ADI IGNATIUS: I'm Adi Ignatius. ALISON BEARD: I'm Alison Beard, and this is the HBR IdeaCast. ADI IGNATIUS: All right, so, Alison, did you know there is a social media report that says the lead article in last month's Harvard Business Review is actually a coded prophesy for the end of the world, and this thing is going crazy viral? ALISON BEARD: Wow, that is highly alarming; I didn't know that. ADI IGNATIUS: Well, because it of course didn't happen. ALISON BEARD: [Laughing] ADI IGNATIUS: And that's really the topic of this week's IdeaCast: fake news and how companies can respond to it.
The first thing to understand is that bad press on Google is rarely the product of just one thing. If that were the case, you would likely ignore the tiny bit and move on. The failure to bury negative search results in the first place tends to start with a lack of positive information about you or your business online. Your first step is to build a positive online presence. Your company should be producing positive news and content across a variety of channels.
Press releases, media appearances and community engagement used to be the sole factors that determined public perception. Companies controlled the message, content and virtually everything known to the public about their operations, leadership and point of view on issues. Today, all of that has changed. Social media has brought incredible transparency to corporate branding, for better or worse. Now, your customers, employees, business partners and suppliers seemingly all have equal influence over your brand image.
Brands must actively manage their online narrative to ensure consistent and positive messaging across all channels where AI learns and surfaces information. This is essential to avoid being defined without their direct input.
The ongoing situation in the tech company mirrors the recent controversy involving the Coldplay concert, highlighting the ramifications of personal relationships within a professional setting.
Building a strong brand means recognizing potential reputation crises and knowing how to handle online articles that misrepresent you or your business. Negative press on Google can erode customer trust and disrupt your operations. Burying negative search results can be complex, time-consuming and cost a fortune that in the long run will negatively affect the financials of your company or your career.
"Arriola's name does not appear on the original publication in the 20 most recent entries on his profile and a university professor confirmed he was not involved."