By Shea Bennett and first posted on AllTwitter.

In less than a decade, social media has empowered businesses of all shapes and sizes across almost every industry worldwide to attract and engage with fans and customers to raise awareness, drive website football and boost sales, but it’s a relationship that, by definition, has to work both ways.

Accordingly, platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have made it increasingly difficult for brands to maintain control of their online reputation, with these (and other) channels also empowering customers to proactively voice their opinion and share their experiences about these companies and their products and services. Which, of course, is fantastic when everybody is happy, but let’s return to the real world for a moment: what do you do when things go wrong?

Reputation management today requires taking control of your brand’s message before somebody else does. Check the infographic below for a guide in how to manage your business presence online.

(Source: MDG Advertising.)