We’ve all heard the expression “any publicity is good publicity,” but is this true? On the internet, public perception reigns supreme, and bad news can significantly affect customers’ perceptions of your company – and, as a result, your company’s online reputation. This is important for your business’s overall success; according to a Trustpilot survey, 90% of customers say they won’t patronize a company with a bad reputation.

More studies have been performed in recent years to ascertain the true effect of bad news on companies. The consensus has been that bad news can affect sales and product feedback and consumer or audience development. This isn’t limited to the news; any negative information about your company can harm its overall performance. Wrong information hurts negative feedback, tweets, or rumors, impairs product evaluations, and decreases purchase probability and sales, according to a University of Pennsylvania report.

It’s difficult to avoid criticism on the internet, and any company can – and should – expect negative feedback. Here, we’ll look at the actual effect of negative reviews and information on your business’s performance, as well as what measures you should take to safeguard your online reputation.

How Negative News Looks Online

With the advent of the internet, people’s news consumption habits have shifted dramatically. According to a Pew Research Center poll, 86 percent of Americans get their news via smartphone, tablet, or device. This outperforms television (68%) and radio (roughly 50%), and print media (32%) as a source of news.

The more people who get their news from the internet, the more these publications would affect their viewpoint. Bad news on the internet may hurt its first experience with potential customers by impacting how it appears in search results. With 80 percent of consumers saying they use the internet to learn more about companies, the effect on potential customers can be substantial.

Furthermore, old news will still affect your current situation. Google’s algorithms strive to provide users with the “best” search results for their query, taking into account various variables to provide a positive user experience and the most relevant details possible. Though Google’s algorithms are updated and refined regularly, the search engine’s determination of the best results to populate for your company may not be accurate. Negative news has a higher engagement rate than positive news, and engagement is a vital predictor of a link’s online intensity. This means that negative posts, even if they are old, out-of-date, or obsolete, will appear in search results, while positive updates do not.

Consumer and Business Reactions to Negative News

We’ve established that bad news about a company can significantly affect a customer’s or prospective customer’s view of the company. According to a report released in 2019, negative news has a three-fold more significant impact on credibility than positive news.

It doesn’t take long for bad news to affect the company’s image and overall performance negatively. There might be real implications if your company is mentioned in a negative article – or even a piece that seems negative but has a click-bait headline. Businesses that have only one adverse online article risk losing up to 22% of potential customers. This number proliferates: companies with four or more negative articles will lose up to 70% of their potential customers.

The Exceptional Case of a Negative Turning Positive

While negative news coverage would most certainly benefit most companies, there is some truth that any publicity is good publicity. The aforementioned University of Pennsylvania study found that negative news or reviews of businesses that consumers have never heard of could boost sales. Similar information or feedback for existing companies, on the other hand, are more likely to have a negative effect on their reputations. Furthermore, this is not a guarantee; it is preferable to prevent unfavorable publicity rather than take the chance as a start-up.

How to Navigate Negative News

It becomes more difficult to avoid negative publicity as the company expands. There will be more eyes on your company as you meet a wider audience. Although you have no control over what people think about your company online, you control how you portray it and how you react. Devoting time and effort to building and preserving the company’s online credibility can be highly beneficial in defending it from negative publicity – if a company has a positive reputation, negative news can have less impact on those familiar with it.

Establish a Strong Brand Online

Having an excellent online presence is the best way to counteract the broader possible impacts of negative news coverage. By allowing you to communicate directly with customers, build your company as an expert in your field, and refute any inaccurate or misleading facts, having an online presence for your business can help you control your narrative.

It’s important to remember that, as a preventative measure, your company’s online presence is most efficient in maintaining your online reputation, but it’s not necessary. Fast fixes rarely produce long-term results when it comes to building an online presence.

In general, an excellent online presence for a company consists of:

• Implementing SEO best practices: Every business should have a website, and it should be a decent one. As previously mentioned, user experience is a significant factor in how high a website ranks in Google. Your website should be simple to use, descriptive, mobile-friendly, and load quickly. Regularly update your website and correct any mistakes as soon as possible.
• Developing a solid content marketing strategy: Content is a crucial tool for establishing a company’s online credibility. High-quality content – that is, content that is insightful, original, and important to your industry – will help your website rank higher in search results and grow your audience and establish a brand voice. Identify three or four key themes relevant to your company and cover specific subjects in your content to build your plan. You can also use the content topics to address popular industry pain points. Post content regularly and hit particular keywords, but keep in mind that content quality comes first.
• Utilizing social media: You can communicate directly with your audience and maximize your visibility using social media. Ensure your social media accounts’ branding is identifiable and consistent across platforms (though you can always change the tone to fit the style or vibe of a particular platform) and connect them.

Note: Users would be turned off by static, out-of-date, or scant websites or social media pages, so take on what you can handle. Read my guide to managing your brand’s online credibility to learn more about using online tools for your company.

Know How (and When) to Respond

Often the only way to deal with bad news is to confront it head-on. Negative online reviews will also provide an incentive for your company to demonstrate its ability to accept accountability and reform, improving public understanding of your company’s trustworthiness and reliability.

The circumstances will determine the way you respond, but here is some general advice if you’ve chosen to deal with bad news:

• Get ahead of the problem: Try to deal with bad news as soon as possible, before it becomes a bigger story.
• Take responsibility: Take responsibility for the issue, if applicable. Alarming allegations that are dismissed or not acknowledged may hurt the company’s image.
• Propose a solution: Explain how you can adjust once you have acknowledged the opposing arguments.
• Follow-through: False promises can be just as damaging to the company’s image and reputation as bad news. However, the reverse is also true: if your company follows through, it will help restore your integrity and reputation.

All of this is to say that while some adverse claims about your company will require a response, others will not. Learn to tell what needs to be paid attention to and what doesn’t – how credible is the claim? Is there a discussion about the article in the comments section or on social media? How prominent is your company’s mention in the article? What is the prominence of the piece in the search results? These questions can help you figure out when something needs to be addressed and when it can be ignored.

Put Your Best Foot Forward

As simple as it might seem, putting the best foot forward is one of the best ways to boost your company’s online reputation and mitigate the effects of bad news. Create a narrative for your company that is factual, dependable, and represents the purpose and values of your company. Keep track of social media posts, ratings, and mentions of your business in the press daily. Maintain a customer-centric approach to your company and take constructive feedback seriously. As I previously said, you do not influence what others think about you, but you control how your company performs and introduces itself.