Chapter 9
Online Reputation Management

Online Reputation Management (ORM) is the use of the Internet to defend the reputation of a company, organization, or individual. This is accomplished in two ways.

First, through monitoring what is said about the organization on the Internet through its multitude of venues and, second, through the use of the Internet to respond to these statements and offset any negative influence on stakeholders.

In today’s connected world it’s become the most important way a crisis manager can defend a company’s reputation.

Why? Because unlike the traditional media of the past—newspapers, magazines, radio, television—the Internet directly or indirectly reaches almost everyone on earth. And it reaches them now.