Olmstead Williams Communications, a Westwood-based tech public relations firm, announced last week a partnership with cybersecurity firm Digijaks Group to deliver a comprehensive suite of crisis communication tools.
According to the review platform Trust Pilot, the costs of a damaged online reputation are immeasurable but can lead to a 90% loss of customers. In fact, according to a survey by Deloitte, 41% of those surveyed claimed the biggest impact on a business dealing with a reputation risk event was the loss of brand
Chief executive of OWC, Tracy Williams, said first impressions are important and the internet is in control of that impression.
“The first impression is going to be typically your website or something that’s been in the news…Then there’s a news release that might be out there…All of the things that are public record in our life, which include social media, legal impacts, or even a viral video which can destroy your career if it’s bad. Those are the first impression of our life right now,” Williams said.
Williams added that when someone is researching a company or a person online, they are mainly looking at the top page of a search engine.
Digijaks and OWC together came up with a tech-based solution to repair, protect and build a reputation in a crisis.
The goal of Digijaks and OWC is to get negative results to appear further down in search results. Using AI and other algorithm strategies, Digijaks starts at the source by identifying any attackers, addressing various reputation incidents from online misinformation to offline physical disruption and improving cyber security. The company’s artificial intelligence technology monitors and addresses social media, websites and search engine attacks.
“Our goal is to put the negative news as low as possible. In the meantime, my team is out there continuing to build the reputation,” Williams said. “The entire organization shouldn’t die because the CEO threw a drink at a bartender or there was an employee lawsuit that really doesn’t have any bearing on the rest of the company. My goal is to keep (the digital first impression) as clear as possible so people can stay in business and keep working and keep people employed.”
