The internet is a revolutionary haven, a place where people can search, post and share all types of information. It’s an invaluable tool that most would be lost without. A small minority of people use the internet differently by attempting to damage the reputations of individuals or huge companies. Here’s what you can do to protect your brand from an internet troll.
What Is a Troll?
An internet troll is someone who deliberately makes offensive comments or posts targeting specific brands with the aim of causing damage to their reputation. By using social media, forums and blogs, they strive to upset and anger those they target and provoke a response. Any posts on these platforms have the ability to reach a large audience, and so brands are becoming increasingly desperate to stop the trolls in their tracks.
Why Do They Do It?
There are several reasons why someone would want to damage your reputation. Think of the people you deal with day-to-day in your business and imagine that any one of them was upset with a particular issue. Customers, clients or even a disgruntled employee, past or present, may feel the need to hurt your company, so it’s important to be cautious if you feel this may happen.
What Can Be Done?
Although your first instinct may be to reply, this will just encourage the troll to continue, and so the first rule is don’t reply. If you come across a webpage which includes damaging comments, you should report it to the search engine involved. Any defamatory posts on social media should be reported to the site management and invalid reviews to the review site on which it was posted.
You must be vigilant when it comes to your brand. If you feel you don’t have time to give it due care and attention, you could look at hiring an employee or designating the task of protecting the brand in the public forum to a third party. Companies offering PPC management services, such as http://www.elevateuk.com/ppc-management/, may also be able to help if you need assistance in managing any campaigns you are running.
Whatever the reason, if someone wants to damage your brand, they will find a way to do it. Be vigilant and report any defamatory comments as soon as they become known.