Google Buzz is the newbie in social media, but like a lot of the social networking Web sites, it’s been around for a while now. Just like these sites, Google Buzz is critical to reputation management.
In an interview with Web Pro News, Google’s Rick Klau said that Buzz’s monitoring is “definitely” just important as important as monitoring another critical component of reputation management, Google Blog Search. “As a product manager on Blogger, I regularly monitor Twitter and Buzz in addition to blog comments to look for users having problems or sharing interesting ideas,” he tells us. “It’s important to go where the users are – otherwise you’ll miss out on conversations that are happening, and miss the opportunity to help solve a problem, learn about an issue that needs attention, or share a tip that deserves a broader audience.”
“The real-time nature of tools like Buzz, along with the ease with which users can share and redistribute info, makes the amplification of information even more powerful than it was before,” adds Klau. “News has the opportunity to spread virally, very quickly.”
“That’s great if it’s good news, but potentially damaging if it’s bad news,” he says. “That’s why it’s so important to both look for conversations happening about topics that matter to you, and to engage where appropriate. When users know you’re listening, and in a position to help, they can go from angry to appreciative pretty quickly.”
Are you using Google Buzz as part of your reputation management strategy?