The Risk Assistant Network & Exchange (RANE), which enables risk and security professionals to more efficiently respond to emerging threats and manage complex risk, has published this article by our founder and CEO: “Online Reputation Management: The Essential Internet “Digital Defense.”
In it, she explains how online reputation management campaigns strategically tell your story online and make sure that story appears in all the right places on the internet. That narrative may be about a business, a CEO, a new product, or an organization. It can be told using text, video, audio, images, blog posts, Facebook, a website, and many other platforms.
Shaping Public Perception Where it Matters Most
“Today, amid the massive growth of social media and fake news, ORM is an essential proactive tool to shape public perception,” she says. “It entails establishing, maintaining, repairing and monitoring the publicly available online information and Google search results of an individual or organization.
“It is vital for subjects to “tell their story” before someone else does. Otherwise, they lose control over the conversation. Competitors, employees, the media, and internet trolls are all capable of altering the truth about an individual online. Attempting to keep a deliberately low profile online is not a solution. On the contrary, if you lack a strong “digital footprint” – a significant, informative and current body of material about you on the internet —you have no “digital defense” against online attacks. That means whatever anyone says about you goes straight to the top of a Google search— and stays there.
Creating a Personal Brand is the First Step in Reputation Management
“Creating a personal brand is the first step in reputation management,” she explains. “This brand establishes a foundation for showcasing your value, differentiating you from your competitors and affirming your reputation. Given that you may dread the idea or prefer to keep a low profile, there are ways to take ownership of your name online while saying very little.
“The single most important step you can take to establish, build and protect your online reputation is to register your domain name (“yourname.com”) online. Many companies provide that service, but Google Domains is the least expensive. If you are an expert, a blog is the most effective way to publish consistent, quality and extensive content. It will occupy a considerable amount of valuable online real estate because it can be amplified on LinkedIn, Twitter and numerous other sites. (We create such content for clients who are experts but lack the time to write their own posts.)
“If there is already substantial information about you online, those steps alone are insufficient to restructure top Google results in a search of your name. (For more tips, read The Essentials: Online Reputation FAQs.) But if you are not a high-profile person, they are the first actions to take. Nine times out of ten, the prospective clients who contact us lack such critical content. Please don’t be one.”