Your reputation is a powerful and treasured asset particularly when you live life in the public eye.
When your life is on display for the world to see, as is the case for celebrities or politicians, protecting and managing your reputation is a full-time job.
It’s also a full-time job that can make or break careers.
Social media alone makes reputation management for celebrities something that requires constant attention.
False accusations and rumors can put a celebrity’s reputation at stake in a matter of minutes. And it can absolutely derail a politician’s career.
It is what makes the concept of Celebrity Reputation Management an essential online strategy for all public figures.
What Is Web Reputation Management?
What an online reputation management firm does often centers on influencing what and how people think of a person or brand when observed online and offline.
Newspapers, magazines, and television are examples of offline media communication. Online media includes social media and search engines such as Google and Bing.
Reputations and careers can be ruined by negative mentions, false accusations, and theories regardless of how long a celebrity or public figure has been around. Because social media has amplified the horizon for sharing news, managing online reputations is essential for supervising what people say about those in the public eye.
Celebrities and public figures do not have the time to manage negative mentions, malicious comments, false allegations, and defamatory statements daily.
When it comes to keeping a close eye on all the media outlets where the negative press can show up, agencies specializing in celebrity reputation management services are the answer.
Negative or accusatory statements about a celebrity or public figure can spread like wildfire online if regular monitoring is missing on social channels and search engines. Reputation management is vital to maintain trust, credibility, and respect. It is also essential to creating a long-lasting positive impression and online image.
We can explain the process of Celebrity Reputation Management by dividing it into four areas:
- Monitoring
- Reacting
- Creating
- Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM)
Monitoring web mentions and social media activity is the first and most important part of a reputation management program. The term “going viral” is especially critical when the information in view is damaging or defamatory.
It does not take long for juicy gossip to spread, and supervising it on all online platforms is a tall order. You have to keep your eyes on everything, and it has to do with more than monitoring a famous person’s name. You have to monitor everything connected to that name – slogans, campaigns, hashtags, and more.
Once you can locate the mentions, the next step is deciding how to react to them.
Not all remarks are relevant, so it is significant to determine the nature of the comment – is it positive, negative, or neutral?
Reacting to positive comments is usually not difficult. The more positive reactions a mention has, the more positive the celebrity is recognized.
When reacting to negative mentions, it involves judging all aspects of the situation and being sure your reply offers a solution, puts a humorous spin on it, or plays down the negative statement altogether. Responding in the wrong way can fan the flame rather than extinguish it.
Creating positive content for a celebrity’s public profile, whether on social media, blogs, websites, or beyond, is the best way to counterbalance false or negative mentions found online.
By attracting followers and creating fans with content that captures their attention and positively goes viral, you keep good news about the celebrity top of mind. When it comes to search results, this is critical.
Brands work hard to be on the front page of search results. The power of SEO continues to grow in importance, as the general population relies on search engines like Google or Bing to serve up quick results for products, services, and the latest news.
Many companies find it best to outsource SEO management to professional agencies like Avita Digital who specialize in SEO in Calabasas, California.
Bigger and better SEO strategies are critical to keeping the positive news top of mind and search.
While companies compete for top spots in search queries, celebrities have to watch for negative information. Search Engine Reputation Management works to push down the negative comments in search results by inserting and promoting positive material.
The idea is to move the negative findings to the second page as quickly as possible to keep more eyes from seeing them.
Why Online Reputation Management (ORM) is Invaluable
The importance of your online reputation is indisputable. In a study conducted by TrustPilot, a positive online reputation is the top reason consumers decide to visit a business. In comparison, the quality of the product or service offering was the fourth most important factor.
Virtually everyone in the spotlight will face small reputation blows – negative comments on social media or a private image posted online. A reputation crisis can prove disastrous without a reputation management strategy in place. It helps to ensure you have a voice and can reduce the impact on your reputation long-term.
Web reputations can have a tremendous impact on the quality of your digital marketing efforts. Celebrities, public figures, and companies are judged many times by what people see on Google. Through a simple search on the internet, people can develop feelings about an individual or company, good or bad. Having a negative presence online or even no presence can impact success.
The internet has a great memory.
Although a post gets removed or a comment deleted, all it takes is someone taking a screenshot of it to allow it to exist indefinitely in cyberspace. The more scandalous a statement or image, the more likely it is to be saved by the thousands that have seen it.
People are all too willing to repost a deleted comment. The story may fade away, but the words and images will live on the internet forever.
Google’s algorithms are constantly updated to ensure neutrality and relevance. The algorithm scans tons of articles, videos, and images to determine how they all connect. When various topics continue to show up, Google concludes they must be related.
The more this happens with a particular subject, the more Google will suggest associated search results. It’s easy to see how negative or fraudulent comments can live high on the search results page, making ORM incredibly important.
ORM targets multiple websites and online assets for specific branded keywords. It works to boost the number of positive and owned assets over harmful or irrelevant assets in search results.
“Ensure you have a robust digital reputation plan for the future by having an online reputation management expert conduct an audit of your keywords and search results,” explains Brad Weber, Founder and CEO of the Avita Group, a Digital Marketing Calabasas based agency.
A digital marketing agency will help:
- Expand your business online
- Bring you more customers
- Allow you to focus on what you do best
- Give you access to resources you may not have
- Give you confidence that professionals are handling all your digital marketing needs
Let an expert online reputation management firm stay on top of your ORM.
Constant upkeep and frequent monitoring are the keys to accurately representing your online brand reputation long-term. Unsavory news can snowball quickly online, but it doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your reputation.
Being proactive rather than reactive will help keep the panic at bay and give you peace of mind.
Maintaining a solid online image is essential for celebrities and politicians landing the next star role or winning a campaign.
Investing in ORM helps build trust and credibility, put your best face forward, increase search engine ranking (in a positive way), and maintain thought leadership.
When the world is listening and the stakes are high, stay alert and protected with ORM.