Now that you’re monitoring your online reputation with your new snazzy tools, can you remember that interior designer from Tucson who had the bad review written about her?  In my first post of the online reputation management series, I spoke of a designer that was raked over the coals (possibly deservedly or possibly not) for being unprofessional and inept.

If someone says something negative about your business online, what should you do?

Let’s face it, if you are a retail business or a company that gets a lot of traffic, you will probably get some bad reviews.  However, WHENEVER POSSIBLE, be sure to respond to those reviews or mentions.  A bad situation can actually be turned 180 degrees with offering a solution or offering to help.

Here are a few things to know about bad reviews online:

1. The writer may feel like they can hide behind a computer screen and when you publicly ask them how you can help make it better, they will back down and be sheepish.  You will also come across as looking good because your answer will be paired with their criticism.  For future onlookers, you will look like you tried to find a solution and that’s all most people want.
2. You may have legitimately done a very bad job and then you need to apologize and let them know that they are right.  Then be sure to list what you are going to do to make it better.
3. Go on the PR offensive.  Typically, there are plenty of people/clients out there thrilled with your service.  If the only person that has ever written about you online wrote something negative, appeal to your happy customers and clients, asking for their honest reviews.  Most of them will be glad to oblige and 5 positive reviews will quickly drown the negative.

In the very rare cases of libelous material, respond to the writer privately and ask them to take the material down.  If they don’t, figure out if you want to consult an attorney.  This happens very, very rarely so don’t lie awake thinking about it at night.

As the second of three parts on managing and monitoring your online reputation, we’ll take a look at the tools you will need to monitor a small business’s online mentions. Larger businesses may want to invest in more robust dashboards and tools, like Radian6, but smaller businesses can get most of what they need from these free tools.

What should you be monitoring?

• Your business name (and any misspellings and iterations)
• Your name and all of your key employees’ names
• Names of any of your products

What tools can you use to monitor these?

Twitter Search. Enter the list above in the keywords. For each keyword, create an RSS feed that either feeds daily to your Google Reader (or similar) or to your email.

Google Alerts. Just like Twitter search, enter your keywords and create an RSS feed for each word or phrase.

Icerocket.com. Monitor keywords and information per the type of social site or online tool.

Socialmention.com. This is much like Google Alerts but it tends to pick up more that is posted in forums, as comments on blogs, etc.

You can also create a reputation management dashboard using Netvibes.com.

While many of these tools will yield the same results, there is no “perfect” tool yet. We recommend having RSS feeds from all of them to ensure that you’re not missing anything. If you’re a relatively small business, chances are there will be few people talking about you online. In fact, chances are there will probably be more people talking about you positively and then you want to thank them for their praise. If you’re someone like Delta or another airline, you will need a lot more than this blog post to help you.

Our next post in the three part series will be about what to do if you find a bad review online.

After deciding to go to Tucson for Thanksgiving, and extending my trip into the earlier part of the week, I decided it would be high time to visit those nice designers and knock on some doors.  I typically do not consult for just a few hours, but I wanted to reach out and introduce our company to an area that I felt we had not yet built much brand awareness.

How did I find the interior designers in Tucson?

I looked online…much like potential clients would.  LinkedIn was a valuable tool for me to search by and, when I came to the second designer in my LinkedIn search list, I found that her website didn’t link properly.  This led me to run a search on her name and up popped trouble.  Trouble was in the form of a very negative online review about this designer’s professionalism and abilities from a potential client.  This negative review was not emotionally written but carefully cited objective details, including a lawsuit.  Yikes.  Now I realize that there are two sides to every story and we have all had our share of bad experiences and bad clients.

However, what worried me more is that this designer may not know that this review is out there.  If I were a client, there is no way that I would contact her when there are so many others in the list.  As someone who works with designers, I was even unwilling to call on this woman because I figured that I did not “need the trouble”.

The sad truth is that we are all much more willing to write a scathing review when we’ve had a bad experience than we are to write a review if the experience exceeded our expectations.  That reality is not going to change.

Are you monitoring what people are saying about you online?

See my next two posts about tools to monitor your online reputation and what to do about a bad review.

The next time you think about writing a press release, ask yourself- “Will anyone really care?”  Chances are, besides your mom, the people in your company, and maybe your clients, no one will give a damn about the fact that you just signed a new client (unless it’s Google) or that you won an award for best decorated Christmas tree in your town of 5,000.

Am I saying that those things don’t matter and that you shouldn’t talk about them at all?  No.  They are very important parts of a comprehensive PR strategy, but they are not what a good release makes.  You should talk about the “smaller victories”–on your blog, on your Facebook page, in an email newsletter.

A press release should really make a journalists job easy.  They have to write A LOT and are always on deadline.  Don’t swamp them with mundane information that they will not want to write about or incomplete information that makes them have to spend their precious time digging for more.

If you’re going to take the time to write a press release,

• make sure it’s something more than you care about
• if it seems that it might be too mundane, think about a different pitch
• paint a picture and then sell your story
• include factual information (and never, EVER lie)
• include necessary links and information that the writer can quickly access to add under a tight deadline
• be readily accessible to the journalist for any additional questions that may arise

Press people- what do you think?  What makes a good press release?  What really peeves you?

