I have been thinking a lot about brand and reputation management (Yes, really!) in light of events in China over the last few weeks that I addressed in an earlier Onemanbandwidth post. Companies in the west tend to overlook reputation management unless there is a crisis and then it can be incredibly costly and I guarantee time will stand still during the repair.

It is especially hard on a multinational brand when negative publicity threatens them in a foreign country, like China. Suddenly every available bi-lingual marketer, search engine optimization specialist and online digital maketing company is called on to rebuild an image. A company should not have to ask, “Can we rebound from this?” Stock prices, and jobs will depend on the outcome.

Companies like CIC, the Internet Word of Mouth Research Company in Shanghai are called, after the fact, to assess damages and recommend strategies for leveling the Internet playing field again. If a brand’s good name is threatened a company should use (to exploit the metaphor) every play in the book to come from behind:

• Online Videos posted on popular Chinese video sites like Tudou and Youku and 56.com which may already be more popular here than Youtube.
  For examples of success, look no further than the videos put out by Mattel and in America remember how Obama countered criticism of his pastor via Youtube and Facebook.
• Buy Paid results in Chinese Search Engines. The first four search slots are for sale on Baidu and they have an incredible no-brainer tool I will mention later for branded terms and products. Partnering with Companies like Online Digital Marketing provider and Baidu partner Culture Fish Media, is a good idea. They will help you choose and translate, with help from CIC, the right keywords in the right local dialects. Armed with information and adwords they can then geographically target them for the right regions and toward the correct demographic profiles so you don’t waste advertising revenue with panic spending.
• SEO interface: Start looking again at keywords and language interface pages again. And be sure to hire a company in China that gets reputation management and IWOM.
• Ethical “Soft Seeding”: A native language team can place positive ads and commentary on powerful Bulletin Boards which is by far the most influential source of rumors/information/IWOM in China and has great authority in organic search results in China.
• Continue to incorporate reputation monitoring as regular business strategies. This is best done before a crisis.

Here are some facts compiled by the marketing pilgrim:

• 80% of adults are “very” or “somewhat” more likely to consider buying products recommended by real-world friends and family.
• 78% of executive recruiters routinely use search engines to learn more about candidates, and 35% have eliminated candidates based on the information they found.
• 52% of survey respondents from developed nations said they find “a person like yourself” to provide the most credible information.
• 87% believe the CEO’s reputation is an important part of a company’s reputation.
• 90% of consumers trust recommendations from others.
• 83% of companies will face a crisis that will negatively impact their share price between 20 and 30%, during the next five years.
• 100% of those reading this post have either a personal or corporate reputation to protect.

I would add that the stats for China, save the last one, are all higher. IWOM has far more impact here.
Some companies say full recovery from a PR trauma can take 4-41/2 years. That is a long time in the life of many stock portfolios. There is no need to get initial that situation in China in the first place. Baidu has a very inexpensive tool tailored for brands. It is called a power link:

Should your company have a trademarked name or branded service you can buy the entire first page of search results. On that page, a company can include up to 15 left-side links and a right hand display ad.

Think about that for a second: Owning your own page/keywords means a 100% click-through rate and 100% of the listings that are seen on the first page of results belong to you. It is the ultimate no-brainer for advertising.

Especially for a difficult to understand market like China it is important to begin SEM with a company, prior to an emergency, that can guide, nurture and maintain your online reputation.

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Note:

Culturefish Media is currently working and with ad agencies, SEO firms and Independent marketing consultants to tailor solutions for online digital advertising and reputation management in China. Inquiries about partnerships and services can be made here: Culturefish