Mar 11
31
Social media and technology have given you a gift. They have allowed you to create your reputation (for personal and professional use) online so that you can successfully increase revenue for your business. Leveraging the online tools is key.
There are many ways in which you can successfully build your reputation online. The generation of large amounts of content, through blogs, videos, etc, are some of the most effective ways to accomplish that. It is important to remember, however, that your reputation will not be built up overnight. It takes time and the consistent involvement of other people.
- Be focused: Identify your niche and concentrate your social media efforts on discussions and content that is related to your area of expertise. Focusing your brand is very important to your ultimate success. Make sure that your content and your discussions have a consistent thread running through them.
- Pay attention: Make sure to pay close attention to discussions that are related to your business. You will learn a great deal from what you read and from what you participate in. One of the main keys to social media success is listening.
- Show that you can be trusted: If you want to build a solid reputation online, honesty is a very large and important part of it. It is absolutely imperative that you demonstrate transparency at all times in business (and in life). Of course, this also applies to your involvement with social media.
- Be genuine: Your content should reflect who you are as a human being. If you write canned corporate jargon, people will not buy into what you are offering or into you as a person. People need to relate to you on a human level.
- Avoid self-promotion at all cost: If your content is full of the hard sell, nobody will have an interest in reading what you have to say. If your content is valuable and solves your readers’ problems and you are unobtrusive and respectful, people will be interested in getting involved in your offerings.
- Make sure that your content has meaning: When you are sharing your content with others, it must be valuable to them. Otherwise, there is no reason for them to read it. Additionally, if you don’t offer valuable content, your readers will not share it with other people whom they know.
- Respond in a timely fashion: A very large part of building your online reputation successfully is your interactions with other people. You will never be able to build your reputation without other people. You are not in a silo.
- Share other people’s content: Of course, a very large part of your successful reputation depends on how much people are willing to share what you are sharing with them. Along with that, goes the idea that you are also expected to share their content with people you know. One hand definitely washes the other in this case.
- Don’t be controlling: Even though you own the content that you have written and published, it is important for you to be able to relinquish some of that control so that your content, discussions, etc, can be syndicated across the Internet. Your reputation will go nowhere without it. You need to allow other people to share what you write. After all, it will certainly carry far more weight if the syndication comes from them than you.
- Get as involved as possible: Remember that you should not be spending all of your time on one social media channel. The more involved you get with social media communities on various websites, the stronger your reputation will be.
Conclusion
Boosting your online reputation takes time and effort. Once you have established a consistent pattern of connecting with others online, you will see your reputation flourish and more and more people will want to be a part of your social media network for business. As always, it is all about building and maintaining relationships.
We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. Please contact us at CompuKol Communications for further discussion on how we might be able to assist you and your team and don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page.
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About the Author. Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications LLC. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies.
Mr. Cohn founded CompuKol Communications to help small businesses and entrepreneurs increase their exposure and reputation on the Internet. CompuKol consults, creates, and implements communication strategies for small businesses to monopolize their markets with a unique business voice, vision, and visibility.
Prior to that, Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was on initiating and leading synergy efforts across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company’s Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. His expertise includes social media marketing strategies; internet marketing; web presence design; business analysis; project management; management of global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.
Mr. Cohn earned a Master’s degree in project management from George Washington University in Washington, DC; and a Master’s degree in computer science and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ.
Mr. Cohn is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
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These are very good tips for building your online reputation. I have been looking for tips like these for awhile and I plan to put them to use immediately. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michael, Very good post with down to earth points of wisdom! Being yourself and not pushing the hard sell are some of the most important aspects of a person's online reputation.
It really can be amazing how there are those who don't understand that even though technology has made it easier to communicate with other via different avenues (e.g. Twitter, blogs, online forums, etc.) it's not a replacement for the means of communication that has always existed. It's just another avenue where a person can express themselves and share with others information (and at the same time show people the type of person you are or aren't).
Thanks Michael once again for the good post!
