That dark, black PR on the internet aims to discredit you, your company, or your brand by creating a negative image of you. It’s used by jealous competitors and even malevolent others who plan to cause you damage in the eyes of the world, sometimes permanently. We at ADVES are the torch bearers of truth, our goal of light, white PR is aimed at popularising your image by retrieving and improving your good name.
Why does the black PR created by competitors and these others work so effectively?
Let’s look at the hard facts:
- More than 35 per cent of Internet users believe any information they see on the worldwide web.
- Over 40 per cent of them believe it but, nevertheless, check it out.
- About 80 per cent of potential customers do not purchase simply because they’re put off doing so because of the negativity they find on the Internet about a product or company.
- More than 30 per cent of competitor companies use devious black PR techniques against their business rivals.
- Finally, almost 90 per cent of companies do not observe or are even unaware of the dark forces causing the deterioration of their image on the Internet until it’s too late – the damage is done
Of course, these statistics are incredibly sad, to say the least. If black PR methods and technologies are used against you, and you do not know about it, then you stand to lose most of your clients and, consequently, your ability to turn a profit. If the rot persists in especially severe and neglected image cases, companies can actually cease to exist.
Examples of popular methods of black PR
Look, it’s not just a case of mudslinging. Black PR is a whole strategy devised to denigrate competitors.
Absurdity on the Web or the Hypertrophy of reality
In one small residential community, a housing developer constructed new homes according to an accredited standard design. In one of the dwellings, damp penetration was a big problem. The developer subsequently made repairs to the house at his own expense. The problem was an isolated incident. But soon, information began to appear on the internet that the construction technology and the developer’s materials were of low quality, that he’d used unqualified workers in the building process, and that home buyers at the new residential development were constantly filing claims in court. The situation was artificially hypertrophied. Developer’s home sales decreased. People began to turn to his competitors for their housing needs.
Change of meaning
In an advertisement for a washing powder, the line “Keep out of the reach of children” was included. The manufacturer, of course, was simply showing concern for the client and the client’s young family. A rival manufacturer competitor launched an anti-campaign against the company claiming that contact with the washing powder caused allergies in children, asthma attacks and that it was not recommended for families with youngsters around.
Disinformation and promotion
A farmer was selling milk over the internet. Its price was lower than that of the local dairy. Information suddenly appeared on the web that the milk had been bought from a farmer by a kindergarten and had actually led to the poisoning of children, which was completely untrue.
Additional rumours were then spread that the farmer was adding palm oil to the cottage cheese, which is why his price was so low. Again, just malicious misinformation. As a result, shops ceased stocking the farmer’s dairy products, his income drastically fell due to the image damage, and his business went broke. It was taken over by a rival company, and consumers now buy goods from the dairy because it guarantees the safety of its products, part of widespread promotion.
Use of authority and suggestion
If a famous person rather than your average man in the street expresses his negative attitude towards something, then his words are perceived as an axiom. As gospel. Consider former US President Donald Trump’s attempts to question the validity of the US vote-counting system in the recent presidential elections. Despite all the evidence that the system in many states was not rigged, as the Trump regime had alleged, there were a large number of Trump supporters who blindly agreed with what he claimed and demanded recounts, which cost the American taxpayer a great deal of money in the process. This is a prime example of a person in authority exercising his power to influence voters, ordinary people.
Hook and bait
Still in the States, a good example of dark political PR is the inglorious end of former president Bill Clinton’s career. Some brilliant mind led the president to the bait and put him on a hook to obtain impeachment later because of his sworn lies.
We’ve looked at several black PR technologies here with examples, but they’re not isolated cases. The problem is more widespread than you might think, and no-one is immune to it. In almost all cases, a comprehensive strategy is developed and employed to damage a competitor.
Can a reputation be restored?
This is much more difficult than creating it from scratch. Just remember, the more stable your positive image, the harder it is to damage it. Therefore, ADVES is always ahead of the curve. But if black PR on the Internet, search engine results or mentions in the media catch you in their nets, then stick to a few rules.
Stay calm
Do not respond to reviews or comments with emotion. Respond politely and with forethought. Do not get into arguments and don’t get personal as such actions will only aggravate the situation.
Reasoning and facts
React to the negativity in an amicable, structured, and calm manner. Back up your words with indisputable facts.
Employee loyalty is everything
Often at the heart of black PR in search engine results are your former employees’ comments and judgments who may have been offended or fired by you. Propagators of black PR can go out of their way to find them and use them against you.
Negative and positive rules
There should be more positive information on the Internet than negative information about you.
A spark can become a flame
Regularly study publications in order to extinguish adverse material by a counter-strategy quickly.
Seek professional help from ADVES. We can snuff out this flame before it becomes a raging blaze. The specialists at ADVES use expert technologies to “clean” damaged reputations. After all, we’ve been doing it successfully for over a decade.