Reputation Toolbox, tools for online professionals
Just a few years ago, the traditional business professional didn’t need to worry much about digital conversations said about them. In today’s modern marketplace, your online reputation controls many of your professional opportunities. So far that online reputation is overtaking the traditional credit score as a means to identify if you are a worthwhile business partner. *If you would like to read more detail, you can read this four page whitepaper about reputation value or my CEO blog article on reputation score vs credit fiasco.
With that said, this reputation toolbox is a collection of resources to help you establish, maintain and protect your “online reputation score.”
Why should you read this? My company provides online reputation management services to executives and corporations. We believe that a good online reputation company doesn’t hide behind dozens of secrets or manipulative strategies to keep clients in the dark: if a professional wants to self-train themselves on hundreds of overlapping technical points and spend hours refining an expertise as a digital reputation specialist… they can.
We also believe that digital presence extends across multiple cogs that include brand, relationships, search optimization, time frame and scale. In terms of business reputation it also affects sales conversion, customer care, liability, industry buzz, recruiting, public relations and marketing. Each element is simply a cog on a larger gear working in conjunction with another gear to drive a specific result. In some cases gears are incredibly simple. In clock work however: simple gears become extraordinarily complex.
Simply said: digital reputation and healthy online presence works with dozens of other cogs. When functioning properly a good digital presence provides the ability to overcome both negative impacts (poor search results, bad publicity, etc) AND places you in the right place at the right time (search branding, network referrals, competitive intelligence, etc.)
The articles collected below represent different portions of our services that we often charge thousands of dollars for. Any singular cog is very simplistic. We urge clients (and our readers) to perform the elements they can properly implement. It is only when we collect dozens of interlocking components that begin affecting business and revenue opportunities… or escalate in scale to include dozens or thousands of employees… that we are happy to provide the expert level of service.
Before jumping into tactical issues that require some thought, we need to make sure you are properly oriented on how your digital presence and real world life intersect. This requires some thinking about two basic items: personal and professional contacts.
To think of this in the most basic level, you probably have different clusters of friends and professional contacts that do not often socialize together… yet in the online world you will need to hold yourself to a professional bar at all times. Personal friends and family must be restricted to a professional level of interaction.
We must always keep in mind: there is no erase button for your digital actions. You usually don’t get too many second chances.
If we use the proper ideology… you must always have your game face on.
This doesn’t mean you can’t have a personal life. You just need to be aware that personal lives are incredibly findable in today’s online age. You don’t know when a conversation may become public, when a photo may be posted by a friend, or when a moment of haste is permanently placed online.
If you value your reputation (and you should!) then grab a cup of coffee and spend a moment reading the following articles. At the bottom of this article are three additional one-page guides to Twitter, Search Engine Optimization, and Google Alerts that can assist in streamlining your digital life.
Executive Branding and Reputation – executives have a requirement to not only be professional, but lead. Every individual in business yearns to be a subject matter expert and be able to communicate that value. This article includes several slide decks that help clarify and spotlight that expertise.
Executive URLs and personal domains – many social sites are taking possession of YOUR NAME. You need to understand this and TAKE IT BACK. As a professional, your name is your most critical business asset.
5 Tools for Free Reputation Management – reputation management doesn’t need to cost a lot of money. If you want some simple tools that are entirely free, this article includes several benefit rich options.
Social Media Profiles for Professionals – If you only have enough time to create a presence on a few locations, this article covers the top sites you should focus on first.
ONE PAGE GUIDES