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February 22, 2008
What they write about you in the virtual bathroom stall
Our crisis/critical issues practice leader Paul Omodt forwarded an interesting article in the February 18 issue of Newsweek. It's about companies who help people minimize the negative things said about them in Google (and other engine) searches. Can't help think of grade school and all the things kids would write about each other on the wall of the bathroom stall. (For the record, I do not eat boogers. Anymore.)
Setting all Senator Larry Craig jokes aside, these new firms are actually practicing a fundamental social media strategy grounded in strategic public relations. A mix of company news (key word optimized of course), blog entries, feature article placements and good old fashioned thought leadership interviews with the media all work cumulatively to increase the amount of positive and minimize the negative. It's even to start BEFORE the offending posts appear -- in which case they never make it to the top of the listings.
Trying to track down the offending author and getting the post removed often backfires. Having a sustained, long-term program highlighting positive company performance is more than an ounce of prevention.
Anyone have a Scotch-Brite pad and some Comet?
Posted by Matt Kucharski at February 22, 2008 3:20 PM
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