Tag Archives: image

Online reputation management, , , , , ,
Reputation Communications

Online reputation management enables you to take more ownership over what appears about you on the Internet. Without it, the world controls how you look online.

Here are ten examples of the ways online reputation management is used by individuals, companies and organizations.

  • To ensure up-to-date and accurate information dominates search results for an organization or individual’s name.
  • To ensure that factual, credible reference material is readily available online. That reduces the chance that fraudulent information will impact a brand.
  • To remove unwanted or inappropriate information, photographs or other content from the first few pages of Google search results. Home addresses, ages and other personal information found high on Google searches are especially sought after by online databases which scour the internet for personal information. These databases (“people searches”) then publish such content online without consent from the individual or organization. Once it is posted it stays.
  • To monitor social media and online forums for red flags signaling potential on- and offline threats against high-profile individuals and their organizations.
  • To create a strong online presence about a topic. That presence acts as a barrier against potential distortions from third-party content, including anonymous and defamatory material. Without it, such items can go straight to the top of searches – and stay.
  • To ensure that your story is told by you and not by former partners or other potentially biased parties.
  • To establish a reputation within your area of expertise on multiple online platforms.
  • To create an online legacy for a VIP who is preparing for retirement or to exit an organization.
  • To educate individuals and organizations about basic safeguards to help protect the reputation they have worked hard to establish.

For more information about this practice, read The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQ.

 
 
Branding, , , , , ,

Our advice in this week’s Reputation Reboot will help you look your best on Google if you are preparing re-enter the job market.  It is in response to an MBA candidate who wants to put her best foot forward when prospective employers research her on the Internet. But our tips can be utilized by anyone undertaking a job search. Not only will they help differentiate yourself from your peers…they can become a major asset in your long-term career development.

 
 
Branding, , , , , ,
Kris Jenner

Whatever you may think about the Kardashians, their reality TV show, social media dominance and growing presence on runways, commercial beauty and other products makes them a fascinating business story.

Where Would the Kardashians Be Without Kris Jenner?, a feature profile in The New York Times Magazine by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, tells the inside story about how Kris Jenner, the mother of the Kardashian children and Bruce Jenner’s former wife, built the family brand and fortune. That process began with hard work and sweat equity promoting Bruce Jenner’s early motivational speaking career.

In a world where businesses and high-visibility people go to great lengths to manage their reputational capital, Kris Jenner offers an almost unparalleled level of transparency for the world to discuss, debate or disdain.  She has leveraged that transparency into a core element of her family’s brand. That’s why they are the focus of cultural conversations and icons of the new celebrity.  You might not approve of her, but her drive, vision and strategic approach to brand building is something we can all learn from.

 
 
Crisis Management, , , ,
Britt McHenry

Sports reporter Britt McHenry was in the headlines last week after a video surfaced of her making harsh, verbally abusive comments to a tow truck company employee after her car had been towed away.

This week’s “Crisis of the Week” column in the Wall Street Journal sums up the incident well:

A video of the incident shows Ms. McHenry lashing into the employee, making fun of her appearance and education, and questioning her choice of employers. Ms. McHenry later apologized on Twitter, and ESPN responded by suspending Ms. McHenry for a week. Her comments to the tow-truck employee came days after she put a post on Facebook asking her followers to “take the high road and be nice to people.”

Discussion online and off continues about whether ESPN should have allowed her to return, and whether her apology was sufficient. Our take? Everyone makes mistakes. The best-intentioned of us have bad days (and even very bad days). Living with pressure is part of being in the public eye. Most public figures can recover from an incident such as this, but time—and Ms. McHenry’s thousands of fans—will decide how this rude tirade will impact her public image. That includes whether they want to continue watching her on ESPN.

 
 
Branding, Social Media, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you want to learn how to become an Internet celebrity, please continue reading. If you don’t care about becoming a celebrity but want to learn  more about how social media works, same thing. If you work in business, traditional media, the non-profit world or politics and your goal is to reach as many people as possible in the most persuasive, cost-effective way, New York Magazine has provided you with an essential resource.

“The Weird Wide World of Internet Celebrity,” New York‘s informative guide, is a step-by-step, how-they-did it view of how (mostly) ordinary people have used social media to deliver a message, attract huge audiences and sometimes monetize that visibility. The cover story features several different people who have become famous (and often well-paid) by using mostly free or low-cost Internet tools to entertain or educate vast audiences. Most are teenagers or in their 20s.

It is a definitive guide to how social media works in terms of publishing original content and attracting audiences. Equally important, it illustrates why millions of teenagers and other consumers have turned away from traditional media outlets and replaced them with the Internet and their smart phones.

Many people continue to be on a learning curve regarding how social media works, why it is so popular and what the social media culture responds most enthusiastically to.  If you are one, you won’t be after digesting this useful guide.

 
 
Reputation Case Study, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Elon Musk: Deconstructing a Tech Industrialist’s Image

Entrepreneur Elon Musk is a leader in space exploration and founder of the pioneering electric car company Tesla. Yesterday David Brooks explained why Musk represents the best aspect of capitalism.  Brooks was inspired by Bloomberg tech writer Ashlee Vance, whose comprehensive profile of Musk was published a week ago.

Both articles provide insight into the myriad elements that influence how today’s visionaries are perceived. Musk’s public image has been built from such elements as views from friends and colleagues like Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel and WebTV co-founder Bruce Leak, skeptical voices on the Tesla Death Watch blog, his frank acknowledgement of two divorces (one in which both he and his ex-spouse blogged about the divorce negotiations), unhappy employees who have filed lawsuits and blogged about Musk’s demanding CEO style (which some say compares to Steve Jobs’), the need to schedule 10 hours a week to dating, and his goal of establishing a colony on Mars within 15 years.

Musk is part of the new era of entrepreneurs using technology to lead the way into a better future. He is self-made and has been involved in launching successful ventures that have gone public, enabling him to fund his current undertakings. Articles on his personal and work life may not be on everyone’s reading list, but they may be the best information investors and entrepreneurs who hope to follow his lead in business can find.

 
 
Crisis Management, , , , ,
The Naked Truth on Prince Harry

It looks like Prince Harry has gotten himself into trouble again. But this is far from a crisis.

Prince Harry is the wit in a sea of English Breakfast tea, the tingling gin and tonic at lunchtime on a humid day.  He has never tried to project an image of being anything but what he is: a rogue. The pictures capture the Prince Harry we know. More of him than we ever expected to see, but nothing, we expect, that will ruin his reputation. (Though it might reduce the number of his official duties….indefinitely.)

Reputation management is ultimately about being authentic.  Prince Harry’s Las Vegas vacation may not be representative of Royal tradition, but he has never been traditional. Even Royals are human; Harry, especially so.