Dealing With Unauthorized Or Negative Publicity In Social Media

A brand owner needs to establish procedures for responding to false or negative product reviews and the like. Consumers are more likely to trust or be influenced by an online review than an advertisement. The key is to have monitoring procedures in place so a brand owner can respond promptly in an appropriate fashion. In addition, brand owners need to develop and implement guidelines for their own employees concerning what they can and cannot do in a social media context. The guidelines should instruct employees and be incorporated in an employee handbook or a standalone document. The guidelines must be seen as part of and consistent with the overall brand management strategy of the brand owner. The guidelines should deal with the following matters, among others: