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.
Maybe you have a new story you want to tell the world. But the Internet is telling an old one. You’re ready for more media coverage and interviews. But you don’t have a strategy in place for achieving that. Or your company’s online image is harmed by biased, untrue or outdated information. This could be from old media coverage and legal notices. Perhaps you know you need to update to a contemporary, digital-savvy online image. You also want to become active on the social media platforms that matter in your industry. You may not have the in-house resources to handle these projects, but you’re also concerned about your budget.
Here is what you need to know.
The Internet is the world’s best tool for promoting your personal and corporate brand. When you aren’t in control of that brand online, you have left it in the hands of the world at large. That is like leaving your car unlocked with the keys in the ignition.
Google values quality content. It wants to direct users to the best content…like well-written blogs. A strategically written blog can reduce your PR costs because, done right, it attracts journalists. (This blog, which began as a xeroxed online reputation management FAQ hand-out, has attracted interviews in Consumer Reports, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Wall Street Journal and many more influential media outlets. Yours can, too.)
The Google results you hate don’t need to stay at the top of searches. The solution is a strategic plan to replace them with new material. If you haven’t been able to displace the old results, the new material isn’t sufficiently optimized.
Reporters now get as many story ideas from social media as from traditional pitches. Journalists are often introduced to organizations and stories on Twitter and other social media platforms. So if you aren’t using Twitter strategically, you are missing many opportunities for increased recognition.
“Suppressing,” “wiping” and “whitewashing” unwanted Google results is not always an effective approach. Early in the Internet’s history, online reputation management providers found ways to trick Google into hiding unwanted results. These tactics worked for a while, but now more often earn penalties for the websites benefiting from them. What does that mean? It means Google can drop those sites in search results when it recognizes attempts to game the system with poorly written content “dumps” and a multitude of fake links from meaningless sites. So if any provider tries to sell you on “suppression” techniques, learn more about what techniques they plan to use.
Huffington Post has published an interview with Reputation Communications CEO Shannon Wilkinson about personal branding online. These are highlights from Stacey Cohen’s article:
“Personal brands are complex, shaped by our skills, our interests and the content we create, from our tweets to our blog posts.
But at the foundation of any personal brand is a singular – and paramount – trait: our reputations.
Without a positive reputation, no personal brand can flourish. If you’re not viewed as a dependable and trustworthy professional, your skillset, interests and output – no matter how impressive – won’t matter much.
And in today’s digital world, where photos, social media profiles and news stories are immortal, upholding a sterling reputation is more important than ever. One hiccup, whether an awkward photograph, or unforgiving article, can haunt a professional for years.
Few people know the nuances and importance of modern reputation care better than Shannon Wilkinson, a leading expert on online reputation management, or ORM. Wilkinson’s NYC-based firm Reputation Communications serves a suite of international clients and offers services ranging from reputation-building and reputation research to reputation repair. Wilkinson is a familiar byline in the Wall Street Journal’s “Crisis of the Week” column,” a seasoned speaker and regular blogger at her website, You(Online).
I recently caught up with Wilkinson about ORM and polishing and protecting reputations in the age of the Internet.
Wilkinson paints a vivid picture of just how important ORM is in today’s world and shares guidance on how to best navigate this new realm.
First, assess what’s already out there – and resist the belief that you can be invisible online. “The digital age ensures that each of us have an online reputation, whether we want one or not,” Wilkinson explains. If we throw up our hands and surrender, our reputations will be determined by “bots that scrape, index and republish the publicly available information about you,” Wilkinson warns.
Next up: Start creating content that accurately represents, and enhances, your reputation. “Counter-balance third-party content and replace it with new, positive and authentic material,” Wilkinson says. “This is a key ORM strategy.” Ensure the items you do have control over – your LinkedIn profile, your company bio, your blog and your Twitter – carry the right messaging.
There’s lots more to ORM than just this, and mercifully Wilkinson is quick to share her agency’s most popular blog post, “The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs.” It’s a useful inventory of strategies and tactics you can use to start burnishing your online reputation today. If you have a presence online (and remember, everybody does), it’s worth the read.”
Stan Robinson, Jr.advises businesses and professionals on how to leverage LinkedIn to advance on all career fronts. LinkedIn is a major personal branding platform that ranks highly online. That makes it an essential online reputation management tool. We interviewed him on best practices for personal brand-building on the popular site, which Microsoft just purchased for $26 billion.
There are reams of resources for using LinkedIn to maximum advantage. But many users still seek your guidance. Why do so many professionals continue to need help with the platform, and what are some of the most surprising questions you are asked by them?
Most people still think of LinkedIn primarily as a place to put their online resume rather than viewing it as a business tool. LinkedIn’s membership is growing by 1 – 2 new members every second so there are new people continually getting started on LinkedIn. Beyond filling out their profile and possibly connecting with some friends, former colleagues and those who invite them to connect, most individuals do very little with LinkedIn. As the concept of a personal brand and its importance gains momentum, more individuals are realizing that LinkedIn is a powerful platform for online reputation management. Surprising questions I’m often asked include: “I’m not looking for a job so why do I need to update my LinkedIn profile?” Answer: LinkedIn is one of the first places people will search for information about you when considering any type of business relationship with you. Consequently, your LinkedIn Profile is often the first impression that others will have of you as a professional. “Do I really need to include my picture on my profile?” Answer: Yes, visitors expect to see your photo there. Many will simply click away from profiles with no photo.
What makes LinkedIn different from other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram?
LinkedIn is a professional network. Members visit the platform with a business intent. This could be as simple as expanding one’s professional network, gathering information about a prospect, or keeping up with industry developments. In contrast, people visit other networks such as Facebook, Instagram and Snap Chat in order to be social. Your professional reputation will not necessarily suffer if you do not have a Facebook Page, Twitter or Instagram account. However, business people and professionals expect to be able to learn more about you on LinkedIn. If they cannot find you or your profile is sketchy, your competitors are only a click away.
Why is LinkedIn an important tool for managing your professional reputation?
Whether we like it or not, when individuals perform due diligence researching us and our organizations they will often use online tools. Google lists your LinkedIn profile high in its search results when anyone searches for you by name. If you haven’t done so recently, please Google your name. The results may surprise you. You have total control over what appears on your LinkedIn profile. So take this opportunity to present the image and message that you want visitors to see. If there is a large discrepancy between the information on your LinkedIn profile and what others are writing about you or your business on the web, you may need to engage the services of a reputation management expert.
What are the most common ways LinkedIn users underutilize the platform as a personal branding tool?
Most LinkedIn members have a current photo of themselves on their profile. That’s a good start, but they only include their professional title in their headline. Instead they should use the 120 characters of space in the headline for a value statement and relevant keywords describing the solution they provide. A headline stating “CEO of XYZ Tax Service” is less informative than one that reads “We Help Small Business Owners Save on Taxes and Bookkeeping Services | Serving the New York Metro Area”. The most important section of your LinkedIn profile is the Summary. Most people don’t give this section the attention it deserves and waste a valuable marketing opportunity. In your Summary you have 2,000 characters of space available to describe the market you serve, your products and services, the value you offer, and what sets you apart from your competitors. By including the most relevant keywords in your Summary (and throughout your profile) you increase the likelihood that you will be found in searches by LinkedIn members. In addition, you are able to include media such as videos, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs and images in your Summary, Experience and Education sections which enable you to tell a more powerful story about yourself and your company.
Is there one piece of advice you find yourself continually giving to your clients?
Structure your LinkedIn profile like an informal sales letter for yourself and your organization rather than a resume. You want to use your profile to position yourself as an expert in your field or at least as a resource that brings value to your professional community. This can help you distinguish yourself and your business from competitors. Think about your LinkedIn profile from the perspective of your prospects, customers, partners, potential employees and other stakeholders in your business. They are interested in understanding what you can do for them. Take advantage of their visit to your profile to explain how you help them increase sales, reduce costs, manage risks, or any other form of value you provide.
LinkedIn is a powerful publishing platform. Which type of content is most valuable to publish on it, and what kind would you like to see less of?
The best way to take advantage of LinkedIn’s publishing features is to share content that is educational, informative, inspiring and, occasionally, entertaining. In order to do this effectively you need to understand your target audience and what types of content provide value for them. For example, if you offer a product or service for information technology professionals you might share posts on topics such as cyber security, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data and similar topics. I would like to see fewer generic quizzes unrelated to business and less promotional content that offers no additional value beyond a sales pitch. Remember that people you are connected with are most likely to share your content if it will make them look good in the eyes of their networks.
