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Whats your take on reputation management?

by asiancasanova
16 replies
What do you guys think about this form of business/SEO service?

I hear some say its slimy...

What I gather is that you create a bunch of web properties to push negative review sites out of the way and/or you create a bunch of fake reviews to overpower the bad ones.
#management #reputation
  • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
    Originally Posted by asiancasanova View Post

    What do you guys think about this form of business/SEO service?

    I hear some say its slimy...

    What I gather is that you create a bunch of web properties to push negative review sites out of the way and/or you create a bunch of fake reviews to overpower the bad ones.
    Every company needs good PR.

    Its not slimy @ all.

    Besides a lot of those negative reviews are there competition, posting negatives, just to make there own business look good...

    now thats slimy...
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanmckinney
    Reputation management builds their brand, which is one of the most important things a company can do. Just "SEO'ing" good reviews isn't "enough", IMO -

    Is RM Slimy? No.

    Reputation management is being done wrong by the masses IMO (focusing on one peice of the puzzle)

    If you help implement a system that gets reviews in place from all customers, that is a start. Humans are quick to review businesses when they are pissed, and not nearly as motivated to leave a good review when happy.. why? Because it is "expected" for a business to satisfy their customer, right?

    Also, implementing a strong social media management plan is good for repuation management, so if people google "businessname" - most of what is found is positive media, and just another avenue for said business to engage their customer.

    Fighting fire with fire is not always the best solution. (combating bad fake reviews with fake good ones)


    Focus on building the brand online, and the reputation management part should take care of itself naturally.

    Ry
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Bucker
    Rm in itself is not wrong but creating fake anything is. You can still do Rm with real testimonials. You must be careful creating a fake review will seed an oportunity for you fall. Every seed has a harvest, be careful what you plant. It may not come up immediately but they all come up.

    Find a way to do it with integrity my friend.
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    • Profile picture of the author sandalwood
      Of course RM is not slimy. That's like saying all cops are crooked. Simply ain't so. On the other hand what is slimy is a competitor writing a bad or negative review just to bash his or her competitor. That shows a true lack of moral fortitude.

      Truth is if you can help a biz overcome bad reviews by doing RM you have just righted a wrong assuming the reviews are w/o merit. Doing RM isn't easy and ain't a pleasant task but it needs to be done.

      As one poster said, do it with integrity.

      Tom
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      • Profile picture of the author RevolutionThree
        I agree with Ryan. Every company needs to manage their online reputation these days and it is much bigger than just one area.

        Creating "positive" fake reviews has the potential to cause much more problems than it helps.

        My belief is that consumers understand and expect some reviews that are bad. They don't expect perfection. If they see a reply to a bad review with an explanation or what the company did to correct it, the bad review suddenly becomes helpful.
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  • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
    So how do we help a business and make money off this service without posting "fake" reviews? If the business owner gives us real reviews that customers wrote how can we post them without a negative side effect? Just change the IP and post with a fake gmail account? What are some ethical ways to do this without actually posting it yourself?
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    My thoughts on reputation management are that most people who need it dont even know they need it...so you will have to educate them alot, and it will take a good line to get their attention without pissing them off.

    People dont tend to be very fond of bearers of bad news.

    I probably need it myself...but subscribe to my brother Michael's theory, which is "You cant read your press...you think Prince or Madonna read their press? No it would kill em...stop reading that crap John".

    Thats the best advice I have gotten...I would pay him for that probably as valuable as it is. At least take him to lunch.
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    • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

      My thoughts on reputation management are that most people who need it dont even know they need it...so you will have to educate them alot, and it will take a good line to get their attention without pissing them off.

      People dont tend to be very fond of bearers of bad news.

      I probably need it myself...but subscribe to my brother Michael's theory, which is "You cant read your press...you think Prince or Madonna read their press? No it would kill em...stop reading that crap John".

      Thats the best advice I have gotten...I would pay him for that probably as valuable as it is. At least take him to lunch.
      You're right... and RM/Public relations is something that isn't very easily sold by prospecting. People wanting to cover up ripoffreports and things similar to that, are not legitimate reputation management companies, they are opportunists.

