Online reviews. We love them as consumers when they help us decide what to buy and which businesses to trust. But what happens when your business gets a negative Google or Yelp review? Or even worse—if you find that your livelihood has been “review-bombed”, and you’re watching your star-rating drop as you see a steady stream of negative reviews, some from people you think may have never been your customers?

Removing negative reviews is controversial. On the one hand, business owners feel that negative reviews are unfair or unwarranted and may want them removed to protect their reputation. On the other hand, consumers and potential employees rely on reviews to make informed decisions, and eliminating reviews may be seen as dishonest or manipulative.

If you believe that your business needs help removing or managing negative reviews, whether it be from former employees leaving Glassdoor and Indeed reviews or angry consumers on Google and Yelp, here are four steps to take immediately to protect your reputation:

1. Document the situation: Keep a record of each negative review and any evidence you have that disputes their claims. Records may include screenshots of the reviews, timestamps, and other relevant information.
2. Report the reviews: If the negative reviews violate the platform’s policies, report them to the platform’s customer support team for possible removal. Provide specific information about the violation and any evidence that the reviews are part of an attack.
3. Seek professional advice: Public relations teams can help advise businesses on how to approach getting reviews removed, or even if they should be. For example, if the attacks contain illegal activities, such as harassment or defamation, legal intervention may be necessary to get the reviewer to remove the reviews.
4. Address the underlying issue: This may involve improving your products or services, addressing customer complaints, or addressing negative publicity.

Much of our work at Tucker/Hall includes guiding businesses as they carefully respond to negative reviews professionally and respectfully to show they are responsive and prepared to improve on the issues presented. However, there are instances when reviewers attack a business by leaving inaccurate or exaggerated comments to harm the company. Responding to these reviews, especially if they contain false allegations, may be more harmful than helpful.

We can work with you to help you protect your reputation and remove negative reviews on Google, Yelp, Glassdoor, and any other platform. Tucker/Hall can also develop a strategy with you to help build more positive reviews and momentum for your business online. If you need help removing negative reviews, or gaining more positive reviews, reach out directly to our digital lead, Theresa Collington, and she’ll work with you to devise a plan—email tcollington@evoqueag.online.

1. #hashtags may no longer be clickable. (9to5)
2. A new feature may allow you to turn off mentions for your username. (Blog)
3. New Audio Chats within Twitter Communities may enable users to engage even more. (Tweet)
4. Video Creators on Twitter may make 10 percent more than on YouTube. (Forbes)
5. “Link Spotlight” is live and offers a link button with 7 Different CTAs. (Check)

Does your company need a strategy team that keeps you current? Contact Theresa Collington tcollington@evoqueag.online.

“I’m honored to serve as President of the Club in the year ahead,” said Richards. “I look forward to working with our members on great Propeller Club events, like Shrimperoo, StoneCrabFest, and Steak & Corn. I’m also excited to advocate for and support the local maritime industry so companies here can grow and thrive in a globally competitive environment.”

Richards takes over for Chris Chambers, who served as President during the last term from 2021-2022.

Here’s a complete list of the new executive committee:

• President Darren Richards
• First vice president Colt McCay
• Second vice president Kelly Hendry
• Third vice president Barbara Blank
• Secretary Tammy Castillo
• Treasurer Dev Swaly

The International Propeller Club of the United States, founded in 1927, is a grassroots, non-profit organization with members throughout the US and the world. It is the largest network of individuals dedicated to the enhancement and well-being of all interests of the maritime community on a national and international basis.

Tampa’s Propeller Club is the largest club in the United States, with more than 500 active members. Since its inception, the Tampa Club has educated legislators and the public about the maritime industry. Through its education committee, the Club has worked closely with the public school system to support the growth of the next generation of maritime employees and leaders.

“The good works of this Club have had tremendous positive impacts across many decades,” said Richards. “The entire Propeller Club board is dedicated to building on that legacy during the year ahead and beyond.”

Join Tucker/Hall Vice President Theresa Collington and Chief Operating Officer Darren Richards for an interactive workshop over lunch at the Columbia Restaurant that will take you through the latest best practices in Online Reputation Management. Theresa and Darren will walk you through ORM case studies for individuals, businesses, and some unique but powerful ways to clean up online reputations.

Online Reputation Management – Best Practices and Case Studies

Presented by PRSA Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the premier public relations organization in the Tampa Bay area.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

Networking – 11:30 AM to 12 PM
Presentation with lunch + Q&A – 12PM to 1PM

Columbia Restaurant – Ybor
2117 E 7th Ave.
Tampa, FL 33605

Sign up: Click here to register

Speakers: 

Theresa Collington is Vice President at Tucker/Hall, one of Florida’s leading public relations/public affairs firms. She joined the Tampa firm in 2021 after over 20 years in TV and digital media in Los Angeles, New York City, and Tampa Bay. Theresa works with clients on the firm’s three main practice areas – Strategy, Crisis, and Issues. She helps organizations with government and political/regulatory issues, and crisis management – everything from accidents to lawsuits. She earned a master’s degree from USF and has taught advanced digital media at the University of Florida and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

Darren Richards is Chief Operating Officer at Tucker/Hall, joining the firm in 2009 after a 23-year career as a news executive at some of the strongest TV stations in the country. During his time at Tucker/Hall in Tampa, Richards has worked on a variety of different clients – from those with marketing and branding needs to those in crisis communications situations. He has been accredited in crisis communications by the Institute for Crisis Management in Louisville. He has also been certified by the Yale School of Management in digital strategy.

Here’s what’s for lunch:

1905 Salad– The Columbia’s legendary salad of crisp iceberg lettuce with julienne of baked ham, natural Swiss cheese, tomato, olives, grated Romano cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and famous garlic dressing.

Pollo Manchego – A delicious combination of Manchego cheese and bread crumbs crusted on a chicken breast and grilled. Topped with sundried tomatoes, basil, and citrus sauce. Served with yellow rice.

Lunch is included with your ticket purchase.

If you need a vegetarian meal or have any special dietary needs, please leave a note in the special instructions and comment box when registering.

Tickets:
$35.00 Member
$40.00 Non-Member
$30.00 PRSSA Student

Sign up: Click here to register

PRSA ANTITRUST COMPLIANCE STATEMENT
PRSA’s policy is to comply with federal and state antitrust laws. Participants in PRSA meetings and programs are not to discuss industry-wide or individual company prices (current or projected) or matters relating to pricing such as costs, profits, wages, market allocation, or other competitively sensitive information. Compliance with the antitrust laws is a requirement for PRSA membership and responsibility for compliance rests with each member. Participants have an obligation to terminate any discussion, seek legal counsel’s advice, or, if necessary, terminate any meeting if the discussion might be construed to raise antitrust risks.

This might seem like common sense. But if it is, then why do so many organizations rely on hope instead of a crisis strategy plan? This is a serious enough issue that the White House designated September 2021 as National Preparedness Month (A Proclamation on National Preparedness Month, 2021 | The White House).

The need for crisis planning and preparedness has never seemed more necessary. President Biden’s 2021 theme is “Prepare to Protect. Preparing for disasters is protecting everyone you love.”

• Related Post: What is Crisis Management?

Here are three things your organization can do right away to build a crisis strategy plan:

Anticipate impacts

The array of potential crises can sometimes seem overwhelming, requiring you to anticipate every possible event from a financial meltdown to zombies.

One way to manage that sense of being overwhelmed is to narrow the scope of what you are planning for. You can do this by identifying the most important things to your organization and then asking yourself what you would do if the status quo were disrupted.

For example, does your business rely on a workforce of 500 people showing up every day? What would you do if 30 percent of your workforce is out sick for two weeks?

How important is cash flow to your operations? What will you do if lenders lose confidence in you? What would you do if you were suddenly denied access to your CRM system and other customer data?

Include communications

Continuing operations plans don’t have to be complex. The best plans are relatively simple to be used quickly and effectively. But your preparations must answer the “what if?” question.

If you don’t have formal crisis plans in place already, now is an excellent time to start. And as you develop these plans, don’t forget to include communications with your stakeholders.

If an event disrupts your ability to meet your obligations or threatens your brand’s reputation, you need to let those affected know what is happening from your perspective. You can reassure many of them by letting them know you’ve thought about this possibility and have a plan in place that you are executing.

Practice

Finally, you won’t be genuinely prepared for disruptions unless you practice your plan. Schedule a table-top drill at least every six months or before periods when you might be especially vulnerable, such as before tornado or hurricane seasons or before you complete a significant transaction. Make sure your backup systems operate the way you expect them to. Make sure your call trees and alternate databases are up to date.

It’s not possible to be prepared for every contingency. However, giving thought at least to your most significant vulnerabilities will add resilience to your organization. And in a time of pandemics, climate change, civil unrest, and political uncertainty, strength has never been more critical.

• Related Post: Principles of Crisis Management

There are some best practices for using social media no matter what industry you are in. After decades of working with transportation and logistics companies throughout Florida, we know it is essential for truckers and their companies to understand that social media use must be an important element of their risk management planning. 

