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Personal Reputation Management | GDPR EU-2022
What is it that goes into having a successful business brand in today's age? There are many ways to keep on top of your Personal Reputation Management.
What is it that goes into having a successful brand in today’s age? There are many ways to keep on top of your personal reputation management, which can become confusing when knowing what you should be focusing on. The fact is, your priority is going to vary depending on what you do, you might want to focus on social media sites, maybe you want to focus on where you rank on search engines; however, one thing that applies to all businesses, and which directly trickles down to you as the business owner is portraying a positive online image and having a positive online reputation.
Thanks to today’s digital world and our society’s reliance on technology, you, your professional reputation and your personal reputation are constantly in the spotlight. All it takes is for one person to Google your name and the search results online will give that user access to your entire online identity. As such, if there is any negative content online about you, then these negative results are going to be visible. This can affect you as an individual, your business or your prospects of getting a new job as chances are hiring managers and HR professionals will look up such personal information when trying to gauge a first impression.
Given you are now under more scrutiny than any other time in history, it begs the question, what can be done about it?
Do Google Search Results Really Show Your Online Reputation?
The short answer: yes. The power that google search results have is truly astonishing when it comes to your online reputation as your personal and professional life are suddenly on display. Users are able to check search engines to see the likes of your social media accounts, your personal brand, press releases, social media posts and your personal details.
All of this information is going to have a massive impact on how the likes of other businesses and potential customers perceive you, as such, you need to make sure these sites are showing you in a positive manner. This will help you avoid a reputation crisis as when you are searched online, your online presence will show positive information.
If you’re still unsure about how important Google search results are for your online presence then give it a go yourself. Type your name into Google and imagine you work in social recruiting; do you portray a bad reputation, or would you be happy with the way organic search results online portray you?
It may be that it isn’t even your reputation you don’t like, rather the fact that other websites online rank higher than you do. If that’s the case then you need to work on your search engine optimization so that not only do you have a strong online reputation, but internet users can find that reputation after a quick search. One of the most effective ways that you can do this is by enlisting the help of a personal reputation management company.
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An example of a personal reputation management company is Igniyte. These are an organisation who are committed to helping individuals and businesses with their online reputation management. There are a number of different ways that you can improve your online reputation and it’s businesses like Igniyte with their online reputation management services who can work out the best ways to improve both your personal and professional reputation.
How Do Personal Reputation Management Companies Help Build a Positive Online Reputation?
When it comes to online reputation management and getting positive content online, whether this is on social media sites or on google search results, there are a number of different methods that an online reputation management company can use. These include some of the following:
Carve Out Your Position on Thought Leadership
The first thing that organisations will do is invest some of their time into thought leadership. This essentially means that you need to consider what you want your online image to be like. What do you want people to see the minute they type your name into Google or when they sign up for Google alerts? If done right, you are in a position to control the narrative that surrounds this.
The first thing to do when it comes to thought leadership is to think of the different topics that you want associated with you. Essentially, when people perceive you as an expert in something, what would you like this topic to be? It is much easier building a positive reputation through an online search when you know what you want people to be asking advice for.
It is important to be data driven like this when it comes to improving your own reputation but also, you need to ensure that you do have a genuine interest in the subject area that you are committing yourself to. If you are going to be using this niche as the foundation for your personal brand then it should be something you are interested in and are happy with people associating you with.
Choose the Different Channels that You Want to Prioritise
Once you have an idea as to the area you would like to be perceived as an expert in, you are going to be in a much better position with picking the best marketing channels that are going to be good for discussing your chosen subject matter on. You are probably going to find that reputation management companies will focus on a few different channels. These are likely going to include editorial publications that can come up in search engine results, your posts on social media platforms and online reviews. The online world is full of different channels and means for you to improve your online reputation so it is worth taking advantage of all of them.
Having good social media profiles are a great way to improve your online reputation as these are likely going to come up on the first page of Google when someone searches for you. They are also easy to use as well thanks to different social media tools out there that are going to allow you to fully understand what the best network would be for you to use in order to reach your target audience.
Not only this but you are also going to be able to monitor different people who are going to help portray you in more of a positive manner. This can include other experts in your chosen field, journalists who work on industry news and publish press releases to your desired audience and any other influencers who could be of use to you and your brand.
Use Search Engine Optimization to Push Your Positive Online Reputation
A large amount of traffic generated by Google is generated because of the first page of search results. As such, it is important that you are aware of this and as such are using SEO in order to push both neutral and positive content on positive websites, whilst also burying negative results that could hinder peoples first impression of you and damage your online professional reputation. You would be surprised at just how much potentially harmful content and negative search results you can push off the first page of Google with good SEO practices.