      It's funny... it's a service every serious company needs, but is something nobody usually goes for until it's almost too late.

      I think some people are going to shoot me for this... but I believe reputation management is something people should be coming to you for, not you going to them.

      Now, I think if you were clever enough with it and had a blog post explaining what it is with a video, and then pushing your own service through that and directing traffic to that post, then it could be something that works effectively but I don't think cold calling a business and saying, you have bad reviews let me take care of it, is going to fly.

      Everyone needs it... but telling someone they need it and offering it yourself is why people say its slimy.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mav91890
        Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

        You're right... and RM/Public relations is something that isn't very easily sold by prospecting. People wanting to cover up ripoffreports and things similar to that, are not legitimate reputation management companies, they are opportunists.

        It's funny... it's a service every serious company needs, but is something nobody usually goes for until it's almost too late.

        I think some people are going to shoot me for this... but I believe reputation management is something people should be coming to you for, not you going to them.

        Now, I think if you were clever enough with it and had a blog post explaining what it is with a video, and then pushing your own service through that and directing traffic to that post, then it could be something that works effectively but I don't think cold calling a business and saying, you have bad reviews let me take care of it, is going to fly.

        Everyone needs it... but telling someone they need it and offering it yourself is why people say its slimy.

        In reference to the last sentence, how does an seo or web design service differ?

        I believe reputation management can be a solid service as long as you aren't going about it the blackhat way.
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  • Profile picture of the author I_AM
    I think it's one of the easiest things to sell. All you need to do is show them where people have talked ill of their name, and provide a solution. I have a client who can't really create a natural positive review funnel, and I've create fake reviews for him. He seems rather happy with the service. We also have controlled the conversation on his business through regular ole SEO.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Durham
      Originally Posted by I_AM View Post

      I think it's one of the easiest things to sell. All you need to do is show them where people have talked ill of their name, and provide a solution. I have a client who can't really create a natural positive review funnel, and I've create fake reviews for him. He seems rather happy with the service. We also have controlled the conversation on his business through regular ole SEO.

      Then, theres always just flat ripping people off...usernames and all... its a pattern.
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      • Profile picture of the author I_AM
        Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

        Then, theres always just flat ripping people off...usernames and all... its a pattern.
        He knows that the reviews aren't real, and he's happy with that.
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        • Profile picture of the author Cali16
          Originally Posted by I_AM View Post

          He knows that the reviews aren't real, and he's happy with that.
          Well, good to know that neither you nor your client have any integrity.

          Let me ask you, how would YOU feel if you or your spouse / daughter / son / mother went to, say, an auto mechanic who had someone like you leaving FAKE positive reviews for them. And a week later they end up stranded on the freeway, after dark, in the rain, because the mechanic screwed up and that's why his reputation was damaged in the first place.

          I'll bet you'd think twice about fake positive reviews then.

          Nothing irks me more than people who do this fake review crap. It can really hurt people in the end. Some businesses and professionals have genuinely earned some of the bad reviews they have received from real customers.

          It's unfortunate that there are too many people like you (and your client) who only care about money and couldn't care less about honesty and integrity.
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  • Profile picture of the author EnzoBlaque
    ORM, can be where you see the bulk of your earnings from. If done correctly.

    For example, in the world of finance (asset management, banking, corporate finance)
    $15K a year would be a god-send to keep a reputation high.

    Most of these firms make $20-$50M per deal. But if they get one, and I mean ONE negative knock, they're done, nobody would trust them.

    That's why most of the big hedge funds and family offices for asset management refuse to even have a web presence now. One loose cannon blogger can blow their whole firm.

    If you bag yourself some clients like this, you'll be doing well for yourself.
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  • Profile picture of the author Letsurf
    Any tips on how to do it the correct way?
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  • Profile picture of the author nasuryono
    I think it's pretty normal for people to do that. However, when you go on the offensive site (e.g. leaving negative feedback to your competitors) then that's unethical.
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