Why is it that you react different when somebody tells you they went to Harvard than if they went to the local community college? Colleges have different reputations, which through the trickle-down effect, help to define the reputation of its alumni and current students.
The world’s top universities have developed reputation protection for themselves as an institution, for their student body, and for their alumni. They accomplish this through cultivating some of our greatest thinkers and guiding them on their pathway through life. Whether you’re a large or small business, you can take away key action items to improve your own online reputation and protect it from potential damage.
What Are The World’s Top-Branded Universities?
The Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2014 has provide a list of the top 100 most powerful global university brands. To no surprise, you will find universities like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford at the top the list. This isn’t the first time you’ve heard of these schools, and that’s no coincidence.
The reputation protection that these universities possess are extremely strong. Here’s why:
- They are renowned world-wide as the top academic institutions.
- They produce intellectuals who go on to do great things.
- They are elite schools that are extremely selective with regards to acceptance.
What About Reputation Protection For Their Negative Online Content?
What’s the worst thing you know about Harvard University? The negative is mostly trounced by the positive because the reputation of the school is stellar. Even some things that might have harmed the reputation of the University have turned into propaganda. Harvard dropouts like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg started Microsoft and Facebook respectively, two companies worth tens of billions of dollars today.
Reputation protection means remaining positive in the public eye, even when something negative affects your brand. Try Googling “harvard negative press.” The most scathing thing you’ll find is a story published in Harvard’s school paper: 100 reasons why Harvard sucks.
I’m Not An Ivy League Institution. What Can I Protect My Business’ Online Reputation?
- Manage your online reviews through a Review Posting Campaign.
- Build a strong online presence with a high-quality website.
- Publish helpful online content regularly.
- Build out multiple “minisites” to promote your company.
- Search Engine Optimization campaign to promote yourself to new customers.
Reputation protection is easy for a large, well-known University. Your business may have strong branding, but if only a few negative reviews or negative online content could be damaging, your reputation is not properly insulated.
Making sure your organization is protected from attacks on its online reputation. This could be the difference between surviving your next unruly customer, client, or patient, and letting one piece of negative content drive business away and hurt your bottom line.