When using SEO to work on your online reputation management, you will need to ensure that you are using relevant keywords when working on your social media presence, throughout your professional and personal social media accounts and also on your website. This means that all of these different online platforms are going to be easy for search engines to use when picking what should rank. This will all benefit your online image.
SEO can be a tricky field to navigate but content marketing can be helpful with it. This is something else that an online reputation management company is going to be able to help with by posting regular content that shows you as the expert in your field that you are.
Reach Out for Both Reviews and Endorsements
It cannot be understated just how important reviews are for helping your online image. You can put different sections on your website where people are able to leave reviews but a lot of the time, people will be hesitant to endorse or review something unless prompted. This is not a reflection of the actual product or service, rather a lot of people simply do not think to leave such feedback. This is why it is important that you make sure you are asking for such comments as this is more positive content that will benefit your personal and professional reputation online.
When considering social media, one of the best sites available for endorsements is LinkedIn. On here you are able to highlight your awards but then are also able to get other people to vouch for you either with the recommendation or endorsement feature.
With each recommendation or endorsement that you receive on social media, you are just doing more and more to improve your online image. When a business or someone in social recruiting is looking online for someone that they could use the assistance of, they will see the positive feedback you have received and feel a lot more confident about contacting you.
Measure the Results of Your Online Reputation Management
It doesn’t take much to damage your online reputation and as such, you need to ensure that you are staying on top of what is being said about you online. This applies to both your professional reputation and your personal reputation. Online reputation management companies are usually going to have access to tools that will allow you to measure what is being said about you thanks to the likes of Google alerts.
Not only in using the above are you going to be able to improve your online image, but thanks to online reputation management services and the tools they will use, you are going to be able to stay on top of your online image too.
There are a number of benefits that come with personal reputation management as you are able to improve your professional and personal online reputation. The main benefits include some of the following:
You Build Credibility
Generally speaking, people feel a lot more comfortable when they are buying from a brand that they feel like they are able to put their trust in. The results on the first few pages of Google are going to have a big impact on whether or not people feel as though they are able to trust a brand and only by managing your online reputation are you going to be able to ensure the content on these first pages are positive.
This is also why any negative information about you, your business or your personal brand has to be addressed. If people look you up and are immediately met with bad press, it’s unlikely they will be interested in moving any further forward with you.
Build a Good Image for Your Personal Brand
If you have good online reputation management then you are going to be able to form the foundation of, and build upon that, the perfect image for your personal brand. This means honing in on what you want to be considered an expert in and establishing yourself as a voice of authority within that industry. You will also be able to monitor some of the responses that have been made about you and use those responses once again to further enhance your personal online reputation.
Build Trust Both Professionally and Personally
Having trust is absolutely essential if you intend on striving. As such, it is important you are able to establish an element of trust with random internet users who are going to be searching your name. Generally speaking, consumers prefer to work with those who have been recommended to them or have some positive reviews online and as such, you should try to build upon this potential trust by working on your online reputation. It goes without saying that one of the most effective ways you are able to do this is by engaging with the services of a personal reputation management organisation.
What Impact do Different Search Results Have on Your Personal Reputation
Having negative content online about an individual can lead to a reputation crisis and as such this rightly remains a real worry. When you have positive content online which is highly visible, this goes an incredibly long way with improving your online reputation.
Some stats that may surprise you include:
Oversee Your Reputation and Choose Your Own Narrative
There are a lot of different factors that come into play when organisations and individuals are trying to succeed. This could be because an organisation is trying to get more customers or hire employees.
Alternatively, an individual may be trying to establish themselves as a voice of authority to further enhance the credibility of their organisation, or they could be looking for a new job. Either way, no matter what other efforts you put into this, they are not going to mean much if you have a poor online reputation.
People have access to so much information now with both businesses and individuals and as such, they are likely going to look you up before engaging with you. If someone such as a hiring manager does this and is met with a lot of negative comments, then it is highly unlikely they are going to consider engaging with you any further. As such, your online reputation is something that absolutely needs addressing and focusing on, and one of the best ways that you can do this is by hiring an online reputation management company.
By engaging with the services of an organisation such as Igniyte, they are going to be able to implement multiple different methods in order to ensure that positive content about you ranks highly on search engines. This will do a lot for your public relations and comes with an array of benefits, including the fact that people will have more trust in you and you will build upon your credibility as well.
If you have any other questions as to why online reputation management is important and how a company such as Igniyte would be able to help then it is worth getting in touch. You will be surprised just how many benefits you see once you start working on your online reputation and tending to your online image.
