A knowledgeable online reputation management company or consultant can be invaluable for those with online reputation questions or problems. But buyer beware: there are hundreds of “boiler room” ORM firms run by money guys and their poorly-trained salespeople and third world “technicians.” Hiring the wrong type of company can be catastrophic for your online reputation by making it look irreparably worse than it did before. It also wastes time and money that could have been used to improve your reputation.
It pays to ask yourself (and any prospective reputation management company) lots of hard questions before making any kind of contract. Here are some questions that go through my mind when I am evaluating services that are offered:
- Does the company operate “anonymously” or are there “real people” involved? Performing work on your online reputation is complex process that requires a very personalized and delicate touch. You should look for a really smart, honest and reliable people – human beings – who can help you. You don’t want an anonymous chop-shop with a 1-800 number and 4 different people are handling the keys to your digital identity… and then not communicating clearly with you about what’s happening.
- Do they show any proof of their knowledge or skill? Is there anything on the site (articles, blogs, videos) that demonstrate a certain level of technical knowledge and communication skill – or is it just a sales brochure that’s skimpy on anything of substance? Do they rank in the organic Google search results for their own business terms like “online reputation management” – or do they rely on spammy domains and paid ads?
- Does the company have any reputation in the SEO, PR or social media worlds? Online reputation is a new industry without a well-defined sense of professional standards or certification – but it takes up-to-date and “black-belt” knowledge of SEO, PR and social media marketing. Do they have any “social proof” of their reputation in these areas – like substantial interviews, guest articles, blog comments, trackbacks and retweets? Can you find anything online that attests to their history, skill and involvement in online marketing – to show they are not unknown, unskilled or “fly-by-night”?
- Do they make any kind of “money back guarantee”? The world’s most elite SEO and ORM experts are just as unlikely guarantee specific outcomes as the world’s best surgeons or attorneys. The nature of the work is unpredictable, their own reputation is paramount, and they are not desperate to take your money. “Boiler room” ORM shops that do high-volume sales frequently offer bogus guarantees to get people to overlook what seems “too good to be true.” They know most online defamation victims will be too weary & exhausted to fight for a refund after months of deception and disappointment.
These are the questions I find myself asking as I look at sites of the online reputation companies that seem to pop up each month.
I have personally seen some devastating reputation damage that was done by incompetent or unscrupulous ORM firms, where a person’s identity was botched and looked far, far worse than before the company got involvde. I get a lot of calls from people needing help and, unfortunately, I don’t know a lot of solid online reputation companies or consultants that have time to take them on. Hiring an online reputation company is a huge decision that should never to be made impulsively: ask a lot of question and shop around!