After all, social media has broken down the barriers between people’s personal and professional lives, so what truck drivers and other employees post can definitely affect your company. But the trucking industry has a few characteristics that make it particularly vulnerable to reputational and legal harm via social media. 

A poll released at the American Trucking Association’s Management Conference and Exhibition in October showed that voters consistently report a favorable impression of the trucking industry, and in 2020, their support was even further strengthened by the contributions truckers made to keeping our economy moving during the pandemic. However, trucking has obvious inherent risks which threaten that surplus of goodwill. Any accident can be the subject of litigation, and poor use of social media on the part of truck drivers can leave their employers vulnerable in court, potentially exposing them to expensive settlements and judgments. 

Attorneys know this, and the opposing counsel in a lawsuit would like nothing more than to find some unsavory posts to use as evidence in the court of public opinion—which is of course the potential jury pool. It makes their settlement demands seem more reasonable if the defendant is unpopular. You can expect that in any litigation the other side will be combing through your driver’s social media activity as part of discovery. What they find can cause massive reputational harm to both an individual driver and the company as a whole. 

Truck drivers, like many other professions, are also subject to a type of cognitive bias called the “halo effect”: People are evaluated based on the perception of one characteristic, instead of their whole performance. If a driver makes a negative impression about something unrelated to their driving ability, their reputation for safe driving may be harmed as well.  

With this in mind, trucking companies should counsel their drivers to be cautious with what they post online. 

1. Use your account’s privacy options and assume that everything you post or share will become public. Check your account options to ensure that only your friends can see your posts and that you must approve any pictures you are tagged in before they are posted on your wall. Even if you change your account settings in these ways, there’s nothing to prevent a friend from sharing your post with their network or taking a screenshot of it.  
2. Stay positive. No one has ever gotten attacked for posting a picture of themselves with a new grandchild, going out fishing, or with their family at Disney World. Posting a ‘get well soon’ or ‘happy birthday’ on someone else’s wall is fine. When in doubt, remember the old adage, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” And specifically for trucking companies, this cannot be emphasized enough: Drivers should not post photos of accidents on their social media platforms. 
3. Stop commenting. Public comments sections are the worst, most toxic environment online, so just don’t take part. In the best-case scenario, no one sees your comment. In the worst case, people may take notice or misinterpret it, and share it beyond your control. Much like putting toothpaste back in the tube, there’s no rolling back social media content after it has been shared beyond your profile. 

You might decide to codify a social media policy for your company, which is wise: it ensures everyone is equally aware of best practices and the company’s expectations regarding social media use as an employee and insulates the company somewhat if a driver disregards those policies. 

Social media can be a powerful tool to promote your company, but it can also be damaging to your reputation if your employees use it unwisely. Contact Tucker/Hall for assistance with drafting employee social media policies or training your teammates on the effective use of different platforms for your company.

MORE: Social Media Evaluation and Management 

At Tucker/Hall, we believe the data you collect should work hard for you. Here are some ways to make that happen: 

Think about the end to inform the beginning

It’s easy to want to dive right into a new project or campaign. However, setting aside time to consider the ultimate audience and outcome delivery requirements will help ensure the tracking and importance of data along the way. A finance-focused audience may be most interested in your Cost-per-Click outcomes while a more development-driven audience may want to understand the change in brand exposure to high-net-worth individuals. Without understanding what data you need to execute your end goal, you may miss an opportunity to collect pre-campaign information or you may overlook a data point of great interest to your stakeholders. Investing a little time on the front end can help pay dividends in the end by ensuring you are ready to collect the information that truly matters. 

Data should inform ACTION

Data that educates is wonderful – but data that drives action is priceless. While considering what data will resonate with your audiences and best serve your business’s goals, it is also important to consider how the data you have will help change your decisions or behaviors in the future. Knowing that your employees like your newsletter is good but knowing that they prefer no more than two emails a week is better. Knowing that your posts perform well is good but knowing that engagement spikes between 3 and 5 p.m. is better. Whenever possible, collect data that will help you understand when you should maintain or modify to optimize your results. 

Data matters, visuals help

When we think of communication, words often come first to mind. But don’t forget about the significant impact visuals can have on understanding and accepting information. It is wasteful to spend time considering and collecting excellent and actionable data that then is conveyed in a way that doesn’t resonate with your end audience. Leveraging size, color, shape, and space can help bring complex data to life and make it easier to understand.  

Tucker/Hall works with companies and leaders to help develop solid strategies for gathering and understanding the data that matters to communications. Feel free to contact Darren Richards at 813.228.0652 or via email at drichards@evoqueag.online to learn more about how Tucker/Hall can help your data work for you. 

