07. June 2019 · Comments Off on SEO Strategies Need To Be In Place Before An Online Reputation Crisis Strikes · Categories: ORM, SEO · Tags: , , , ,
online reputation

In this file photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews spray water on the burning BP Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig. A 2010 explosion at the platform killed 11 men, and the subsequent leak released an estimated 172 million gallons of petroleum into the gulf. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP, File) The deadline for filing “E&PD” claims in this settlement is today, June 8, 2015.

Most of us are aware the importance of SEO for companies trying to manage online discussions during a crisis.

However, marketers often take the wrong approach by waiting until after the crisis to manage their SEO and online reputation. Take British Petroleum (BP), for example. By the time they implemented a strategy, they had lost control of the conversations and the image of their brand online.

Steve Marino, the man who first took on the task of running BP’s social-media efforts during the BP oil spill says the key is for companies to be prepared and have a strong SEO effort already in progress.

Marino says with a good strategy in place, you’ll already have good results coming up when a crisis hits. Although BP’s efforts played out fairly well, they could have been better had they been prepared with keywords like “oil-spill.”

How do you put an online reputation campaign in place before a crisis?

Marketers need to anticipate potential crises and have some negative keywords in mind to buy against. With negative keywords in place, you can insure positive results come up when those keywords are searched. If you already have an SEO plan in place, you can continue to publish positive content.

Just like there is no magic recipe for instantly obtaining a website the No. 1 position in Google, there is no recipe for instantly getting rid of negative search results.

Despite what some SEO firms may claim, they have no way of “guaranteeing” your negative results will be diminished in a mere month.

The best thing to do it have a strong SEO strategy already in place, one that constantly generates positive content on a few keywords. One of the most important factors is that you are consistent with this strategy, or it will do little good when a crisis occurs.

Although having an SEO strategy in place is important, marketers also need to be actively generating content in order to be successful. For the content to be beneficial, it should cover three to four specific areas of your company. That way, if a crisis occurs, you can disperse the content and drive people to the messages that will calm their concerns. Then you can launch an SEO campaign around the key terms of the crisis.

SEO needs to be at the top of the list for marketers when assessing a crisis situation, however, it’s important not to be overly aggressive. Marketers must appropriately calibrate their SEO response, so that the SEO campaign doesn’t become the story.

For more tips, take a look at our Online Reputation Lab course on Udemy.

07. January 2016 · Comments Off on How One Post Ruined Holly Jones’ Online Reputation · Categories: ORM, Social Media Consulting · Tags: , , , , , , ,

No one plans on ruining their online reputation.

However, in this case, Holly Jones of Indianapolis didn’t think before she posted her New Year’s Eve restaurant complaint on the establishment’s Facebook page.

This is a prime example of how quickly one’s reputation can be severely damaged (almost to the point of zero chance of recovery) and how a business’ posse quickly came to the rescue and defended its actions.

In a blink of an eye, the story when viral.

In a nutshell, here’s what happened:

Jones and her party were enjoying their New Year’s Eve dinner at Kilroy’s Bar and Grill in downtown Indianapolis. During the evening, a 70-year-old woman suffered a heart attack. Paramedics arrived; took the patient to the hospital, where she is recovering.

Rather than showing a little civility, mercy and care, Jones felt the need to post a message on Kilroy’s Facebook Page and blasted the restaurant; management; the suffering woman (who Jones said suffered from an overdose) and complained about her $700 bill.

Now, since the post was published on Kilroy’s Facebook page, the restaurant could have simply deleted her post. However, Kilroy’s Managing Partner Chris Burton blasted back….big time:

“This poor lady, who was celebrating New Year’s Eve with her husband and son, had to be placed on the floor of a completely packed bar and have her shirt removed in front of everyone so the paramedics could work on her. But I can completely understand why you think being intoxicated a******s that didn’t understand your bill should take priority over human life. I especially appreciate you making your server (who doesn’t curse) cry as well. I’m sure she really enjoyed working on New Year’s Eve just to deal with people such as yourself.”

Burton went on and told Jones that she was “cold hearted and nasty” and that he wouldn’t lose a second of sleep over her pledge never to return to Kilroy’s.

However, the fire storm was just getting started.

Enter local media, Twitter and here you go. Even at 2 a.m., the story was trending (#HollyJones). Holly Jones was getting blasted by those who never knew her; never met her; never had been to Kilroy’s; never had been to Indianapolis or, even been to the United States for that matter. Other Facebook users with the name “Holly Jones” were getting hate mail and anonymous threatening phone calls.

Jones took down her Facebook Page (claiming it had been hacked) and it appears she also lost her job as a hair stylist. Burton and his fans donated $14,000 in funds for medical bills of the heart attack victim

Did Holly Jones deserve it? Did she pick a fight with Kilroy’s and is now paying a huge price for her public post?  Did the restaurant manager go too far? Are the tables finally turning on restaurant review trolls?

Holly Jones

Some of the ongoing reviews and conversations on Kilroy’s Facebook Page from January 5, 2016

 

To see more helpful tips for managing negative business reviews, take a look at our course “Online Reputation Management: Negative Business Reviews” on Udemy.

10. August 2015 · Comments Off on Mountain Woods Media, LLC Releases First Udemy Course · Categories: Mountain Woods Media, ORM · Tags: , , ,

Mountain Woods Media, LLC releases first ORM Udemy CourseMountain Woods Media, LLC, a content development firm, has released its first training course on Udemy.

The course “Online Reputation Management: Handling Negative Reviews” is designed for large and small businesses; professional and medical services, and other firms who need to manage and improve their online business reviews.

“Unfortunately, some businesses and professionals receive negative reviews in Yelp, Google Places or on other online review websites,” says Mountain Woods Media Vice President Steve Phillips.

“This course is an easy-to-follow guide on how to respond to negative reviews and turn them into positive reviews for your company,” he adds.

This “Online Reputation Management: Handling Negative Reviews” Udemy course covers:

  • Understanding how Online Reputation works for businesses and individuals.
  • How to take proper steps in handling online negative business reviews, including how to respond to them.
  • How to turn a negative review into a positive review.
  • How to claim and optimize online business profiles and map listing websites.
  • How to manage your business’ online reputation.
  • How to create easy content and optimize it for better rankings in Google and other search engines.

Currently, students can preview two (2) course lectures for free, including:

  • Lecture 1: “Everything’s Online As It Happens”
  • Lecture 2: “Understanding Online Reputation Management”

The three-hour course features 22 lectures and several downloadable documents. Students may participate in online question-and-answer discussions with other students and Phillips. Mountain Woods Media, LLC will announce “office hours” soon in which students can connect live via Skype for more one-on-one training and instruction at no additional charge.

“Online Reputation Management: Handling Negative Reviews” is currently available for $49 and is available at https://www.udemy.com/online-reputation-management-negative-business-reviews/

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Mountain Woods Media, LLC is a content development firm specializing in Search Engine Optimization; Online Reputation Management and App Search Optimization. Online Reputation is how a business or a person appears online through search results. The process by which one continuously improves their online reputation is called “online reputation management.” Fresh and positive content helps improve your online reputation in overcoming bad publicity; bad business reviews or making a life mistake.

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Udemy is the world’s online learning marketplace, where over 7 million students are taking courses in everything from programming to yoga to photography and much, much more. Each of Udemy’s 30,000+ courses is taught by an expert instructor, so every course is available on-demand, and students can learn at their own pace, on their own time, and on any device. For more information, visit http://udemy.com

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