Online PR Works Both Ways

The importance of positive online PR and branding has been drilled into companies since the internet was first recognised as the great business leveller. Without a sound public relations base, a forward thinking strategy and plans in place to manage crises, businesses are doomed to sink rather than swim in the teeming online business waters. What happens online stays online and that means something entirely different to the more commonly used Vegas adage.

Customers researching service and product providers on the net are likely to do a Google search, and the search will pull up all news stories and mentions ever about a particular company. Not all of it will be good. Which is why ongoing online PR is so important. But the internet is a double edged sword; product and service providers aren’t the only ones that have to be wary.

Very often potential clients only approach public relations companies when they have a crisis that needs to be managed. Very rarely are they proactive enough to engage services before they are desperately required. As a result, PR companies are very used to quickly devising campaigns and strategies to douse fires. But that doesn’t mean they have to take on every company with an image problem.

PR companies can pick and choose their clients and they can base that decision, in part, on information they find online. For example, in the past, some dog food companies have been accused of manufacturing food that caused cancer in dogs, which resulted in numerous painful and unnecessary deaths. Clearly this is a scenario that requires a delicate PR touch, but with all the information available online, public relations companies might decide not to touch the dog food manufacturer; not even with a barge pole. Even years down the line, with the scandal somewhat behind them, the manufacturer could still be slighted based on past events.

Major brands that have been associated with sweatshops in Asia might also find it difficult to hold onto and secure PR services. No one wants to be associated with sweatshops and they certainly don’t want to be seen covering up, spinning or deflecting accusations of the heinous offense.

Of course money is able to overcome a number of ethical objections, but the important thing to remember is that when it comes to securing business, clients and providers need to beware of the online PR trap.