Gil
Good post. Helpful tips. Thanks.
Thank you for sharing this blog. Excellent points.
One in particular that struck me…..was responding in a timely manner. People like to feel appreciated and responding in a timely manner helps them to realize they are.
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Michael
Just finished reading your blog. Excellent points…especially….responding in a timely manner.
Posted by Catherine Spalding
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You article is well said and well done. It's good advice for both online and off.
Posted by Susan Smith
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Very good points. We live in the age of the perosnal brand and our PR "condition" needs to be managed often, effectively and with integrity. Manners do matter
Posted by Jane Jordan-Meier
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very true, especially the show you can be trusted part…
Posted by Alan Bensew
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Great article. Indeed nowadays the Internet will help you build or destroy your reputation.
Posted by Jess Lala
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Your post hits a critical topic that is of ever growing importance. Your online reputation is really the sum total of your collective online activity (and any activity about you that is beyond your control). Many are slow to realize the degree to which the Internet never forgets. It's important to take a few steps back and really look at your online reflection in Google's mirror. We now know that nearly 80% of new clients, customers, patients, etc. are going to do an online search prior to contacting you. What do you look like? Have you really developed a comprehensive plan for building and controlling your online identity? Do you "own" the content 3-10 pages deep when you Google your name, your business name and any keywords associated with you online?
Dr. Marc Kossmann
Posted by Dr. Marc Kossmann
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Yes Jane, you touch on something that is lost today, manners. I remember a movie line that stated, "Good manners shows respect to the other person." I believe that and it should be carried into our professional careers, too.
Posted by Monica Carazo
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I can always count on your posts for featuring good content. You follow your own advice.
Rose, indexer
Posted by Rose Ippolito
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I agree that both Social Media and Technology provide important Web Presence of Individuals and Companies. How many of us 'check out' a person or company on the Internet ? I know that I do, now (although, for companies, I always run a check at Companies House).
The article Michael linked was very well thought out. I particularly liked seeing the comments "Be Honest" and "Don't Oversell Yourself". Being honest is the only safe way in Life (although there are those social occasions when discretion is called for). Not over-selling oneself is something I appreciate – if the product/service is of interest to me, I will follow it up; but I loathe 'pushy' Sales people. That tends to create an automatic "No" from me.
I am NOT a great fan of Facebook and Twitter. I have my accounts, but use them sparingly. I find LinkedIn to be a better medium for making contacts, and reading sensible (mostly) articles.
Wrt to the Internet, and Websites – they are the Company's Receptionist, Sales Brochure, and Front Door. I am re-building one of my websites, from lessons learned, and then will do the same for my Commercial site. Sometimes, 'quirky' is good – my Solicitor's original website appealed to my sense of humour. I loathe 'pop-ups', and the guy who invented them.
In the end, it is HOW you conduct your Business that matters. A good reputation takes years to build up – and only a day or so to be lost.
Caution: Don't believe all advice (including mine) without corroborating it with others you trust. And beware of Blogs … some are written by people with enormous blocks on their shoulders, although others can be useful. As always, "caveat emptor".
Posted by Peter Hartley
Being transparent is something I feel passionate about, however I'm aware that it exposes personal vulnerability. It's a tough call. Good advice here. Thank you.
Hi, Your right is all about building relationships, online or off the best way to connect with people is build relationships, its the same today, people will buy from people they like and trust. Herb Palmer Jr author " The lobster and the chicken"
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Additionally I would add:
- Share your knowledge
- Show your expertise
Posted by Ernest Bolek
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this is sound advice and can be applied in many other situations including print and face to face.
Posted by Adele Lemlek
Some very veery useful tips here that should be follow each and everytime with every online business as to not yourself open to online libel and other kinds of attacks that want to bring down your online reputation. But, as a general rule of thumb, it's always best to really connect with your clients, personally, in whatever business you do. You must be a human to them, not just a brand, and if they know the real you, they will know that the claims said against you by your competitors or whoever wants to stain your image are not true.