Because Giving Tuesday is typically a central part of nonprofits’ end-of-year campaigns, these potential high returns could prove helpful to charities currently facing the headwinds affecting our economy. It is more important than ever for those nonprofits to effectively present their mission, culture, and impact, making clear why they are worthy of support. A strong communications strategy will undoubtedly be integral to any successful end-of-year fundraising push.

Predictions: What is Giving Tuesday going to look like?  

During this giving season, in particular, there is a lot of need for charitable contributions. With so many organizations relying on strong end-of-year fundraising, there will be a lot of competing calls to action and potentially less money to go around.

Nathaniel Heller, vice president and managing director of Geneva Global and Global Impact, explains for Fast Company, three seismic shifts will impact philanthropy in 2022: inflation, interest rates, and a disruption of the traditional private foundation model.

“We may ultimately look back at 2020 as the beginning of a truly generational shift in philanthropy that long outlives the pandemic. The need for innovative, brave philanthropy has never been greater,” he writes.

However, a recent survey from Edward Jones, found nearly one-fifth of American adults plan to give more money in 2022 than they did in 2021. And Whole Whale, a digital marketing agency for nonprofits, predicts an 18 percent increase in GivingTuesday revenue over last year.

Best Practices and Recommendations 

Put in the time to prepare early on 

Set realistic goals upfront. You need to have benchmarks to evaluate your success along the way and at the end of your campaign. Likewise, it is wise to create a strategic communications plan ahead of time to guide your efforts. This plan should be flexible enough to be adjusted in accordance with how well you are doing on the way to achieving your goals. Although you cannot predict potential external disturbances (e.g., from the pandemic, politics, natural disasters, etc.), your plan needs to be agile enough to allow you to maneuver through such crises. 

Hone your messaging 

Stay consistent with your brand identity and mission. Focus on what your organization does well. If it fits into your overall communications strategy, feel free to talk about what is going on in the country and the communities you serve, and how this has affected your organization and those whom you help.  

Give a tangible purpose for your ask. The crowdfunding mindset became a mainstay because people like to rally around specific objectives. Instead of asking supporters to fund general operating costs, try asking supporters to help you reach/grow a certain metric, expand in a particular way, continue to meet these needs, etc. 

Be intentional with your communication tactics  

Popular tactics like time-limited matching gifts are effective. Personal stories with an emotional appeal that people can connect with are usually well received. Make sure to use these appeals to clearly convey your organizational successes. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; if there is a tactic you have used in the past that works well for you, try to adapt it for our current times.

Given the growing portion of Giving Tuesday fundraising online, a digital strategy will be particularly important. According to the 2020 Global Trends in Giving Report, the communications tools most likely to inspire donors to give are email, social media, and websites. When utilizing these channels, make sure that you are reaching out to the right targets at a pace that keeps them engaged. When done correctly, your digital presence should establish and grow relationships and loyalty for your cause.  

Additional Resources 

• Giving Tuesday: Guide and Toolkit 
• Global Giving: Communications Templates 
• Nonprofit Tech for Good: Social Media Tips 
• MobileCause: #GivingTuesday2020 Strategies and COVID-19 Communication Strategies
• Sumac: End of Year Appeal Guide and Virtual Fundraising Tips 

Online Reputation

It can be scary to know that your online reputation is inextricably linked to the opinions of strangers. It’s easy to imagine a situation in which someone holds an unreasonable grudge against your business and goes on an online agitation campaign to “review-bomb” you. Whether an isolated fluke bad experience or an accusation against an employee that has nothing to do with the business, it doesn’t take much to incite the mob.

We deal with it regularly–aggrieved parties usually aren’t interested in apologies or explanations; they just want to take revenge for a perceived slight, and they’re not very responsive to new information. In some cases, the majority of negative reviewers that result from such a scenario have never interacted with your business—they’re just following the herd. Keep in mind that it costs these people nothing except a few seconds to leave a bad review, but it can cost your business much more.

Thankfully, you can mitigate the effects of such negative attention with a sound internal review site policy.

Here are some tips to guard against and recover from review-bombing:

Build a Strong Foundation

It’s harder to tear down a strong reputation than a weak one, so the better you manage your business’s online presence the more resilient you’ll be against negative reviews. This process starts with controlling where and how your business appears online, to the extent possible.

Get Google

Start by getting a Google My Business (GMB) account. It confers a ton of benefits, starting with SEO–Google likes its own products, after all. Your GMB profile is the first thing people see when they google you, so stock it with information. Your location, phone number, hours, website, menu–fill in all the details and it will function as a one-stop-shop for people looking into your business. In addition, it’s where people will review you.