Stan Robinson has a BA in Psychology from Harvard University and a Masters in Public Affairs, International Relations from Princeton University. He is a sales and marketing expert, a public speaker and consultant.This is the ninth in a series of interviews with experts whose work relates to online reputation management.
Mindy F. Stern, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, ACC is the founder and President of AIM Resource Group Inc. She is a professional leadership and career coach, author, columnist, speaker and human resource consultant. We asked her the most common questions employers and job seekers ask regarding reputation management…and what they should be asking.
Employee workplace-review sites are causing many employers concern…especially because like all reviews, they are subjective. What advice do you give corporate clients who have a large number of negative employee reviews?
Savvy organizations focus on building their brand image. That is important not only to build brand loyalty from customers but also to encourage future employees to join their organizations. When there are negative reviews about a company it is important to counter the negative reviews with content that has a positive impact. Articles about socially responsible company initiatives, community outreach and posts that educate or enlighten readers about the company mission serve to counter negativity.
Are there other best practices that you see many employers not doing but should?
Many employers struggle to attract and retain the best employees. In order to do that effectively, employers need to demonstrate that they have an employee-friendly workplace. That includes paying appropriate wages; providing excellent benefits; creating internal support networks; establishing a culture that values learning, development and growth; encouraging ongoing feedback and being responsive to employee concerns.
What mistakes, if any, do you see the job seekers you coach making in regard to their online profiles? Do they differ depending on their age range?
Many job seekers, regardless of age, still do not see the value of posting their picture on their online profiles. LinkedIn estimates that a profile picture increases your LinkedIn views by over 11 times. In addition, many job seekers do not leverage their online profile by posting relevant content on a consistent basis or by joining groups that could help to build their credibility and connections.
What common misconceptions do you hear from job seekers about using the Internet to present their best professional skills?
Since I provide outplacement and career coaching services I speak to lots of people who have recently been laid off. I am always surprised at the amount of pushback I get when I tell them they need to have a social media presence. Here are a few of the myths I hear and the reality that I will share with you:
I don’t have enough time – The truth is that if you just spend 10 minutes a day, you can make a big impact on your personal brand. Spend some time reaching out to people you would like to connect with or research companies you would like to target in your job search. It is easy to make an impact by simply starting a blog, joining a group or sharing important information with your connections.
I can’t compete with the younger generation – I often hear this from Baby Boomers who believe anyone in a younger generation is more adept at using social media. The reality is that the opposite often proves true. Careless posts and compromising pictures often mar the efforts of positive marketing. Using social media with a conscious, consistent and cautious approach can improve anyone’s personal brand.
Social media is not right for my industry – The truth is that most people are on some form of social media today. Even if the industry you are aligned with does not actively promote their social media presence, their employees are certainly using it to some degree.
I like my privacy – The most commonly held myth is that you can maintain your privacy if you don’t join any social media sites. The truth is that no matter how much you guard your privacy, there is content on the internet about you. The fact is that anyone can say anything about you on the internet and it is nearly impossible to take it down once it is posted. You cannot control that. However, you can control the content you put out there about yourself, which should help to counter any negative items.
Last month a young man called me to inquire about career coaching services. He had been looking for a job for quite a while and could not understand why he was not being successful. When I asked him about his social media presence, he told me that he stayed away from that sort of thing and didn’t even have a Facebook page. While we were on the phone, I did a quick Google search and the first thing that came up was an assault charge from 10 years ago. He was shocked and upset when he told me that those charges had been dismissed years ago and he had no idea anyone would be aware of them. So I encourage all my clients to Google themselves to see what comes up. You can be sure your future employers will do it.
Mindy Stern, SPHR,SHRM-SCP, ACC is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), SHRM-SCP, Associate Certified Coach (ACC) from the International Coach Federation, Certified Staffing Professional (ASA), and Certified DISC Facilitator. She is a frequent featured speaker at leadership conferences and writes a monthly column titled “Employment Matters” to educate the public about workplace issues. Her mission is to provide resources, tools and guidance for individuals and organizations. This is the eighth in a series of interviews with experts whose work relates to online reputation management.
