Images play a huge role in the online world. An image can say a lot about an individual or an organization. For businesses, it’s crucial to be vigilant about the pictures they use – and more importantly, the ones they don’t use. Because one problematic photograph can cause irreparable damage to a company’s reputation.
All is not completely lost because there are solutions out there for dealing with inappropriate photos that end up online and threaten a business’s hard-earned reputation. For instance, the google image removal tool. This is something we shall discuss a little more later in this article. In the meantime, let’s think more about the images themselves that are so damaging because of their very existence.
Examples of Problematic Images
Just think about all of the avoidable embarrassments that have been caused by problematic images in recent years: United Airlines dragging a passenger off their plane, Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi commercial, and Abercrombie & Fitch using plus-size models in an ad campaign.
Even more recently, celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Tiger Woods have had their mugshots blasted across the news, creating an even bigger mess for them to clean up. The list goes on and on. As a result of these controversies, however, mugshot removal services seem to have become popular, as individuals and companies alike are increasingly trying to erase negative images from the web. The same can be said for an embarrassing image circulating freely on the web – it can be taken down, in a way helping restore the image of a celebrity or a public figure.
Given these examples, it is more than evident that there are, of course, regrets with photos that have ended up online. Sometimes the damage can be measured more easily than in other cases. For a business, sales figures may be at an all-time low after a detrimental post. All may not be lost if not everyone has seen the post containing the offending image, and there is a way to deal with it, as mentioned. The quicker this can happen, the better.
The Consequences
Businesses need to be aware of the potential consequences of using problematic images or giving others easy access to them and take steps to remove them from their systems and social media as quickly as possible. Because once an image is out there, it’s almost impossible to take it back.
Embarrassing or libelous images can cause businesses all sorts of problems, from reputational damage to legal troubles. So it’s crucial to be vigilant about the images that are posted publically. It only takes one problematic image to cause irreparable damage to a company’s reputation. It may be so bad that a company has no choice but to change its name. Except that it will have spent a significant amount of money on building up that reputation in the first place. Goodwill, an intangible asset, is as much an asset as the tangible vehicles or equipment a company owns that help it to operate.
Solutions
The best way to deal with images that show a company at its worst is to not allow them anywhere near social media. Preferably to remove them from anywhere they can be used for another’s gain. It is, of course, rather like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted to only think of the consequences once they are live on the internet when they should never have been posted there in the first place. However, we all make mistakes. Thankfully, there are ways to put things right.
We could look towards contacting a company to help us remove images that have become a problem to our business’s reputation and branding image. Google is helpful too when it comes to the image removal tool that it offers. Just check out a few blogs online to learn how to remove photos from Google and you will be good to go. Be aware, though, that it only breaks links to images and that your photo will still be in existence. In any case, it would be extremely difficult or less likely to be accessed, providing much peace of mind.
A large company’s legal department will be concerned with any photographs that are potentially libelous or that breach any kind of copyright laws. They will, like the company’s bosses, want these kinds of images or photos removed as soon as possible.
In short, images can be problematic for businesses in several ways. Perhaps an image has been stolen and used without permission, or maybe there is an embarrassing photo from a company party that was posted online. Whatever the case may be, businesses need to have a plan in place for dealing with problematic images. This includes having protocols for quickly removing images from all online platforms, as well as procedures for preventing such images from being uploaded in the first place. By taking these measures, businesses can help protect their reputations and avoid any avoidable embarrassments.
