Online Reputation Management For Dummies

Using the New Media Shift to Your Advantage

Traditional forms of media, such as television, radio, and newspapers, haven’t gone away, but their influence has waned. The most effective business model has flipped from being media-driven (creating something and then broadcasting to get results) to being consumer-driven (listening first, then creating and sharing). You must pay attention to what your target markets are saying in order to create goods and services that meet their needs. If you can succeed at this, your customers will reward you with loyalty and with positive word of mouth, which can help you in a number of ways: If a crisis surrounding your brand erupts online, for example, customers from around the world will automatically vouch for you. And, of course, word of mouth makes for priceless advertising: In a growing number of age groups, consumers look to their online friends’ experiences with a brand or product before they buy.

The consumer-driven business model is a natural business model. After all, listening before you respond is fundamental to basic human communication. Picture two people having a conversation. Ideally, one person listens intently as the other person speaks. The listener does her best to interpret the message correctly (which can be wildly inaccurate if you consider the “telephone” game), takes the speaker’s thoughts into consideration, and then responds with her own message.

This is far superior to the broadcast model. When two people talk at the ...