Cerebra

Cerebra’s own joined BrandsEye MD Tim Shier on the Digital Edge recently, discussing the merits and measures of Online Reputation Management (ORM).

Harduth, a young professional specialising in ORM, was invited to participate in the Digital Edge podcast, particularly to create a better understanding of the importance of ORM. Moreover, to dispel the myths and clear the jargon around the subject.

Harduth and presenter Erich Viedge discussed the ORM components of SlutWalk.

Slutwalk is a movement that originated in Toronto, where people protested against the idea that women who dress a certain way are asking to be raped. Countries around the world jumped on the bandwagon, and pretty soon a Slutwalk took place in over 200 locations around the globe, including Berlin, Chicago, Delhi, Frankfurt, London, New York, Singapore and Washington DC.

With the build up to the Cape Town and Johannesburg SlutWalk, Harduth decided to compile an ORM case study around the events. With the assistance of BrandsEye, a South African ORM solutions provider, Harduth’s team tracked the online conversations, specifically the South African conversations.

The ORM tools they used allow them to track every SlutWalk mention and online conversation around the world, follow what is being said about SlutWalk, gauge the sentiment of these comments, the amount of people participating and the overall success of the campaign. Harduth’s findings were rather interesting; South Africa generated over 30% of the online conversations of SlutWalks globally, which is staggering, especially considering the sheer number of participants in other locations like New York and London. “South Africa became the global leaders in the SlutWalk conversation”, explained Harduth. “It was very interesting to see that although the turn-out wasn’t quite what the organisers wanted, the online South Africans knew what they were talking about and they had resources to pool from. It was rather fascinating!”

Keenan’s keen insights proved pivotal when it comes to analysing this content. This investigation also highlighted the key influencers participating in the Slutwalk conversation – something every brand ought to know. Harduth and Viedge’s conversation continued to cover how ORM should inform and support a brand or an individual’s digital strategy. After all, ORM entails tracking conversations, gauging the sentiment, suppressing negativity, adapting content and then monitoring the effect.

In the land of Tweets, Facebook, blogs, forums and online news, do you know what your brand looks like online? Perhaps you should drop a line at , he can aid you with your digital strategy.

Listen to the Podcast here