Here’s a shocker - BP has a problem—one as big as the entire Gulf region. With an arguably untold amount of oil spilling into a primary natural resource, the company has come under fire not only for their actions, but the way they’ve been handling the crisis.

You may not be as big as BP. Your crisis may not affect millions of people or thousands of square miles of land. Yet you do need a comprehensive reputation management plan designed to give you the information you need to effectively communicate to stakeholders. Social media monitoring is a smart way to protect the investment in your brand. Here’s how online listening can boost reputation management:

• Assess sentiment – Sentiment is a measurement of how positive or negative the conversation is regarding a topic. According to Social Media Today’s Trevor Jonas, BP’s negative sentiment rating rocketed from 19.5% three months ago to 64% in the weeks following the spill. By knowing which way the wind blows, you can prepare the right messages for the right audiences.
• Get a handle on the conversation- Trevor’s blog also notes that the folks at the New York Times actually used social media monitoring tools to assess what the public was saying about the spill. By incorporating online listening into your reputation management plan, you’ll be able to find out what everyone from the competition to the media is saying about your products.
• Communicate with stakeholders – As noted in the New York Times piece, BP’s reputation management strategy now includes a new spill response website and a Facebook page as well as Twitter posts. While this allows them to engage with consumers on a one-to-many scale, it also allows them the potential to communicate on a one-to-one level.
• Respond rapidly –Social media allows virtually real-time responses to the issues affecting your brand. Pampers allowed negative online sentiment toward the new version of their diaper fester for weeks before formulating a formal public response. With a reputation management strategy in place, you can respond to problems quickly—before they morph into a PR debacle.

So, don’t wait - it’s time to leverage the power of social media to boost your online presence and reputation management strategy.