Reputation Management – TAKE CHARGE

Reputation Management applies to all of us. Whether you receive a negative Twitter comment, a poor review on Yelp, or one of your old college photos circulates on Facebook, reputation management in this day and age of smart phones and digital communication is mandatory.

In the viral, digital world, we have to take charge and get proactive. Perception becomes reality in the cyber world. First impressions matter whether accurate or not and whether we agree or not. Your job hunt and career prospects will dwindle when a bad review jeopardizes your persona. As a business owner or entrepreneur, future customers and partners are surely “Goggling” you!

If you’re searching for that dream job or career, reputation management is mandatory because most job recruiters are required to do some online detective work about you prior to setting up interviews. What will they find about you?

In a case involving your online reputation, you are often guilty until proven innocent. So the court of public opinion has nothing to do with fairness, you’re toast!

It is a lot easier to be proactive then reactive as it relates to your online reputation. Here are a few steps that that will help you get on the offence and build an online stronghold to protect and manage your reputation online.  To be fair and balanced, there is a lot of great information and useful services from scores of companies relating to reputation management. Some of these companies are experts at repairing the damage that may have been done. However, if you’re not dragging around a lot of negative baggage yet, there is a simple affordable solution that enables you to take charge and even monitor in real time what others are saying about you across multiple social networks. Click here to find out more and receive a free report on an affordable, proactive solution for reputation management.

Create lots of online content:

Being proactive means a strategic offense and defense.  We all know that driving defensively means anticipating problems before they occur. Take charge of your narrative ASAP. Whether you’re an individual or a company, reputation management means proactively telling your story rather than letting others tell it.  Controlling the narrative means creating a lot of high quality, optimized, relevant content on the Internet.

Social Networking: By utilizing dynamics or article writing, blogging, and consistent commenting and interaction on a variety of social networks and other articles on the web, you begin to take control of your online persona.  Optimizing your narrative means writing articles with key words and phrases that are relevant to you and your business.  Write thoughtful articles in your business niche that create value for others and provide solutions.

Important Exercise:  Ask for recommendations from satisfied customers or clients. Post glowing reviews and loads of positive content on your website. Creating a professional LinkedIn profile is a mandatory step toward taking charge of your personal reputation management.  Prospective clients and employers always search for you on LinkedIn.

By building your digital reputation you’ll begin to own your search results. It is a lot easier rank higher on the search engines when you’ve taken charge of your own story and narrative. With a little effort, you’ll easily see your name on page one of Google. And most people never make it past page two on a Google search.

Searches on executives and company names are drastically up over the last decade. Speaking of your name, whether personal or company, use it often in relation to positive business activities.  Customer testimonies are a great way to tell your story. How about charitable causes you contribute too? Write a story of two on your blog relating to the ministries or nonprofit organizations your support.

Reputation management rules in the digital age. Take charge become proactive rather than reacting and doing damage control later.