Online Reputation Management

William Atak has often been asked this question: As an expert within the field of crisis management and media firestorms – why would you choose to share your knowledge, when you could profit handsomely by keeping it to yourself? Why share your knowhow with ordinary people?

As an expert I share my knowledge about negative publicity and online firestorms because online reputation management is quite an expensive undertaking, says William Atak.

Private individuals or small companies may not have the funds necessary to hire an expert like myself to help them manage their online reputation or navigate a media firestorm. Even so, these individuals/companies deserve a fair chance of getting rid of negative publicity since it could have a great and adverse effect on their future.

There are also individuals and companies who do have the necessary funds, but not the time and resources needed to handle online reputation management themselves. In the eyes of these individuals/companies, time equals money. They can hire an expert like myself to take care of the negative publicity in 1/10 of the time it would take them to do it themselves. In that specific situation, it is actually cheaper to hire an expert than to try your hand at managing a crisis on your own.

In either case, the truth is of course that a bad online reputation or an online firestorm can end up costing you dearly. A company might lose a lot of money and incur damage to its brand that can last for years. Private individuals may experience the consequences of negative publicity in both their private and professional life. Therefore, it is crucial to take action immediately after any negative publicity has been identified or a firestorm has started brewing, says William Atak.