Reputation Management 101: Save Yourself From Cancel Culture

In the world of social media, everyone has heard of everyone. So, your reputation will always precede you, especially if you’ve said controversial things online. With cancel culture breathing down every influencer’s neck, it’s important to keep that reputation in tip-top shape. Through a well-thought-out online reputation management strategy, you can build your fans’ trust and cement your credibility on social media.

But how exactly do you nurture and safeguard your reputation online, specifically on Instagram? If you’re scratching your head and pondering on that, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’re teaching you how to right your wrongs and make your audience love you. Keep scrolling to learn about the art of managing your reputation and the many ways you can do it!

What Is Reputation Management?

Managing your reputation is the act of shaping public perception to ensure your audience sees you in a positive light. Brands often do this through press statements, corporate social responsibility efforts, relatable advertising campaigns, and more. The goal is to get people to trust and love you so you can cement your place in the industry.

Some might call this practice something else, like PR or crisis management, but it’s essentially the same. It’s all about maintaining a personal brand your fans love and controlling the narrative to minimize negative conversations about you.

What Is Online Reputation Management?

This type of reputation-building focuses on shaping how a brand or person is perceived, specifically on social media. Instead of doing press junkets and volunteer work, the game shifts to online reviews, social media statements, and apology videos.

Maintaining a good reputation online is pretty scary, especially now that the world is obsessed with cancel culture. One wrong move, and you’re done for on the internet forums. At the same time, social media is also an excellent tool for shaping public perception. It’s an easy avenue for reaching your target audience to share positive content and address any issues.

Here’s how managing your reputation online typically goes. First, you need to scour the internet for feedback and conversations about your brand. From there, you’ll see whether people have positive sentiments or negative comments to share about you. Then, you assess whether you need to strengthen and positivize your image online through social media PR strategies.

Why Online Reputation Management Is Important

The thing that’s so dangerous about maintaining a positive reputation online is that people on the internet talk. If someone has one bad thing to say about you, it can spiral into a huge conversation very fast. One small piece of negative content can snowball into a campaign, canceling your brand and destroying your reputation overnight.

And once you’ve been “canceled” by the public, it’s hard to bounce back. You’ll lose your fans’ trust, and potential customers and fans won’t even consider supporting your page anymore. You may even lose your brand partnerships and other monetization opportunities online with a sullied reputation. That’s a nightmare for any influencer!

But social media allows you to address these negative reviews and backlash instantly, minimizing the blow to your reputation. With a strong online presence and managing PR crises gracefully, you can salvage your brand from even the hottest controversies.

Thankfully, online reputation management is a bit easier for creators than for big businesses. Trust Signals Marketing finds people are more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to real people over brands. From sincere apology videos to collabs with respectable brands, social media offers influencers many creative solutions for their redemption arc.

Aside from saving yourself from bad press, social media is also awesome for maintaining a good public image. It’s where you can speak to your fans daily and create entertaining, positive content for them.

This allows you to build a thriving community of supporters who love you and will vouch for your brand. If that’s not the foundation of a good reputation and success as an influencer, we don’t know what is!

10 Brand Reputation Management Tips for IG Creators and Brands

Want people to have a positive sentiment about your personal brand but don’t know how to sway public perception? We’ve got you. Here are ten different ways to boost your reputation on Instagram and get on everyone’s good side.

1. Curate a Likeable, Relatable Brand Voice and Image

The easiest way to build a good reputation online is by creating a persona your target audience will love. When people choose which influencers to follow, personality plays a huge role. That means you shouldn’t shy away from letting your liveliest, quirkiest, most relatable sides shine through. Be warm, open, and approachable. The more appealing your personality, the more well-loved you’ll be.

Curating a likable image online doesn’t just translate into your personality as a creator. It should also shine through in your content. Create eye-catching, aesthetically appealing, and exciting content that aligns with your personality but will add value to your fans’ lives. That way, attracting fans who will advocate for your page will be easier.

2. Humanize Your Brand With Behind-the-Scenes or Day-in-the-Life Content

Influencers aren’t just Instagram models and celebrities—they’re real people, too! Give people a glimpse into your real life outside of social media with candid, casual, behind-the-scenes content. From making coffee in the morning to getting exhausted after your daily run, show them scenes of the real you.

Create day-in-the-life content and share your highs and lows with your followers. Introduce them to your pets, family members, co-workers, and more. Don’t edit out the unpolished moments just to make your life look picture-perfect. Showing off this authentic, raw, gritty side of you humanizes your brand, making people see you in a better light.

3. Respond to Comments and DMs From Your Fans

Your reputation is nothing without your loyal fans who see you in a positive light. To ensure public sentiment about you is positive, build a solid relationship with your followers. That means engaging and interacting with them in any way on social media.

