Reputation is everything online. In a world where it’s impossible to look someone in the eye to get a measure of their reputation, all that one can count on is the word of others. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to have one’s reputation manipulated by those with an agenda online. A few choice words or a biased article can forever mar the reputation of even the most innocent person, and undoing the damage can be next to impossible without help. This is why it has become so important for businesses and individuals alike to enlist the aid of online reputation management companies that help protect good people that are bullied by online attackers.
Bullies And Clickbait Culture
Cyber-bullying has become a major problem in all walks of life. It doesn’t take a great deal of courage to post something disparaging about another person, and it can often seem as if the consequences never quite find the perpetrators. Despite years of public service announcements and hand-wringing platitudes, cyber-bullying shows no sign of stopping. Instead, it has become an insidious part of daily life, one that requires even those with relatively small online footprints to stay vigilant when it comes to their own online reputations. Richart Ruddie one of the founders of reputation management company Profile Defenders was inspired after seeing the Famous Karen the Bus Monitor video and being sickened by how bullies take advantage of good people and started the Humanity Project to reward those who do good in society.
Perhaps even worse for one’s reputation is the culture of clickbait titles. Individuals who run businesses are hard hit by these articles, as they can expect to see articles about their companies that completely eschew any sense of subtlety and journalistic integrity in favor of getting more eyes on the story. These clickbait articles have eye-catching titles that rarely have anything to do with the content of the article, but rather serve the biases of the writers who have been commissioned to bring in more traffic to their websites. These clickbait headlines are easily shared across social media platforms, spreading misinformation and a bad reputation faster than the truth can be spread by even a determined individual .
The Harm Outlasts the Incident
While it’s easy to see the short-term damage that can done to an individual’s reputation by a sensationalized article or a determined bully, more troubling are the long-term implications of such actions. It’s entirely possible to deal with a determined bully in the real world and get a meaningful apology, but that doesn’t mean the words that were said will go away. Likewise, clickbait articles can be retracted or amended, but that doesn’t reduce their impact. The actions that mar one’s reputation online have a habit of sticking around.
While the internet moves quickly, it also has a long memory. If a business or individual is the subject of a coordinated attack, links to the offensive material can persist online for years to come. In fact, individuals may even find that most searches that pertain to their names bring up negative material, simply due to the fact that they do not spend time and effort maintaining the integrity of their reputations online. It only takes a few choice words for a reputation to be ruined, but a great deal of hard work to put things back to its original state.
Professional Help for Real Situations
Reputation companies help out when cyber bullies attack by carefully scouring the internet for mentions of their clients and making sure that those who act maliciously will not have the last word on the reputation of others. Many bloggers make a living by attacking businesses and individuals and get a “high” from doing so. Making sure that less malicious material has a chance to see the light of day. In either case, the reputation management company helps to remove the power of cyberbullies by giving clients an ally in the war to maintain their reputations by putting out new positive content and letting their side be heard.
Such companies also deal with these issues on a larger scale, helping businesses maintain their reputation in the ongoing struggle against purveyors of clickbait and sabotage. By commissioning social media and online content the reputation management company can help a company to have the final say on what the public reads. Allowing a company the chance to tell its own story is an invaluable tool online, especially when so many companies fall victims to those who have less-than-honorable intentions. Working with a reputation management company is simply the most viable way of leveling the playing field.
Be they bullies with a grudge or biased journalists who are only after traffic and cyber-blood, some individuals simply have too much power when it comes to altering an individual or business’ reputation online. The only way to fight back is to engage the help of professionals. Working with an established online reputation management puts the power back in the hands of the people who have been harmed and allows for a fairer online experience for all. With a reputation management company’s help, those who have truth on their side can rest easily knowing that their reputations won’t be entirely ruined by someone without a conscience.