As a designer, do you find yourself asking “what do they have, that I don’t?”  What makes a well-known, or celebrity designer, stand out from the crowd, receive accolades, book contracts, and the like?  You work your fingers to the bone, burn the candle at both ends to visualize and design thoughtful, beautiful, sophisticated spaces, just as they do.

The difference just might be their mastery of the social media whirl, their presence on the major Social Media platforms; Twitter, Facebook, Ava Living, LinkedIn, or their focus on up-to-this-very-minute trends showcased in twice-weekly blog posts.

Case in point, Tobi Fairley, known for her signature look of fresh simplicity that is both beautiful and functional, launched her blog in September 2008.  Today, it is read in 95 countries!  She is dedicated to timely updates of her business Facebook page, which has just about 3,200 fans, and at least 3-4 tweets per day.  All of which allow her to remain engaged and committed to her base, potential clients, and any publications looking for content.  She has been showcased in House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Better Homes & Gardens, along with other local and national shelter publications.  She is seen as a taste-maker and a trend-setter.

But all of this takes time, energy and the search for trends and topics that are interesting, and if that candle is burning while you are hard at work on a project, how do you do it all?  Gibson Design Management, and our sister company, OttoPilot Media, are experts in Social Media.  We know how to move the pieces around the gameboard to maximize your visibility and your fan base.  We would welcome the opportunity to answer any questions, and help you through the Social Media maze!  Please contact Martha for details.

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Link to earlier posts: Introduction/first set, numbers 6-10, numbers 11-15, numbers 16-20, numbers 21-25, and numbers 26-30]

1. Promoting a post that you liked on another blog.  If a fellow design blogger posts a great post on her blog, show her some love.  You’ll get reciprocity and build goodwill.
2. Great finds from High Point or NeoCon. Talk about trends.  Show your favorite pieces.  Show what’s new.
3. Canopy beds.  Talk about the history of the canopy bed and how it translates into today’s interior.
   

   A dreamy canopy bed. Photo: Elle Decor

4. Green upholstery options.  Vendors that are now offering green upholstery.  What to consider and how to know if something is truly green.
5. Considering Living in Place when building your home.  Design of passageways, thresholds, roughing in an elevator, and more.

Plus two extra for the end…

• Historical uses of crown moldings.

Crown molding frames a pretty window seat. Photo: Traditional Home

• Splurges + steals- mirrors, cocktail tables, beds, etc.  This is your typical magazine article showing the Versace dress with its hefty price tag (that is absolutely to die for) and a BCBG dress that achieves the same “look” at a more affordable price.

We hope you enjoyed the series and found a few points of inspiration for your interior design firm’s blog.  If you found any of these suggestions particularly helpful, or if you’ve created any innovative posts for your blog,  please share your ideas with us! We’d love to see what you’ve come up with.

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Link to earlier posts: Introduction/first set, numbers 6-10, numbers 11-15, numbers 16-20, and numbers 21-25]

1. A front door wreath for each season.
2. Using a stair runner. Using patterns or solids. Why you might want a runner.
3. Review of a recent hotel/resort you visited (from a design perspective).  What you liked and/or didn’t like. Interesting pieces or uses that your readers could translate into their lives.
   

   Tempo Miami. (Photo: Elle Decor)

4. A plug for your favorite charity and why you support it.  Show your readers what you care about.
5. Pictures of your holiday table.  Show them your personality and a glimpse into your life.

Check back next Monday for the remaining ideas in the series! (Are we saving best for last?)

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Click to see the introduction and first set of ideas, ideas #6-#10, ideas #11-#15, or #16-#20!]

1. A definition of trims.  Educate your readers and expand their vocabularies (tape, braid, lipcord, etc.).
2. Your latest project and an interview with the client.  This could even be a video.
3. Multiple arrangements for the same living room furniture.  Show 5 or 6 basic pieces and how they can be arranged in a basic room to show a very different look.
   

   Interesting furniture arrangements create new life in a living room. (Photo: Elle Decor)

4. Appropriate height to hang art.
5. How to choose a tile grout color.  When to use contrasting grout.  What to think about regarding maintenance.

Stay tuned for five more blog post ideas, coming next week!

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Click to see the introduction and first set of ideas, ideas #6-#10 or ideas #11-#15.]

1. Complimentary colors you might not think of.  Stretch your readers’ minds.
2. A day in the life of an interior designer.  Let them know what designers (especially you) really do.
3. Flooring for the bath.  Options and maintenance issues to consider.
4. To hide or not to hide the TV.  State your opinion.
   

   The TV: to hide, or not to hide? (Photo: House Beautiful)

5. 10 favorite settees.  Settees could also be cabinet pulls, shutter colors, countertops, or desk accessories.  10 could be 6, 7, 13, or 20.  You get the point.

Check back next week for five more blog post ideas!

A series to get your creative juices flowing for your interior design firm’s blog.  [Click to see the introduction and first set of ideas, or take a look at last week's second set of ideas.]

1. New technology for the home.  If you are up to date on the latest and greatest of home technology, educate your reader.
2. Designing a home office.  How to make a comfortable home office space.  Discuss storage.  Maybe discuss small spaces.
3. Accessorizing a cocktail table.  How to use height and arrangement to show your style and personality.
4. To pool or not to pool- that is the question for your drapes.  State your opinion.
5. Choosing a fill type for your throw pillows.  What are the different options?  What is appropriate in which applications or styles?

Photo: Pottery Barn