Tag Archives: blog

Blogs build relationships…

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Click here for a great article on blogging!

Do we really need a blog?  The question is simple, but the answer it complex.  If you have a strategic approach to your online reputation, or your ORM, then you should realise the complexity of the answer.

One of the hurdles that many online communicators is trying to get tangible results from their efforts to reflect in the profits.  Old-school management styles expect this, but they are on the decline.  Any business savvy person will know that we operate on a level of the triple bottom line:  people, environment and profit.  Leaders and managers alike have acknowledged that without healthy people and a healthy environment, there will not be sustainable profit.

We have said it before, and we’ll keep saying it.  To succeed, you have to put relationships first.  That’s why the answer to ‘Do we really need a blog?” is complex.  It’s complex because it’s about people, and people are no picnic.

Here is a fantastic list of 25 reasons why you need a blog – and they have NOTHING to do with finances…, well, not directly! (read original article)

  1. Create a database of answers — Blog about customer questions. Use links to those posts to save time and answer future questions.
  2. Reward employees — Shine a spotlight on brilliant employees by featuring their ideas and accomplishments on your blog.
  3. Marketing integration — Turn content from your blog into sales and marketing materials.
  4. SEO — Having an active, relevant blog can have a powerful impact on search engine ranking.
  5. Point of differentiation — If your competitors don’t blog, is this an opportunity to stand out in your niche? Continue reading →

Do you need social media?

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In organic SEO (search engine optimisation) and ORM (online reputation management), social media become the vehicles for your messages and your online sustainability and credibility.


We work mostly with small businesses or independent service providers who believe enough in themselves to take on the larger organisations that are able to offer better price, but aren’t always able to get in touch with their customers on a personal level: the personal touch.  The one thing that is always present: passion.

That’s the beauty of the businesses that keep the economy thriving, they’re big enough to make a difference and small enough to remain passionate and focused on what they’re doing with the same natural drive that spurred them to take action in the first place.

“The power of public relations lies in good communication that is aimed at building sustainable relationships.”

The hurdle that they most often face is that of a small voice, but a big heart.  Here’s where online reputation management comes to their aid.  If you’re in a smaller organisation or work for a non-profit, where there is no large budget for major marketing and communication campaigns, you need to know that you can harness the power of social media and blogging to establish, enhance and explode your communication potential!

Twitter, Facebook, blogs and the like, are not about how many people follow but WHO follos.  Some of the people that we’ve worked with have always said “We’re not big enough to have a twitter stream” or  “We won’t have enough fans on Facebook”, and our response is “The sooner you start, the better.”

The power of public relations lies in good communication that is aimed at building sustainable relationships.  Communication always works best when it starts with the smaller things and establishes a base of trust and credibility.  This is why we use blogs, Facebook and twitter in our strategies.  These online communication tools provide us with the foundation for saying what needs to be said and then telling others that we’ve said it.

Social media is not about advertising slogans or marketing catch-phrases.  It’s about being real, relevant and playing your role in your community. So, if you’re still asking “Do we need social media?”, then let me answer for you: “Yes.”

Here are some solid principles, that we recently came across, to approaching and managing your social media strategy.
Continue reading →

Bad online PR – how do you handle negative comments?

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In social media, a buzz word is “authenticity.” In simple terms, authenticity means being genuine, which we all know is important. But in social media, authenticity is everything.

You have to be transparent, honest, and genuine in any situation. Authenticity is easy when things are going well, but then what happens when someone posts a less-than-positive comment about your organisation, its services or your employees on their blog, Facebook page or Twitter account? Or what if a major event, such as a confidentiality breach, or a staff mistake puts you in a precarious position?  The key to a successful crisis-management strategy is what you do next…

Respond:  This is a measured and self-controlled action that tells your audience that you’re in control and able to work towards the best solution.
React: This behaviour tells your audience that you’re not in control and that you were not prepared for a negative situation.

While your first instinct may be to go into defense mode, don’t – this would be your reaction. A reaction, like “we’re sorry for any inconveniences we may have caused” doesn’t say you are doing anything to address the problem or concern. But directly apologizing and asking questions such as “how can we help?” will show you are responding, listening and intend to address it.

This is especially important when the rest of your audience is waiting to see what happens and waiting to judge you based on your response.

Just as important is the timeliness. Before the Internet, timeliness had a whole different meaning and was related to the print cycle of a newspaper. But now that information can be put on the Internet instantaneously, it’s even more important to address problems quickly. If you don’t discover a problem for 48 hours, it’s impossible to know how far the news spread, whether it’s as simple as an unhappy client or as serious as a breach of protocol.

Good news travels fast, but bad news travels faster. This is particularly important to keep in mind when you have a blog or Twitter or Facebook account. So how will you handle it?

Will you try to ignore it and hope it goes away, possibly making the problem worse, or will you respond with honesty and sincerity and do your best to remedy the situation? The good news is that you can prepare yourself and avoid potential disasters by setting a policy for how to respond to negative comments. Discuss details, such as “What will I say when a negative comment appears on my blog?” and “Who will monitor and respond to comments on Twitter, Facebook and other blogs?”

Remember this: you can’t prevent negative comments , but you can prevent them from spreading by paying attention and responding in an authentic, patient and timely manner. It’s important to trust your audience so that they will trust you and you do this by responding and not reacting.

If you continually strive to manage your organisation and your communication with integrity and authenticity, dealing with difficult people and situations will be far easier and short-lived.  Good, honest communication is founded on good, honest business principles.

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