“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it”- Warren Buffet. In this present
age of digitization, it now takes mere seconds to bring one’s reputation into disrepair. Content
that is posted can instantly go viral, remain in cyberspace and revisited when idle minds, who
may or may not be provoked, extract information to remind audiences why an individual or
organization should or should not be supported.
We are living in unprecedented and disruptive times, in an age where information has become
more accessible and transparent. From Covid-19 to war, to economic downturn, to entertainers
subtly highlighting a company’s flawsthrough memes and parodies. Whatever the issue, digital
media has created a way for people to communicate and share life stories with each other, and
in some instances, mismanaged information that may escalate into a crisis. It is evident that the
advancement of social media has left individuals and companies vulnerable to negative
publicity, which brings with it several risks to organizations; decreased sales and profitability,
high staff turnover, churning of customers, and an overall threat to their reputation.
Why Reputation Management in a Digital World? Reputation management give individuals
and companies an opportunity to influence stakeholder and public perception about their
brands. This usually involves monitoring conversations both in traditional and digital media,
feedback detection, developing a strategy and proactively responding to negative perceptions
and threats in a way that quickly de-escalates an issue so it does not become a crisis. Managing
one’s brand reputation effectively minimises financial impact, and strengthens the trust of
employees, customers, investors and stakeholders.
Digital media has also proven to be an important channel for delivering real-time urgent news
and emergency warnings. Evidence shows that during a crisis event, social media’s greatest
value may be in allowing emergency response personnel to learn about what is happening in
real-time through social media listening. An example of this would be the impact social media
had on the crisis response during the flooding disaster that occurred in Greenvale, Trinidad in
October 2018. As the floods began to affect communities and persons living in low lying areas,
social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, began to play a critical role,
as locals used them to disseminate first-hand footage of the situation in the areas in which they
lived. As initial reports of devastation heightened fears, social media became an increasingly
important element of the flood mobilisation efforts.
Digital media can be used in three ways: To ‘push out’ information about an emergency, from
the central command to the public, and to ‘pull in’ information using its network. Social media
can give an understanding of what is going on, the extent of damages and how persons can
proceed to safety. The third use of social media is to monitor general situations through ‘crowd
sourcing; that is, engaging the world-wide online community and observing what other people
are talking about.
In a crisis or disaster situation, information management ensures the accuracy of the
information that leaders rely on to make critical decisions. Research has shown that an effective
information management system is a critical factor in determining the quality and effectiveness
of the overall response. Social media is known to have a dramatic impact on organizations in
areas such as enhancing a brand’s reputation; improving value, relationship, and brand equity
(Kim and Ko, 2012); digital advertising and promotion; the handling of customer service
issues; mining innovative ideas; and building customer relations (Solis, 2010). Digital media
will continue to be an important channel for disseminating real-time urgent news, as well as,
any information that may seem news worthy. It is essential for organizations to train its crisis
response team to mitigate any problem that may turn into a crisis, and integrate digital media
as part of its overarching reputation management strategy.
To learn more about building a reputation brand management strategy, send an email to
tndcommunications38@gmail.com.