This week we interview our founder, Shannon Wilkinson. She discusses the online reputation management (ORM) industry, the goals of the clients it serves and the types of services Reputation Communications offers.
How does Reputation Communications differ from other online reputation management firms?
We specialize in providing guidance and solutions for executives, leaders and professionals in business, culture, law enforcement and philanthropy, as well as their organizations. That includes artists, authors and their representatives. We have made a point of taking a leadership role in the industry by contributing to consumers’ understanding of online reputation management. There is a lot of conflicting information out there, and this can be confusing for them. So we have published extensive educational content, and links to other reliable resources, on our You(Online) blog. It has attracted readers from all over the world.
Who is your average client?
Someone who is not highly active on social media but has a visible presence on the Internet due to media coverage of their career, company or initiatives. In the majority of our cases, clients have not been proactive in taking ownership of their online image. Often they just want to create a polished personal brand on the Internet. Sometimes a crisis, major or minor, has prompted them to start actively managing it. Increasingly we are the second online reputation management provider they have used when a first one has been ineffective or not the right fit.
What kind of help do they seek?
Everyone has a specific goal. They want to know how it can be met, how long it will take and what it will cost. Some clients are too invisible online and want to create a distinctive online presence. Others have too much visibility, but their online image is dominated by third-party content. It isn’t negative or inappropriate, but it doesn’t represent them authentically. Because we have a history of building a strong media presence for clients, sometimes they utilize us to begin building or expanding one. Common reasons our clients reach out to us include online legal notices and media coverage that might be years old, or pertain to a personal or professional crisis. Often the material that shows up at the top of Google results isn’t necessarily negative, just out of date. It doesn’t reflect our client’s current brand. We can fix that. Other clients come to us looking for different outcomes. Some are concerned with protecting their personal lives. They are closely watched, and their private lives are drawn into the public sphere—regardless of whether they want that. We help them create a digital defense so third-party reportage about their lives doesn’t take control over their image. Or, their personal data is published on several “people search” databases. We remove it.
What are common issues businesses face?
Businesses are now grappling with consumer and employee reviews and how to best manage them. We often consult on that issue and recommend the best review management systems for their type of issue. Companies also seek help updating or editing Wikipedia entries. Several businesses we have worked with used public relations or crisis management strategies to try and improve an online reputation issue, but it didn’t work. ORM utilizes optimization and SEO techniques that such programs often lack.
What is the most common mistake that causes online reputation issues?
Not being proactive in taking ownership of your name on the Internet. Closely following that is the related problem of waiting too long to address an issue. Three years is the average amount of time many of our clients have waited before taking action.
How does Reputation Communications’ approach differ from other providers?
We are different from the ORM providers that market themselves online to individuals. We don’t advertise and don’t have an 800 number. Our approach would not be appropriate for the customers those providers are pursuing—most often people that are looking for a fast and inexpensive way to “suppress” unwanted online content. That is usually a low-priced, low-quality solution that Google and other search engines frown upon. For that reason, we don’t use the word “suppress.” Nor do we use mass-market suppression techniques. We replace online content.
We also don’t promise a quick fix. ORM can take weeks or months. Our clients are generally very careful with their brand, both online and off. Our strategies don’t involve any actions that dilute a client’s online image with generic or low-quality content. Many of our clients are as concerned with building a stronger brand as they are with repairing reputation damage, if they have any. Often we do restructure search results and displace content from page one of Google search results. This requires creating new material and optimizing it to ensure it replaces the old. Our clientele base needs high-quality content that is appropriate to their brands and adds value. That scenario is our specialty. Except for some social media content creation services, we don’t work offshore. Privacy is the main reason. We are accustomed to working offline and meeting confidential needs.
What is your pricing structure?
Our most accessible service is our consultations, which cost $1000. That is a four-hour service in which we assess a situation and advise the client on the most effective ways to mitigate it or reach their goals. We created this service to help new clients make the right decisions regarding best approaches, strategies and—sometimes—providers. Our next level is our consulting service, which encompasses 20 hours of counsel. It can be utilized over a three-month period, costs $5,000 and is most often used by clients who can implement a program independently but need a strategic plan and our guidance.
