Reputation Management

Reputation Management online is critical!

Whether it’s business or your personal profile, Tina Lussier Social Media can create, manage, monitor, and protect your online reputation.

• Create the Image you want to portray!
• Manage your Reputation online!
• Monitor & Protect your Reputation!

HOW TO CREATE THE ONLINE PROFILE YOU WANT

Reputation management begins with creating a consistent online profile about yourself with the information that you want people to see when searching for you. Set up some (or all of) the following Social Media accounts:

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT INCLUDES YOUR ONLINE BEHAVIOUR

• You should always behave online the same as you would with a prospective employer or client.
• What you do online is there forever
• Be pleasant & be professional
• Be aware that the reviews you write on sites (Trip Advisor, Yelp, Google, etc..) are public.

EXAMPLES OF NEGATIVE ONLINE BEHAVIOR

• Bad slang (Talkin’ gangsta’)
• Bad spelling & grammar
• Swearing
• Racial slurs
• Depressing posts
• Angry posts
• Passive / Aggressive behaviour
• Keep your personal life personal
• Bullying & Threats
• Party photos
• Drugs & alcohol
• Mention of illegal activity
• Business reviews that are obvious attacks
• For business – no online profile at all.

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT INCLUDES YOUR ONLINE SOCIAL CIRCLES 

• People are judged by who they associate with. Be aware of the behavior of those you are connected to online.
• If you have a bunch of ‘bikers’ or ‘porn stars’ on your friends or following lists – that’s an indication of how you will be judged by others.
• Who you are connected to online is NOT private.

YOUR ONLINE FOOTPRINT

What you do online is there forever. Examples of places where your online footprint is created are;

• Sharing history (Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr)
• Where you check-in (Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp) is an indication of what you do. Checking in at a bunch of seedy bars would not be a good professional image.
• Liking, commenting & sharing blog posts
• Comments in forums
• Behaviour on gaming sites
• The ‘Boards’ that you follow on Pinterest
• The sites that you bookmark, favourite, or stumble.
• Tweets are randomly indexed by Google
• Photos others have posted or tagged you in. (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc…)
• The pages, photos & comments you like on Facebook
• Videos on YouTube & Vimeo that you comment on
• Reviews on Google, Foursquare, Yelp, etc…

HOW DO YOU GET BAD INFORMATION ABOUT YOU REMOVED FROM THE INTERNET?

• You don’t. Reputation management is ongoing. You need to consistently FEED the internet more information about you in order to bury the bad information.
• Most nightclubs employ photographers to take photos to share on Social Media.  If you end up on a site you don’t want to be displayed on, you can request to have your photo removed.  When sending a removal request to a website, be nice.
• If you think you may need legal help, make sure any lawyer you speak with has Internet law experience.

WHY DOES YOUR ONLINE BEHAVIOR MATTER?

• It’s there forever
• The internet has a far larger reach than small town gossip
• Future employment or academic opportunities

WHAT CAN YOU DO? 

Basic internet security

• Have a good password.  Combine alpha / numeric / symbol
• Never download unknown files from email or the internet
• Ensure that your accounts are secure.
• Don’t post your personal information
• Set your Facebook privacy settings to prevent others from tagging you in posts & photos.
• Double check all your Social Media accounts on a regular basis.

 Protecting Your Reputation

• Set Google Alerts for your name and business
• Remember when commenting on Social Media and blogs that this is public
• Create your own reputation. Don’t let someone else do it for you
• Google yourself
• Set Twitter alerts
• Ensure that there is more good than bad.  Post your own information on a regular basis.  Blogs are the perfect place for this.

Claim Your Business & Monitor the Review Sites!

Whether you have a listing on a review site or not, really doesn’t matter. With many Social Media platforms, anyone can add your business and start writing reviews. An important part of reputation management is to claim your business on all the review sites (Facebook, Google, Trip Advisor, Yelp, Zomatoe, etc). You need to monitor your reviews and respond to them. A negative review can turn into a positive if you acknowledge it publicly and take steps to rectify the situation. This shows prospective customers that you pay attention to your customers and you care to improve however possible.

Yelp has some great videos with suggestions on how to respond to reviews. Before you roll up your sleeves and get started, I recommend that you take a moment to watch their videos. Click here

Contact Tina Lussier