On the internet, bloggers outnumber journalists. They claim authority, and they generate opinion – a tornado of random commentary that invades every neighborhood with internet access. Blogging is that powerful.
In the internet age, business owners have been impacted by bloggers because their line of work makes them grist for opinion-making. Unless they are safely sheltered by their publicist, those with an online reputation have more to lose as a result of the ire of bloggers than these bloggers stand to lose from their own advertising income.
But one must not be fooled by this sweeping image of bloggers. They march in millions, yes, but not all of them can boast site traffic capable of crashing servers. The notable ones could still be marginalized by the internet’s excess of opinion.
In short, it’s not so difficult to take care of bloggers who are giving your personal reputation and your brand a bad rap.
Accept Free Speech, but Confront It
Online reputation management respects the First Amendment, but it gives bloggers the ability to denigrate you and your brand as much as they like. Any sort of rebuttal from you, however, has already lost in the court of public opinion. The negative voices got there before you did. You cannot erase them, nor pretend they don’t exist.
Reputation management is not a rebuttal, anyway. It’s an elevated, classier method of image-making that doesn’t thrive on the internet’s penchant for hyper-criticism. There will always be something useful in these critiques, regardless of industry – even if you sell cigarettes. Pay attention to bad reviews that have the potential to hurt your profitability.
You can’t fight with nor win over bloggers, so don’t try. They believe they are infallible. Self-publishing isn’t always practiced in conjunction with the humility of self-editing. But you can blog, too! Compete for substance. The reader’s opinion will comes down to who made the most persuasive case. Seek the assistance of professional online reputation managers who have mastered the craft at a safe distance from negative bloggers. Free speech reigns; watch order become restored in your business.