--- title: Reputation Management Is PR Playing Defense description: Reputation management is PR playing defense. All your trust-building efforts will be wasted if you don't also protect your brand's reputation against risk. image: https://www.trustsignals.com/hubfs/reputation%20and%20trust.jpg --- [![Trust Signals Trademark](https://www.trustsignals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Trust%20Signals%20Trademark.png?width=300&height=82&name=Trust%20Signals%20Trademark.png) ](https://www.trustsignals.com/) - [About](https://www.trustsignals.com/about) - [Book](https://book.trustsignals.com) - [Blog](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog) - [Rankings](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/tag/rankings) - [Contact](https://www.trustsignals.com/contact) [ << Back to Blog ](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog) [Reputation Management](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/tag/reputation-management) # Reputation Management Is PR Playing Defense ![Image of Scott Baradell](https://www.trustsignals.com/hubfs/Images/scott-banner.jpeg) ###### Scott Baradell **Published:** Jul 28, 2020 **Last Updated:** Aug 20, 2021 ###### Share [mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/reputation-management-is-pr-playing-defense%20&body=Check%20out%20https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/reputation-management-is-pr-playing-defense&media=https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/7507638/reputation%20and%20trust.jpg](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/reputation-management-is-pr-playing-defense%20&body=Check%20out%20https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/reputation-management-is-pr-playing-defense&media=https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/7507638/reputation%20and%20trust.jpg) Trust signals are the messages you send to buyers and other audiences to convince them, consciously or unconsciously, that they can trust you.  That's playing offense -- but what about when your brand has to play defense? That's the definition of [reputation management](https://www.ideagrove.com/approach/reputation-management). You need a reputation management strategy when: - Your customers are posting one-star Google reviews; - Your employees are [trashing you on Glassdoor](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/how-poor-glassdoor-reviews-are-hurting-your-sales-and-what-to-do-about-it);' - A lawsuit against your company appears high in your branded search results;  - A negative news story accuses you of incompetent management or various misdeeds; or - You or one of your employees gets "canceled" on Twitter for a bad decision or poor choice of words. I had the chance recently to chat with the folks at [Reputation Rhino](https://www.reputationrhino.com/interview-with-scott-baradell-idea-grove/) about the challenges of managing your reputation in today's online environment. An excerpt: ***Is reputation management getting easier or harder? Why?*** *Definitely harder. It’s a 24-hour news cycle, and it’s much more difficult to fight against misinformation. Rumors and conspiracy theories take on a life of their own. Look at the [ridiculous Wayfair conspiracy theory](https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/07/16/business/ap-us-wayfair-conspiracy-theory.html) trying to connect the company to child trafficking, for example. In an earlier era, it wouldn’t have seen the light of day. Now it’s all over social media and Wayfair has to put out statements to try to tamp down these baseless accusations.* [Read the full article.](https://www.reputationrhino.com/interview-with-scott-baradell-idea-grove/) And read about the [pros and cons of reputation management agencies in my article at Business Wire](https://blog.businesswire.com/make-sure-your-reputation-management-agency-doesnt-ruin-your-reputation).   [![Ready to make your brand more visible and trustworthy to both human buyers and AI systems?](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/7507638/interactive-153859540751.png) ](https://cta-service-cms2.hubspot.com/web-interactives/public/v1/track/redirect?encryptedPayload=AVxigLLICw8PcBcsYLk6IU86PbUJVD4ht0ARlOHe5qwlBTbNVhg9HY8LTg8DdECQ2XlW4vycH4chdyZQHjjTFKxXdLRTxZWpkBLwu6RN4A9rVuBksXRMsSWl26aqBL6a%2FT8%2F3AroNkKaaV8J1AL2s7ePK%2BVQSZkEI4r7aWgaRKnv56Au6GqVfN5Vbw%3D%3D&webInteractiveContentId=153859540751&portalId=7507638) ![Image of Scott Baradell](https://www.trustsignals.com/hubfs/Images/scott-banner.jpeg) #### Scott Baradell Scott is founder and CEO of Idea Grove, one of the most forward-looking public relations agencies in the United States. Idea Grove focuses on helping technology companies reach media and buyers, with clients ranging from venture-backed startups to Fortune 100 companies. ###### Blog posts ## Related Articles [Reputation Management](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/tag/reputation-management) ![Image of Scott Baradell](https://www.trustsignals.com/hubfs/Images/scott-banner.jpeg) ##### Scott Baradell ### [Crisis Communications Is a Moment of Truth for Trust](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/crisis-communications-is-a-moment-of-truth-for-trust) Like [reputation management](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/reputation-management-is-pr-playing-defense), crisis communications is PR playing defense. I've worked crises ranging... [ Read more ](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/crisis-communications-is-a-moment-of-truth-for-trust) [Reputation Management](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/tag/reputation-management) ![Image of Scott Baradell](https://www.trustsignals.com/hubfs/Images/scott-banner.jpeg) ##### Scott Baradell ### [Building a Strong Brand Identity for Your Local Business](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/building-strong-brand-identity-local-business) When developing your brand identity, think of the brands you can easily identify with a logo or a... [ Read more ](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/building-strong-brand-identity-local-business) [![Trust Signals, a Registered Trademark of Idea Grove LLC](https://www.trustsignals.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Trust%20Signals%2c%20a%20Registered%20Trademark%20of%20Idea%20Grove%20LLC.png?width=300&height=82&name=Trust%20Signals%2c%20a%20Registered%20Trademark%20of%20Idea%20Grove%20LLC.png) ](https://www.trustsignals.com/?hsLang=en) - [Latest Articles](https://www.trustsignals.com/blog) - [Must-Reads](https://www.trustsignals.com/must-reads) - [Contact](https://www.trustsignals.com/contact) [Privacy Policy](https://www.ideagrove.com/privacy-policy/)  |  [Terms of Use](https://www.ideagrove.com/terms-of-use)  |  All Rights Reserved. © 2024 Idea Grove LLC [Follow us on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/trust-signals) [Follow us on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/Trust_Signals) [Follow us on Instagram ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAZE-jawJu0kizmRKCb7A0w) [Follow us on Quora ](https://www.quora.com/profile/Scott-Baradell) [Idea Grove Website ](https://www.ideagrove.com/) [Follow us on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/DallasSEO/) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Scott Baradell", "url" : "https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/author/scott-baradell" }, "dateModified" : "2021-08-20T15:15:10.029Z", "datePublished" : "2020-07-28T21:22:25.000Z", "headline" : "Reputation Management Is PR Playing Defense", "image" : [ "https://www.trustsignals.com/hubfs/reputation%20and%20trust.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.trustsignals.com/blog/reputation-management-is-pr-playing-defense", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.trustsignals.com/hubfs/Trust%20Signals%20-%20Phase%201%20Redesign/trust-signals-logo-1.svg" }, "name" : "Media Orchard LLC" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "US", "addressLocality" : "Dallas", "addressRegion" : "TX" }, "alternateName" : [ "TrustSignals", "Trust Signals Marketing" ], "description" : "Trust Signals is a B2B PR and AI visibility agency founded by Scott Baradell, creator of the Trust Signals® framework. 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