"I had this guy leave me a voicemail at work, so I called him at home, and then he emailed me to my BlackBerry, and so I texted to his cell, and now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies.” This line from He’s Just Not That Into You may be referring to complications in Web 2.0-era coupling, but it just as easily applies to consumers’ on-again, off-again relationships with brands. 

Nowadays, there are quite simply more and more ways to complain, and with all the tools currently available, you have a pretty good shot at gathering a large online audience to listen to your rant. And being on the wrong end of an angry internet mob can be an unpleasant experience indeed.

This is not to say that negative feedback isn’t entirely justified in certain situations – like the YouTube video showing a pair of not-so-bright Domino’s employees doing disgusting things to food as they prepare it in the restaurant, which did much to besmirch the fast food chain’s reputation and provoke large apologies from top levels of management (not to mention the firing of the guilty employees).

Amazon has also felt the harsh effects of internet reprisal, making it another victim of the ever-growing power of the “Twitterstorm”. In this particular snafu, thousands of gay and lesbian titles mysteriously disappeared from the service’s sales ranking system, sparking an outcry from the internet community. Dismissive claims of the blame falling on a glitch in the system did little to placate the already angry masses, who made their displeasure known in a barrage of Tweets. The Twitterstorm swelled, and Amazon’s reputation as an easy-going, friendly brand took a beating. 

“Social media is quickly moving from an emerging form of communication to the mainstream,” shares Sharlyn Lauby, president of Internal Talent Management, which specialises in employee training and human resources consulting. “So, just like in the old days when companies had to figure out how to deal with email, now they have to figure out how to deal with Facebook and all other new media venues.”

Keeping track of what people are saying about you is no mean feat. But while brands can’t control what individuals might say online, more are discovering that they can at least have control over how they respond.

One of the most common arenas for this kind of discourse is in online forum comments, where customers can post a piece of their mind and possibly build a great deal of momentum with follow-up feedback from users. While giving people a place to complain about your company (in full sight of the online public), may seem like a good way to blast your own feet off, this can actually be a good place to put out fires before they spread.

“A few negative comments are not going to be the undoing of your company, and in fact, can be a strong opportunity to prove yourself,” according to Olivia Hayes of Ignite Social Media, a company that specialises in helping corporations use social media tools to connect with customers and prospects.

Hayes posits that no matter how strong the urge to delete a negative comment, one should resist, as this smacks of self- censorship. Facing the issue head-on, however, helps build respect and credibility.

Equally important is taking the time to respond. “People will respect you for not ducking away from the fight,” advises Hayes. “Additionally, people have an easier time being nasty about some amorphous, faceless company. If you give them a human face, chances are they’ll be more inclined toward a respectful interaction.”

Of course, when a complaint is made somewhere else on the internet, dense quagmire that it is, it can take a long time before it comes to the attention of the brand itself. To help companies keep track of what is being said about them online, a number of social media monitoring services have become available with this specific goal.

Canadian-based Radian 6 offers clients the ability to find results that talk about your company in real-time as they are discovered, allowing for quick responses and action in the event of a potential crisis. US company Techrigy similarly offers the ability to track conversations, reviews and both positive and negative comments about your brands, your clients, competitors and partners in real-time.

Seth Godin, founder of online publishing platform Squidoo, takes this a step further with the new Brands in Public service. The difference is that rather than gathering all this information for the client to see, Brands in Public also puts the brand’s response back in front of their audience. The service collects the relevant internet feedback, and gives brands the chance to directly respond, making the page a go-to point for engaging the online community.

“You can’t control what people are saying about you. What you can do is organise that speech. You can organise it by highlighting the good stuff and rationally responding to the not-so-good stuff,” Godin blogs about the service.

“You can organise it by embracing the people who love your brand and challenging them to speak up and share the good word. And you can respond to it in a thoughtful way, leaving a trail that stands up over time.”