Why is reputation management so important?

Many business leaders do not always consider the importance of investing in reputation management. It’s typically a part of the business that gets invested in after there is a scandal, and today, we wanted to address why it is so important to take a proactive approach to Reputation Management:

Case study: Balenciaga

Although it’s difficult to predict and stop crises from happening, there are methods you can take to control the repercussions. Balenciaga is a great example of how not to approach a crisis based on how they handled their recent campaign scandal.

The high-end fashion house did apologize for its holiday campaign, but did not take complete social responsibility and rather blamed what happened on a 3rd party company.

A campaign gone wrong could put a major company’s image and the leaders affiliated with the corporation at stake if they don’t make quick decisions and address the backlash.

Balenciaga removed all of its previous posts, including the campaign, but failed to address the concerns about the brand’s intention behind such a controversial campaign.

What we can learn from Balenciaga’s brand crisis is that Companies, CEOs, Founders, and C-Suite executives should all have a proactive communications strategy and plan in place to address any potential crisis. Removing posts doesn’t remove a problem. It actually causes more alarm and outrage by the public and leaves room for more backlash. 

What is reputation management?

Reputation management is proactively managing your reputation online. You can choose to let Google decide what shows up first when searching for your name, or you can choose to have strong online profiles on platforms like Linkedin and Forbes so that you have more control over the narrative and search results.

A strong reputation management strategy analyzes all content before it is published to address the potential risk it poses. It also involves having a proactive approach in place with the steps to take if there is ever a crisis in the future. Reputation management is proactive because it prepares a brand and its leaders if there is a crisis, has professionals in place who are prepared to issue statements and/or take action quickly if needed, and makes sure that the narrative is controlled in advance by consistently publishing positive content online.

Why is this so important?

All it takes is one scandal to take over all search results and search engines (Google Balenciaga now to see it happening right now). Having a strong reputation is important because you are able to show who you are as a leader and brand. Even if a scandal does happen, having the right team behind you to address the situation, and decide if you should issue a statement and what you should say, means that you will be prepared to respond. Proactively posting positive, industry related content on a regular basis will also ensure that if something does happen, it won’t be the only news associated with your name.

What should you do going into 2023?

We suggest that you work on a strong thought leadership plan, and include platforms like your company website with a CEO page, your Linkedin profile, a Forbes profile, and publish articles on other platforms about industry related topics that you are passionate about to get started. If you have no reputation (neither positive nor negative) and if a scandal does occur, this could affect your bottom line really quickly. If you begin to publish industry related and positively framed content, you are already creating a positive reputation for yourself and your business.

As we always say, it is best to be proactive with your reputation management and thought leadership, to not end up NEEDING to be reactive.

If you’d like to learn more, book a 30-minute strategy call here.