Last Updated on February 15, 2021 by Bright Past
The strategy and process of reputation management shouldn’t be underestimated. From increasing sales to protecting your brand, effective reputation management is critical to securing success.
Reputation Management Terminology
Here is a primer of reputation management terminology to give you an idea of what they heck we’re talking about.
Affiliate link: range of advertiser user and ID factors used in affiliate marketing programs to track traffic going to an advertiser’s site.
Aggregators: applications implemented to monitor online conversations about a client, their brand, and industry on social media platforms combined for viewing in a single place, such as a service or site. Aggregators are managed in many ways, including machine and human curation.
Anchor text: a highlighted hyperlink that users click on to visit a relevant page or site.
Attack blog: blogs designed specifically for the purpose of damaging the reputation of an individual, group or company. (See also Covert attack blog.)
Bot: software used to manipulate content on web pages, to infect systems, and to perform other online tasks.
Brandjacking: a false representation of a brand used to create parodies, protestations and inaccurate information in order to imitate products and sell counterfeit goods. Often, the site, page or social media account is developed so that the subject is held accountable for the brandjacking, including paying for it.
Concern troll: pretending to help, offering advice, comments and support with the intent to offend and hurt instead.
Content communities: a unique campaign for fostering community to develop organized and searchable material by topic and interest through a range of multimedia platforms, advocating the promotion of sharing, commenting and support.
Content strategist: one who manages content to be shared online in written, audio and video form. Goals are intended to work in tandem with brand objectives, including engagement with online influences, in order to grow the target audience.
Covert attack blog: blog owners may mask themselves as the attack subject and proceed to create content that negatively impacts reputation. (See also Attack blog.)
Doxxing: term for gathering information about an individual or company solely through online sources. In this context, information is used against the subject, usually dropped on the Internet for others to see and use.
EdgeRank: Facebook algorithm that manages updates, photos, posts and other info on Facebook news feeds.
EWOM: electronic word of mouth; using recommendations, opinions and reviews to build awareness and new business. Content needs to be supported by credible sources to promote transparency.
Faceplant: the act of unintentionally damaging your own online reputation, often via aggressive or negative reaction to inconsequential topics.
Identity assault: when impostors mount attacks on credibility and reputation while pretending to be the subject of the attacks.
In-depth sentiment: all-inclusive study into online activity to see how the public feels about search terms associated with a brand.
Knowledge graph: using Google search results from competent resources without clicking to originating sites. The process compiles connections and facts between online information and similar entities.
Libel: defamation in a permanent or public record through the written word. (See also Slander.)
Monitoring specialist: an individual who listens to online conversations in order to cull relevant information.
Online privacy: Internet privacy entails the ability to control information flow and having access to data generated through browsing sessions.
Online reputation management: identifying, monitoring and implementing online information that controls how audiences perceive your brand. The process utilizes search tools and social networks, as well as other online content, to manage the picture of you, your products and services, and what the public is saying about you.
Scraping: using bots to extract (usually personal) information from available resources.
Sentiment analysis: a program used to track and analyze the positive or negative opinions and thoughts and feelings of commenters.
Shame famers: individuals who enjoy scandal and shame garnering. These individuals usually end up inflicting collateral damage on anyone and anything around them.
Silent slashes: reputation damage inflicted from an anonymous source. These are stealth campaigns, going unnoticed until too late. There are agencies hired solely to create these campaigns, doing so quietly until damage is firmly planted.
Slander: using the spoken word in a public forum with the intent of damaging reputation of a third party. (See also Libel.)
Social network aggregation: services utilized to gather information in one place from social network sites. With a single account to review, strategists review updates in one place.
Social networking sites: websites designed for connecting and networking through a range of channels, including profile pages, chat rooms, messaging and other information.
Social proofs: the promotion of content that is shared and linked, promoting an online reputation of trustworthiness, reliability and credibility.
Social strategist: individual who monitors, implements and maximizes online activity so that social networking aligns with business goals.
Strawman: a fake online persona or reference to a real entity in place of another entity in search engines for the purpose of manipulating search results.
Truth remix: a manipulation of information, usually negative, to support a different purpose, resulting in a revelation that cannot be refuted or accepted.
Zombie: when a computer is infiltrated by programming code, letting third parties remotely control and monitor activity without the owner’s knowledge.
Understanding the terminology is only the beginning. The next step in online reputation management is a consultation with a team of professionals like the ones at Brightpast, providing you with the 411 for improving and protecting your online presence.