Managing Online Reputation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) is a practical, common-sense guide to protecting and defending your company's name and image online.

3. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (1)
“Essential reading not only for those involved in corporate
PR, but for any manager or director who cares about their
organisation.”
Michael Woodford MBE, Former CEO, Olympus Corporation,
and Whistleblower
“Readable and wise. Managing Online Reputation is the
Art of Reputation for the digital age.”
Keith Schilling, Chairman, Schillings
“A ‘must-read’ for any business leader concerned with the
critical issue of corporate reputation.”
Stephen Thomas, Group Head of Corporate Communications, AIA Group
3charliepownall.com

4. “Cuts through the digital and social hype to provide compelling
and incisive insights into the risks of the social web. Sets out
a no-nonsense, jargon free and practical playbook for dealing with
online attacks.”
Matthew Stafford, Cabinet Secretary, Government of Australia
“A survival guide for communications and PR practitioners
navigating their way through today’s tumultuous landscape. ”
May Wong, General Manager, Corporate Relations, MTR Corporation
“Provides provocative and practical strategies to mitigate online
reputational risks. Does more than any other book on the market
to clarify the issues and shine a light on the ways forward.”
Leesa Soloudre, Managing Partner, RL Expert Group and
Research Fellow, TIAS School for Business and Society
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WHAT THEY’RE SAYING (2)
charliepownall.com

5. WHAT PROMPTED MOR
• A multitude of embarrassing and damaging episodes caused
by peeved customers, aggrieved employees, malicious
competitors, frustrated activist groups, disenfranchised local
communities, devious hackers, bored trolls and recalcitrant
algorithms on companies, institutions and individuals
• Organisations with inadequate defences burying their heads or
mismanaging their responses when the heat is on
• Plenty of anxious clients and prospects unsure how best to
protect and defend themselves online
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6. WHAT MOR SETS OUT TO ANSWER
• How and why corporate reputations come unstuck
in social media
• The most effective ways of minimising the risks of
social media
• How to respond effectively to known issues, sudden
negative incidents and full-scale crises using the
social web
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7. WHAT MOR DRAWS ON
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• In-depth interviews with experts in media and IP law, digital
forensics, IT security, disaster emergency response, crisis
management, NGO activism, search engine marketing,
Wikipedia and other areas
• Proprietary analysis of online reputation threats and incidents
• Extensive desktop research
• Over twenty year’s experience advising companies,
governments and individuals on their communications and
reputation, including a decade focused on social media
charliepownall.com

8. WHAT MOR DELIVERS
• Analysis of common risks in social media, a framework for
categorisation, and guidance on how to identify and assess risks
• Practical advice on how to minimise social media threats, including a
step-by-step guide to developing a Social Media Crisis Plan
• Tried and tested criteria and considerations for formulating responses
to different types of online threats
• Case studies detailing how Applebee’s, FedEx, Goldman Sachs, ING
Bank, Tesla and other companies responded to common serious
negative incidents using social media
• Analysis of how BP, Buffer, Dell, Malaysia Airlines, Shell, and the US
Nuclear Energy Institute used social media to respond to and recover
from major crises
• Guidance on how to use crowdsourcing and search engines to repair
online reputation.
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9. SEVEN LEARNINGS
1. Almost everything is now reputational
2. Most online threats are knowable and manageable
3. Despite technology and data, online reputation defence is
more art than science
4. Many classic PR, legal and IT defences are ineffective or
inappropriate online
5. A must-have for incident and crisis response, social media
is more effective for rebuilding and recovery
6. Transparency, authenticity and ethics are not absolutes,
and depend on local context
7. Online reputation is neither mirror of, nor panacea for,
offline reputation
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10. SEVEN PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Conduct an Online Vulnerability Audit
2. Create/update your Crisis Plan
3. Develop a corporate Transparency Strategy
4. (Re)-design your Reputation Management System
5. Get leadership involved early and updated regularly
6. Close the gaps between Communications, Legal,
Risk Management, HR, IT and other departments
7. Make sure your defences are relevant and fit for
purpose, and train your foot soldiers rigorously.
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11. TYPES OF ONLINE THREATS
STRATEGIC SOCIETAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
OPERATIONALLEGAL
BEHAVIOURAL FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGICAL
© CPC & Associates
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12. DIFFERENT TYPES OF NEGATIVE SITUATIONS
© CPC & Associates
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-SEVERITY+
- LONGEVITY +
INCIDENT CRISIS
PROBLEM ISSUE

13. 13
Each incident requires
the use of two – or
more – response
levers, depending on
the nature of the
threat and its
potential impact on
your business and
reputation.
BUSINESS
FORMULATING THE RIGHT RESPONSE
TECHNOLOGICAL
LEGAL
COMMS
charliepownall.com

14. 14
ASSESSING ESCALATING ONLINE THREATS
QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE
TONEVISIBILITY
VIRALITY INFLUENCE
MOTIVATION
VALIDITY
RELATIONSHIPS
CONTEXT
IMPACT ON BUSINESS & REPUTATION
© CPC & Associatescharliepownall.com

15. 15
SOME ONLINE RESPONSE OPTIONS
© CPC & Associates
charliepownall.com
REMOVE MINIMISE
RECTIFY
HIDEBLOCK
SUPPRESS RETRACT RE-FRAME
AFFIRM EXPLAIN DENY
LEAVE
LITIGATE
DEFLECTNEGOTIATE
SHARE
ARBITRATE
UNDERMINE

16. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlie Pownall draws on over twenty years’ experience in public
relations, government communications, political and issue
advocacy, digital marketing and social media to advise companies,
governments and individuals how to protect, manage and defend
their reputations. He is a regular commentator and speaker at
conferences, business schools and universities.
16charliepownall.com

17. ORDER YOUR COPY
Managing Online Reputation is now available online and in good bookstores
across the world. Discounts are available for bulk buys. For further
information, contact cp@charliepownall.com
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Format: Paperback, e-book
ISBN: 9781137382290
US: $24.00, UK & RoW: £14.99
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