Our other services average $3,500 to $5,000 monthly for content creation and media representation, and can be higher for enterprise-level organizations or VIPs. Pricing is higher for clients that have a large amount of online content and need a more comprehensive program. Design and IT services are additional and are billed by the hour and the project. Our team creates extensive digital content and we have a large network to draw from for special projects. We also have an extensive public relations background which is summarized in Our Story.
An ORM campaign often requires six to twelve months to substantially change the structure of search results. So we aim to provide our clients with the best range of approaches to choose from. That includes our Reputation Reboot advice column, Essential FAQ overview and related help at You(Online) They can tell a lot about our approach by reading that material.
Shannon Wilkinson is the founder and CEO of Reputation Communications. She is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal’s “Crisis of the Week” column and is often interviewed in the media about reputation management issues and practices. She is a presenter at Coptics: Policing in the Digital Age, a consulting and workshop program for law enforcement professionals.
This is the fourth in a series of interviews with experts whose work relates to online reputation management.
Our CEO offers a few tips for rebooting a damaged reputation in “Repairing a Tarnished Personal Brand,” an article in Dice Insights, the online magazine from recruitment agency DHI.
Along with those tips, Ms. Wilkinson reminds us that “Even people with stellar careers need to rebrand themselves every once in a while,” and, “Setbacks are opportunities in disguise.”
If you scroll through this blog’s archives, you’ll find many different examples of how being authentic is central to successful online reputation management. But there are few better examples of the value of authenticity than Gary Vaynerchuk.
If you’ve read David Segal’s recent New York Times piece—or any of the countless other profiles on Vaynerchuk —you know the remarkable story of his rise from the savvy social media manager/über marketer for a New Jersey wine retailer to one of the top branding and social media thought leaders. In today’s climate, where building a personal brand has become an almost universal concern, we can all benefit by looking at the strategies and tools that have fueled his success. Loud, brash and profane, Vaynerchuk’s personality doesn’t appeal to everyone. But he doesn’t try to.
Uncompromising authenticity has been at the heart of his approach since his breakout video blog, Wine Library TV, which Segal describes as “Mr. Vaynerchuk sitting at a table in his office, demystifying chardonnays, rieslings and other wines by describing them in terms that any mook could understand.” The blog not only presents Vaynerchuk as an unvarnished, passionate and accessible wine enthusiast, but also demonstrates his shrewd understanding of his medium. “My high quality content definitely factored in, but that might not have mattered had I not also made native content—authentic content perfectly crafted for that particular new platform, YouTube,” he reflects.
Early Adopter of Twitter
As an early adopter of Twitter, Vaynerchuk has harnessed it with a similar combination of candidness and insight. “It was the platform that came most naturally to me, because it was perfectly suited for small bursts of quickfire conversation and idea exchanges,” he writes in his latest book, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World. Vaynerchuk understands that the platform is about more than just “microblogging.” It’s about engaging directly—or, as he puts it, “creating context.”
“Twitter is the cocktail party of the Internet—a place where listening well has tremendous benefits,” he observes in Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook. And listen he does. “About 90 percent of Mr. Vaynerchuk’s tweets are direct replies to people who have written to or about him,” Segal points out in the Times. “I always say that our success wasn’t due to my hundreds of online videos about wine that went viral,” Vaynerchuk wrote in an Entrepreneur article, “but to the hours I spent talking to people online afterward, making connections and building relationships,”
Content Is King
Vaynerchuk also emphasizes the importance of creating content. Arecent Forbes article went so far as to call it “the cost of entry to relevance in today’s society” and encouraged people to create as much as possible. “It literally doesn’t matter what you do, if you’re not producing content, you basically don’t exist,” he has declared. Vaynerchuk’s characteristic hyperbole aside, this argument has resonance when it comes to online reputation management.
If you don’t publish content that provides accurate and appropriate information about yourself, your company, area of expertise or organization, you are not just losing an opportunity to build your brand—you are endangering it, essentially relinquishing control of your online image anyone else who decides to post content about you. Bringing together engagement and authenticity as well as content and context, Vaynerchuk’s approach highlights some valuable tools and strategies for managing one’s reputation online. G.E.’s Linda Boff may sum it up best. “When I think about Gary, I think about scrappiness before anything else,” she tells Segal in his Times piece. “He lives his own life out loud.”
