OK, you are monitoring the blogosphere and someone has just slammed your company or your brand in a blog. How do you handle this? In short, diplomatically, honestly and helpfully. There are no hard and fast rules, but here are five guidelines to follow.

1. Wait and Watch: Take a little time to watch and gauge the reaction. Jumping in and confronting the situation can take someone‘s comments who is just blowing off steam and create a major controversy. If no one is paying attention or commenting, it may be best to let the person vent and then die out on its own. Bloggers quickly move on to new stories that grab their attention.
2. Avoid Rebuttals: A negative review of your product should not bring a strong response. Refuting or directly attacking the blogger will bring others to their defense and inflame the situation. Don’t try and take a strong position and intimidate or bully the blogger.
3. Be concerned and helpful: You are entering as a guest on a blog so show respect; you will likely get respect in return. Avoid sarcasm and try to be genuine and helpful. A negative review should be treated as constructive criticism. Offer to help resolve the issue and listen to the complaints. How you handle the situation can convert a foe into a friend.
4. Be Impartial. Stay away from opinions and arguments. Use objective information and if possible, third party data and statistics to show your point. Links to sites other than your own can be good convincers.
5. Follow Thru: If you make promises and commitments, follow thru on what you have promised.

The key in dealing with situations in blog marketing is to listen and respond honestly in a helpful manner. This can go a long way in diffusing an explosive situation.

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1. How to Maintain Your Reputation in the Digital Age
2. Managing Your Digital Reputation
3. Your Digital Reputation
4. Online Reputation Repair: 10 Step Process
5. Why is it That Fear Motivates?