalist relationships• These contacts can help you reach media outlets • Check out Muckrack.com, HARO enewsletter,

JournalistTweets.com

Counterpoint

3. Twitter/Facebook Responses

• Have a handful of templated responses ready for dealing with the particular issue

• Especially helpful with controversial announcements

• Monitor social media channels for comments regarding company name, issue, etc.

Counterpoint

4. Online PR

• Online PR’s rank quickly for targeted keyword searches

• If consistent news coverage for company name (or name + keyword/issue), push series of PR’s utilizing same keywords in title

• Consider paid PR channels for specific messaging

Counterpoint

5. Blog Posts

• If site has well-indexed blog, post responses/articles that leverage target keywords in the blog titles

• Depending on scope of exposure, post daily or several times per week

You may remember the Apple vs. Adobe Flash for the iPhone debate

Counterpoint

6. Youtube Video

• Create 60-120 second video spots

• Optimize for target keywords

• Add to business’s Youtube channel

• Pull in video to homepage and/or blog

• Have video template already created with branded header and footer graphic

• Submit video sitemap to Google

• Video’s from Youtube have a good chance of co-ranking or out-ranking news video search rankings

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Situation:

Mercy for Animals releases video showing undercover footage depicting cruelty to animals.

Farmers were outraged that it was an unfair representation.

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Response:

Farmer Ray Lin fought back.

Started blog with stories and pictures about his farm …

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Response:

Farmer Ray Lin fought back.

Started AgChat foundation to train farmers on how to use social media …

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Response:

Farmer Ray Lin fought back.

Launched AgChat Facebook fan page …

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Response:

Farmer Ray Lin fought back.

Launched AgChat Twitter profile …

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Response:

Farmer Ray Lin fought back.

Launched AgChat YouTube channel …

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Response:

Farmer Ray Lin fought back.

Launched AgChat Linkedin Group …

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Response:

Farmer Ray Lin fought back.

Held first AgChat conference in August …

Counterpoint: Example

See “When Social Media Conflict Comes To The Farm” by Michael Gray on SEL.com 8/20/2010

Moral of the Story:

• Farmer Ray Lin has built a vibrant online community.

• Farmer Ray Lin is prepared.

• He’s now setting the ground rules.

• He has support when there’s a crisis.

Online Reputation Ground Rules

1. Internal Communication & Management

• There must be direct lines of communication with marketing, customer service and sales teams.

Online Reputation Ground Rules

2. Client Responds to Sensitive Comments

• Agencies can help spot sensitive comments right away and guide how best to respond

• Response is “voice” of client

• Should be sincere, transparent (as appropriate) and thoughtful

Online Reputation Ground Rules

3. If Issues Persist

• If negative comments continue, it’s probably larger than an isolated issue – requires internal investigation

• Don’t rely on agency/reputation management campaign

Online Reputation Ground Rules

4. Engage in Online Conversations

• Even though you can’t control what’s being said about you, doesn’t mean it can be ignored

• The conversation will happen online whether your company is paying attention or not

• Better to pay attention…and respond!

Closing Thoughts

1. Is the problem with “reputation” or “operations”?

• We used to promote “online reputation management” as a service but noticed that most prospects were mostly “problem clients” with questionable operations.

• We dropped “online reputation management” as a service offering.

Closing Thoughts

2. It’s Not Cleaning Up – It’s Branding

• Now we offer “online reputation management” via a holistic approach to a company’s online footprint

• E.g., Search, social media, video, etc.

• In other words, online reputation management is now part of the online marketing process.

Closing Thoughts

3. Company Must Be Onboard…

… Or You’ll Constantly Be Putting Out Fires that Can’t Be or Won’t Be Fixed.

Thank You

Max Thomas

max@thunderseo.com

@thundermax

Facebook.com/thunderseo