There are many ways to foster a strong relationship with your fanbase on Instagram. If people leave sweet comments on your posts, respond to them with a simple “thank you.” If they ask questions through direct messages, answer them to the best of your ability to help them out. You can even ask your fans questions in return to get a longer conversation going!

The idea is to make your supporters feel heard and valued. That way, they’ll see you as a humble, down-to-earth creator who sees their followers as friends, not just fans.

4. Address Controversial Issues Humbly and Openly To Manage Reputation

Caught in controversy and getting backlash from the public? Be humble and own up to your mistakes as soon as you can. Influencers make mistakes all the time, from partnering with a brand people hate to accidentally using offensive language. The best thing to do to save your reputation is to lay down your sword and apologize.

However, don’t just post an apology video or statement for the sake of it. Take time to really understand what you did wrong and how much you disappointed your fans. Then, say what you have to say, including what you’ll do to be a better creator moving forward.

Doing this shows people that you’re human but can also be held accountable for your mistakes. It’s an excellent way to minimize some of that backlash and negative sentiment while bettering yourself as an influencer.

5. Respond to Customer Complaints Fast

Every brand owner knows the stress of getting tons of negative comments and complaints on social media. Some social media managers might shy away from it, scared of facing the attention head-on. But if you want to salvage your reputation, you need to address these comments promptly and professionally.

Respond quickly to these bad comments and DMs before things escalate and turn into a PR catastrophe. If your brand was in the wrong, apologize to the consumer and help them solve their problem. This shows them that you value their issues and are willing to go out of your way to fix them.

By doing this, customers might surprise you by turning negative comments into positive ones about your customer service!

6. Repost Positive Reviews About Your Brand

Do you often receive glittering customer reviews about your business? Take screenshots and share these positive reviews with your followers as social proof that your brand is awesome! Repost these reviews on your Stories for more people to see. You can even create a Story Highlight dedicated to these online reviews so visitors can see them anytime.

Good reviews and user-generated content made by satisfied supporters help cement your credibility as a brand. It demonstrates how reliable your business is and how happy your customers are. That easily helps attract potential customers to your page and boosts your reputation as a brand.

7. Always Be Transparent With Your Paid Partnerships

Working on a brand-sponsored post? Be transparent with your audience and disclose clearly in your post that you’re getting paid for that piece of content. Add the paid partnership label to your post or at least hashtags like #ad or #sponsored.

This tells your audience that you respect them enough to be honest about the brands you recommend. As a result, they’ll have the same respect for you back because they can rely on you to be transparent.

Plus, the Federal Trade Commission requires influencers to disclose any financial relationship they have with the brands they collaborate with. So, if you aren’t transparent with paid collabs, you could get into trouble with the law.

Incorporate Social Responsibility Into Your Content

Use your influence for more than just promoting lifestyle brands on Instagram. Show your audience that you can make a positive social impact with your influence, too. Post about social issues you care about, whether it’s making a statement about mental health or saving the environment.

This shows others that you want to use your popularity for good, not just for fame and money. That instantly makes you way more likable and respectable, boosting your reputation.

9. Use Reputation Management Tools To Help You Act Fast During PR Crises

Just one teensy-weensy negative conversation about you online is enough to spiral into a hate campaign against you. That is if you let it. If you act fast and address controversy quickly, you can clear your name before things get blown out of proportion.

You can always stay on top of negative mentions about you on social media with online reputation management software. Some of the best options include Determ and Meltwater, which provide 24/7 crisis monitoring.

These third-party tools send alerts as soon as they detect negative attention toward your brand in online conversations. From there, you can jump straight on your phone and address any negative issues that might arise. By mitigating these conversations as swiftly as possible, you can save your reputation from a PR nightmare.

10. Regularly Conduct Manual Reputation Monitoring Online

The best thing you can do to maintain a good reputation is to watch your back at all times. If you don’t have paid tools that send alerts about mentions about your brand, monitor them manually and regularly.

You can check on what people are saying about you at any time with social listening tools like Brandwatch and Brand24. See what keywords, trends, and topics people associate with you. Not only will this help you assess general sentiment about yourself, but it can also provide ideas for content creation! With those findings, it’s easier to create plans for improving your online reputation.

Shield Your Insta-Fame From Hate by Nurturing Your Reputation!

By managing your reputation online, you set the stage for steady growth. With a positive public image, exciting content, and followers who have your back, it’s easy to attract more fans. Before you know it, you’ll have an even bigger community that loves and engages with your content. And it all starts with proper reputation management.

Want an even faster way to grow on Instagram without having to dabble in brand PR and crisis management? Consider working with Path Social! We focus on organic page promotion to ensure your target audience sees the content you made especially for them.

We’ve helped thousands of brands elevate their Instagram presence and build the online community of their dreams. Just take a look at Hailey’s Clothing, which gained 20,000 followers in just one year of working with us. Want to drive the same growth? Boost your Instagram game and get more fans with Path Social today!

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