Thread: Why Is Your Business Afraid of Negative Blog Posts?

It's enough to make the average business owner break out in a cold sweat; the thought of bloggers ripping them. But while many businesses and companies are fearful of posts that shine a negative light on their business, these instances are in fact a wonderful opportunity.

Here's what often happens with the clients I work with. A blogger will write a post challenging them, or outright attacking them. The post is usually based on either a specific interaction the blogger has had with the business, or it's based on something that they have heard that the business has done, or will be doing.

In either case, the blogger has just done something that should excite every business. The blogger has given the business an open invitation to reply to them, AND to address his/her readers.

Step back for a second and think about what would happen if you went to a blog and left a comment explaining what your business is, and how it functions. You'd be slammed unmercifully for self-promotion, and 'spamming' the blog. Your online reputation would suffer. As it should, because you would be entering into a conversation that had nothing to do with you, and would be promoting yourself. VERY bad move.

But what if a blogger wrote a post slamming your business? Or the new promotion that you are running? Then it would be perfectly acceptable for you to reply with a comment explaining who you are, and why your promotion is structured the way it is. Not only would the negative post give you the open invitation to explain yourself and your promotion to that blog's readers, but the blogger and his/her readers would be THANKFUL for you responding to them! Not a bad deal, eh?

Or what if a blogger leaves a negative post about your company, but the thrust of the blogger's negative stance is based on inaccurate information? This gives you the chance to come to their blog and correct the misunderstandings, and (if you are REALLY smart) you can then reach out to connect with the blogger to better explain how your efforts are organized. Offer to call them and walk them through your promotional efforts.

The bottom line is that when you see a negative post/comment from a blogger, don't think 'oh no, how do we make this stop?!?' Instead, realize that you now have an invitation to address these blog readers and better explain yourself to them, and connect with them. Negative posts and comments can be a very powerful tool to build your online reputation, if you are thankful, honest, and respectful of the people you are interacting with.

maybe you are right

I am afried off duplicated posts.

Where there is competition there are changes of negative posts coming your way. Also it is a healthy competition when a negative posts come about you and also you get a challenge to make the post go back in search engines.