Reputation Management – Professional Branding
You may be wondering what is reputation management – professional branding and how does it apply to me as website owner. Basically just as in life, your reputation and how you are branded means a lot and can alter the way in which people think about you and view you. Although your reputation may not always be accurate, it is going to follow you and will be a deciding factor in your credibility in the online business world. At some point everyone is prone to judgment, criticism and unfair words; how we respond to these confrontations and accusations is going to go a long way in managing your online reputation. One thing is for sure whether you are managing your online reputation or allowing it to manage your online business negatively is completely up to you!
Social Media and Professional Branding
One great way which you can manage your online reputation is through the use of social media networks where you have access to large numbers of people who fall within your target niche. You will need to constantly monitor your online reputation in order to ensure that you can react quickly to anything which may arise. You can do this by entering your name into the major search engines to see what comes up as well as use a software program which will alert you when there is a new search query based on your inputted information within the program.
Reputation Management and Professional Branding
If you choose to use monitorization software programs then you will need to develop a list of relevant keywords such as your name, the name of your company as well as any other relevant keyword which may be used to identify you or your company. However, you choose to monitor your reputation you want to be sure that you are well aware of anything that is being said right away so that you can have time prevent any damage to your company branding. You also want to be aware that search engines may not always pick up what is being said on social network pages. You will need to monitor these pages as well by using the same process. Also be sure that you take the time to interact on your social media pages in order to provide a positive impact within your social media pages.
One tip that I would like to provide you with is that although it may seem tempting to kick someone out of the group or block them from making comments; this should only be done as a last resort when you have exhausted all other efforts. You should always do your best to resolve the conflict and end the discussion in a positive way when at all possible. Not only will this make you look better; it may also prevent this person from going out and talking about you elsewhere which is only going to further blemish your reputation online.
That being said, sometimes it is impossible to please everyone all of the time; if you have tried everything that you can do to rectify the situation or feel that you did nothing wrong, sometimes it is best to leave well enough alone. Once you have provided a strong enough defense that others are able to see that this person is being irrational and difficult then you have to just accept the fact that everyone is not going to like you, your company or the products and services which you offer. This is a part of life; what matters the most is that you did all that you can do to defend yourself, your company’s branding and your company name.
If you’re personal branding and reputation are not all that you would like them to be maybe it is time to make some changes to the way in which you provide your message to consumers. You can try changing the design of your website, pictures on your website, the content and your profiles on your social media networks in order to receive a better response from consumers. The most important thing to remember is to be flexible, if something is not working the way you thought it would; accept this and move on until you find what is working the best for you. You want to do all that you can to make sure that your personal branding and online reputation are well established in a positive way in order for you to gain the trust and respect of consumers.
Online Reputation and Branding
I cannot stress the importance of taking your online reputation seriously and doing all that you can to protect it and ensure that you are there to defend yourself or your company when false accusations are placed which will damage your reputation. Your online reputation is going to be responsible for creating a personal branding which is beneficial to your company. When deciding if this is something that you want to do yourself of whether you should enlist the help of a reputation management company you need to access the amount of time that you have for this invaluable protection. If you do not have enough time in your day; outsourcing this task may be a good idea.
Introduction to SEO: Online Reputation Management and Branding
The content found online is constantly changing with new content being posted every day; this is why it is so important to have some sort of reputation management plan in place at all times. If you do not have the time to search all of the social media networks and search engines daily then it is best that you hire someone else to do this for you. The cost of this service is not that much and you will be able to rest assured that your reputation online is intact so that you can create a personal branding for your company which is going to be beneficial to the growth of your business. The time and money which you will invest into protecting the reputation of yourself and your company branding are going to be an invaluable part of your company’s overall success or failure!
Hi PR – Very interesting article indeed. I never even thought of personal branding and its association with my online business. Now you’ve pointed it out it makes perfect sense.
That’s the funny thing about the Internet it can be an asset or a curse.
You can build a good business, over time, yet that can be destroyed in days by someone with a few bad words about you.
Thanks for highlighting this point
Mark
Exactly, Mark! You just put it in a nutshell. Reputation Management and Professional Branding needs to be considered. It can be very difficult to overcome if you gain a negative reputation or come off as a cheesy brand out of the gate. Thanks for the comment and for stopping by. Best wishes with your business!