The Marketing Square knows how to handle online attacks of doctors, lawyers, restaurants, products and services and individuals who have been attacked online.
Don’t Respond, Don’t Write Anything
First, ignore your first thought of revenge. Do not go online and attack the person or answer or respond to the person who attacked you.
If someone anonymously goes online using a poison pen in an attempt to destroy your business or personal name, family, identity, or celebrity’s reputation, be very wary. You don’t know what else or where they’ve posted everything.
Public Shaming on Social Media
As if negative reviews and ratings aren’t bad enough, social media and public online blogging platforms often aid what’s known as public shaming.
In California, anyone caught watering lawns or washing cars or using water carelessly is publicly shamed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
There’s a book on Public Shaming that chronicles people whose lives are shattered publicly on Twitter and other social mediums. Public shaming is a very real and serious problem and there are some ways to prevent it without staying off of social media.
Beware of “Trolls”
There are also people who are called “trolls.” A troll is someone who uses a fake, unidentifiable profile online and seeks out the comment sections of online stories to rip people, opinions, in any way they feel. A troll is very negative, very nasty and gets very personal and awful writing things just to instigate, annoy, shame, embarrass and jab at anyone with an opinion.
Trolls join social media using fake profiles just to wind people up on public online forums. Trolls can be merciless and will attack, tease, taunt and criticize people, businesses, brands, celebrities and beliefs. Then, they jump off the forum and look for another fight to pick.
A troll may use untraceable accounts online then purposely enter online conversations and discussions or they may be hired by a competitor to attack someone else. This often happens on Facebook on emotional and sensitive topics.
Facebook Trolls
Facebook is a venue where many people vent among friends, however without the proper settings protection, those posts become public. A troll may find the perfect, vulnerable target and attack mercilessly. Trolls target the comment sections and go after people, issues, publications and yes, businesses to destroy them emotionally, publicly.
Companies have worked years to build established businesses. One awful online attack by a troll, a public shaming, a negative review or rating can ruin 20 years of image online. The business will remain strong, but the attacks when found by prospective, can misconstrue or confuse what people think about a business.
Doctors and Lawyers Need Protection
Trolls, Ratings and Reviews
Doctors are only one long visiting room experience away from being destroyed by an angry patient using a false name who goes online to write a terrible review of how long they sat and waited in pain and uncomfortable in a waiting room.
Legally, lawyers may not, should not, will not, ever make promises about results. If a law client is unhappy after a courtroom situation that did not go in their favor, lawyers and attorneys can be a destroyed online by clients. Some clients who hide behind fake identities may rip them to shreds through ratings and review websites.
Google doesn’t have any forum where clients, businesses, doctors and lawyers can ask to have negative, untrue and false information removed online. Once things go online they stay online almost always forever.
Preventing Online Attacks
What can you do to prevent online attacks, negative reviews and ratings?
If you write a response and attack the person who wrote horrible things about about you so that they get what’s coming to them, you can make things worse. Much, much, much worse.
Take a breath put your computer your phone your iPad your laptop away never go after somebody who has negatively reviewed or rated you online, you need to hire an experienced firm and skilled third-party to handle the situation.
There must be social verification validation that you are a quality business to work with. The only way that you can prove your business is trustworthy is through your website, social media and consistent information online. The Marketing Square has provided reputation repair since 2010.