While you’re creating your Google presence, get an AdWords account too. You don’t even have to purchase any ads–the point is to get access to Google’s support services. If you’re having a problem with reviews, call your ad account’s support number and ask to be transferred to GMB support. They’ll do it, no questions asked, and you’ll be able to talk to a real person about your problem.

Because Google reviews appear in search results, they are the most important reviews to monitor. Before anything bad happens, build that five-star reputation! Ask customers, whether verbally or through signs and discounts, to support you by reviewing you. Respond individually to reviewers, thanking those who rate you highly and sincerely reaching out to those who don’t. Goodwill has inertia, just like bad faith, so make it work for you! The better your rating and the more reviews you have, the harder it will be for people to bring it down.

Bad Reviews–What to Do?

If you’re experiencing a flood of unfounded negative reviews, report them all. Google’s policies are clear; if the review indicates that the reviewer didn’t actually have an experience at your business, or that it’s just there to harass or demean, they will remove it. To expedite the process, call Google support and tell them about your issue. It’ll draw their attention to the situation and may result in quicker removal, especially for the more egregious reviews. One unfortunate caveat, however: Google will not remove one-star reviews with no text, as they cannot ascertain whether the person had an authentic experience unless hundreds appear in response to some article or incident.

What About Other Sites?

We haven’t mentioned Yelp, TripAdvisor, or other platforms yet, and there’s a reason for that: Google is far more important. Yelp is the most prominent alternate site, but you’re better served by staying away from them. Although they deny it, Yelp has strong pay-for-play elements and heavily favors advertisers when it comes to support and search results. If you don’t have a Yelp profile for your business, keep it that way–you can’t leave nasty reviews on a nonexistent page! By limiting the number of places people can review-bomb you while getting maximum value from the sites where you do have a presence, you give yourself more control.

If you’re a retail business, you probably have a Facebook page and therefore another place where people can recommend you–or not. Thankfully, the relevant steps for Facebook are similar to those for Google; make an ad account, report harassment, get in touch, and stay vigilant.

Weather the Storm

Because some reviews slip through the cracks in Google’s (or Facebook’s) review policies, a review-bombing incident will likely negatively impact your overall rating. The steps outlined above will mitigate that effect, but can’t prevent it entirely; unfortunately, the online mob has considerable power. The best thing you can do after the storm has passed is to redouble your efforts to get real customers to review you positively. If the incident in question was clearly not your fault, you may be surprised by the level of support your loyal customers will show.

Review sites are the ultimate two-edged sword online. They can showcase your excellence to the world, but also be a source of pain if your profile is targeted with malicious intent. Controlling your presence, staying vigilant, and promoting positive reviews will help harden you against review-bombing, as well as make your business more attractive and accessible.

To learn about how Tucker/Hall can help you fight review-bombing and other online crises, contact Solomon Howard at showard@evoqueag.online or 813.28.0652 x1126.

Google Ad Grants work just like Google Ads online advertising, by displaying your message to people searching for keywords relevant to your organization. If you’re a qualifying nonprofit, you are eligible to receive $10,000 in in-kind Google Ads advertising every month. Your organization must be verified as a nonprofit organization by TechSoup or the local TechSoup partner. Governmental entities and organizations, hospitals and medical groups, schools, academic institutions, and universities are not eligible for Google for Nonprofits, but philanthropic arms of educational institutions are eligible. 

There are a few conditions Google places on participants’ advertising: 

• Ads placed through the Ad Grants program must be entirely text-based (no videos or images).  
• Ads appearing through the Ad Grants program will appear only on Google search results pages, in positions below the ads of paying advertisers. 

Tucker/Hall can work with you to conduct keyword research and ensure you are getting the most out of your Ad Grant. Optimizing your keywords is crucial to your participation in the Ad Grant program because Ad Grants accounts must maintain a five percent click-through rate (CTR) each month (at the account level, not necessarily each keyword). If the CTR requirement isn’t met for two consecutive months, your account will be temporarily deactivated.  

In order to ensure that their Ad Grants drive meaningful impact, Google also requires participating organizations to have conversion tracking set up following tailored requirements intended to suit the needs of nonprofits. Conversion goals may look a bit different in the nonprofit sector compared to a business, but the analytics tool is adaptable: whether you are trying to drive donations, membership registrations, volunteer sign-ups, new membership form completions, or other types of engagement on your website, there is likely to be a conversion goal to match your needs.  

Contact Tucker/Hall today if you think you may be eligible for a Google Ad Grant and let us help you adapt your communications plan to incorporate this useful tool.