Is Reputation Dictated By Social Media?

“You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet” was one of the very first rules when social media was introduced – so how have we gotten to the point where misinformation is spreading like wildfire and almost no one verifies or fact-checks what they read online?

Reputation is more important than ever. We have the whole world at our fingertips and are absolutely spoiled for choice in many aspects of our lives. In 1992 60% of adults read one or more newspapers per day, and in 2022 68% of people get their news online or from social media. If people are gathering their information from the internet, then business owners should be looking to protect their reputation, before a crisis happens.

While reputation crises are common in 2022 on sites like Twitter and Facebook, it is important to note that the level of reputational crises depends on the sector of the business you are in. While non-customer-facing businesses will be more interested in larger media outlets and press,  hotels, restaurants, banks, schools, colleges, stores, insurance companies, and other client-facing businesses should always be aware that for them, social media matters above all else in 2022. 

Let’s look at restaurants, for example. Many people check online reviews or the social media accounts of the restaurants they plan to go to – but if they were to see negative reviews or a photo or video that makes the restaurant look bad, they are unlikely to go, and it may snowball through word of mouth, or snowball into a reputation crisis if negative opinions make their way onto social media sites like Twitter or Facebook. 

Social media sites are the new ‘word of mouth’, acting as a place where a huge amount of people can communicate and share opinions on your business in the public eye. The chance of something like this going viral is extremely high and businesses need to be aware of this risk.

It is estimated that 56.6% of people believe almost everything they read online. If over half of your potential client or customer base is going to believe anything that is said about your business, then you need to be ahead of the crisis. 

Every year the number of people who source their information and therefore form their opinions will continue to exponentially rise, and the number of people who believe what they read online will too. It is vital for businesses to cover the risk and protect themselves using reputation management tools like RiskEye. 

RiskEye helps you monitor online reviews, comments, and sentiment, making sure you never miss a thing!

RiskEye is here to help you through every step of the process, the first of its kind – we have created the world’s first effective solution to online harm. We give you the power to anticipate, detect, and accommodate issues online in real-time, before they become a threat or harm your business. Check out our site to find out how we prevent, protect, and fix for businesses all over Europe, the UK, and the U.S. 

At RiskEye, we are moving to a time of needing new skills to see this new digital world in a new way. RiskEye monitors your brand online 24/7, using real people to send you alerts, so you don’t have to spend so much time watching for risk.  

For an insight into online risk and what it means for you, check out our website www.riskeye.com, or email [email protected]. We make social safer!