Stephen McGill, President & Creative Director

mcgillbuckley.com | @mcgillbuckley | smcgill@mcgillbuckley.com

Protecting the Family Brandand reputation in the digital age.

Conflict, crisis and unscrupulous cads.

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

– Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com

“Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what Google says it is.”

– Chris Anderson, Wired magazine

““The best place to hide a dead body is page two of Google

search results!””

– SEO Proverb

Who’s in the room with your brand these days?

• 3.2 billion Internet users worldwide• 1.7 billion are on Facebook• 87% of Canadian households are connected• 49% of online time in Canada is on mobile devices

Your brand and reputation in the digital world.

How your brand can be damaged online

Something you do1

Something someone else does to you2

Something that is out of your control3

“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe

you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

– Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google (Former)

And you should never put it online!

How your brand is damaged by you1

• What you post online (content)• What you say online (forums, comments)• How you react to others (reviews)• How you respond to others (customer service)• How closely your personal brand is connected to

your business brand (politics, unfortunate photos)

How your brand is damaged by someone else2

• Malicious and false reviews• Nasty comments on your social media profiles• Unfair, incorrect blog posts and comments• Brand jacking• Spammers, hucksters, fake accounts and hackers• Phishing and misrepresentation

Your brand is damaged by extraordinary circumstances

3

• A natural disaster• A crime committed on your premises• An employee has behaved badly or worse• A supplier has abhorrent business practices

What you can do to protect your brand online.

Guarding your online brand

Prepare – know what to do1

Monitor – keep an eye on things2

Protect – curtail nastiness, handle bad news

3

Preparing your brand for a digital kerfuffle1

• Talk about the “what if” scenarios• Know your digital footprint• Store Social Media users, passwords, etc. centrally • Register multiple variations of your domain name• Develop a Social Media policy • Consider a Crisis Communication plan• Get outside help if you need it• Pinky-swear to remain calm

Monitoring your brand in the digital world2

• Set up alerts on your social media platforms• Regularly do manual web searches• Check your website and blog comments• Sign up for Google Alerts, Mention, etc.• Keep an eye on your website Analytics

Protecting your brand in the digital world3

• Set up a paid “brand protection” campaign• Embrace “white hat” practices online• Respond to negative reviews professionally• Enforce any copyrights you own• Do not accept hate, intolerance, etc. • Report issues to other sites as needed

What about handling negative reviews?(Some things to consider)

When you come across a negative review

• Remain calm• Resist the urge to quickly delete• Respond online – offer to take the issue offline• Try to be seen as reasonable and fair• Collect and post genuine and verifiable positive reviews

Thank you for your time.@mcgillbuckley | mcgillbuckley.com | smcgill@mcgillbuckley.com