The power of the web

Online marketing is as much about your reputation as anything printed in the press, or your persona at conferences and trade shows. And while good online public relations can be highly effective, the bad can be truly damaging.

Beware the blogger

Now try it with your company name. In theory, if your own company website is up to scratch, this should appear first and lead online readers into an easy-to-navigate website with up to date company news and views and accessible contact details. It’s easy to control your own online marketing – it just takes effort to set up and maintain. The latest issue of Cooler Innovation magazine has a few helpful tips on marketing and branding, which should give you some more ideas.

But how do you control what other people are saying about you online? The blog (a contraction of the term weblog) is a phenomenon of our times. Unheard of just a few years ago, they’re now all the rage, from celebrities complaining about their bitter marriage disputes through to us mere mortals having an online chat.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject, while others function as more personal online diaries. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs and can sometimes be the most revealing part of all.

So how is this relevant to us in the water cooler industry? At Cooler Innovation, we’re often passed leads for blogs regarding the industry, some simply reporting fact, some commenting on stories in the news and wanting to set the record straight regarding the misrepresentation of, for example, bottled water or carbon footprint statistics.

And occasionally we find people having a real go at faults they’ve found with water cooler companies, especially regarding customer service. This kind of online coverage can be extremely damaging, so make sure you have your finger on the pulse. Disgruntled customers now have an unlimited online arena to share their views, so beware!