Jun
29

Are You Careful With Your Online Reputation?

By

Everything you say and do online is there for other people to see, for other people to get to know who you are. Therefore, you need to be very careful about what you put online. If you’re in a bad mood or something has really got you upset, stay away. Don’t go online and post something that you might regret later. Or if you have absolutely have to, do something in draft mode, and then go back and take a look at it later. Here are five tips to help you protect yourself online.

1. You need to focus. You need to focus on one particular topic or one particular area in your business that you want to be known for. I have seen lots of people out there who are involved in 10, 15, 20 different things. My automatic response is oh my, they must be a scatter brain. Focus. Develop a reputation for a specific area, a specific business. You can move on a develop other areas later.

2. Watch what’s happening in your industry. You’ll be able to see the trends, where things are going, what is happening, who to believe, and who not to believe. All of the different things that are going on your industry, what’s the new technology that applies to your business, what’s the new news that’s happening, maybe a new procedure, a new program. Watch what’s actually happening in your industry so that you, yourself, are also going to stay current. You want to be seen as the expert in your area.

3. You need to be clear in what you’re talking about and you need to be…

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Comments

  1. Great point Carla – besides what we generate ourselves, we also need to be aware of any number of different ways our name can pop up online. A few years ago after reading an article about this subject I Googled my name for the first time and I was stunned to see I’d been listed as the ‘go to’ person for a recycling program! I’d helped out with a fundraiser at one point and we used their services, and without my knowledge or permission they’d listed me in their directory. Now I have a Google Alert set up for my name so that I catch any new references that pop up on the web. Thanks for the inspiration!

  2. Mandy Swift says:

    Hi Carla,
    good, sound practical advice. So many people try and make social media so much more complicated than it needs to be.
    Follow the rules of
    1) Give first
    2) Be yourself &
    3) Add value
    and you will be off to a sound start.
    Great advice on watching what is trending in your niche so that you can stay ahead of the curve and be seen as the ‘go-to’ person in your niche.
    Thanks 🙂

  3. Steve Dooley says:

    So true. Online marketers must first find the niche they want to work in and then build a brand for themselves as a leader in said niche. Never publish any negative stuff. It will not help you with your business in any way. Furthermore, it will repel people from you rather than attract them to you. Who wants to buy from a grouch anyway?

  4. Rick Salas says:

    Hi Carla, great post and I hope lots of people stop by and really read it. There is so much junk out there. Your marketing really allows people to see who you are and what you specialize in but it’s the focus, knowledge and all the other things you said on your post also. Thanks the example of how to be seen on the internet.

    Rick Salas

  5. Ben says:

    Well said Carla
    I try to be VERY careful about how I present myself online (and off).
    It takes a while to build your reputation, and only one transgression to completely ruin it.
    And I have found that as I become more ‘me’ in my post it becomes easier to write.
    Looking forward to your next post
    Ben

  6. Steve Dooley says:

    Yes Carla we need to stay positive in everything we publish. No good will ever come to us if we spread negative vibes out into the universe. I just recently tried a new marketing strategy for paid list building using Joint Ventures. Long story short the guy was supposed to send a solo email ad to his list of 57k people for which I would pay him $277. He sent me his link to Alertpay and I paid him. He never sent the ad and I never heard from him again. I got really mad once I realized I had been scammed. I was thinking of all kinds of ways to get retribution, but then I figured that no good would come of it. I considered it a $277 lesson, learned from it, and will not let that happen again. Your post really hit home on this with me. No matter what happens its all a matter of how we look at things right?

  7. Carla McNeil says:

    No Kidding Steve!

    The energy we waste getting mad or getting even is just that a waste.

    I am a FIRM beliver in that “what goes around, comes around”

    Keep up the good attitude, it only does you good in the long run.

    Thanks for sharing your story, we can all learn to be a little more careful when we read stories like yours.

  8. Carla McNeil says:

    Thanks Ben!

    You and I are definitely in the same boat on this topic.

  9. Carla McNeil says:

    Blush!

    Thanks so much for your kind words Rick. It’s knowing that people appreciate the information that makes it so much easier to produce.

    Thanks very much for stopping by!

  10. Authenticity was the hardest part for me. I read so many fabulous blogs and thought I could never be like that. But the more authentic my blog piece, the more valuable is was to my readers.

    Thanks for the valuable post!

    Debbie

  11. Anne Perez says:

    Hi Carla
    Everything we post online is stored somewhere so as you say its extremely important that we are careful what we write. Your post reminds me of what I’ve told my teenagers: to be careful what they write and to question whether what they’re about to post is something that they wouldn’t be embarrassed about reading 20 years down the road.

  12. Loren says:

    Good information Carla about creating posts we won’t regret and protecting ourselves online. We definitely want to act online just as we would in person, with clarity, honesty and authenticity and build trust in our social networks and business. I like what you say about the importance of focus. To me, it is not only about ongoing learning but also about building a strong reputation as an expert in the field we choose to focus on. Authenticity is also big and it’s understandable when new in this industry people are inclined to copy and model others; but the sooner one moves to being their own authentic self the sooner their business will flourish.

  13. Hi Carla,

    You sure have it right about being careful what you put out in cyberspace, cause it surely can and will come back to haunt you if if isn’t right.

    SOmething I was not aware of, until last year when a marketer I follow wrote a similar post about protecting your reputation online.

    He said that everytime and everything you post is listed somewher online.

    Like if you comment on forums, possibly even blogs, when people do a search on you, that stuff shows up.

    I checked it for myself, and sure nuff, comments that I had made months back show up in my name search or the under the blog I had then.

    It’s some scary stuff. But it just makes you want to, or it should, make you want to be responsible when sharing anything online.

    Cheers

  14. Hi Carla:

    I am always amazed at what people will post online. I really don`t think they know that everyone can read it and there is no delete button. It is so important to always make sure that you are confident about what you are posting before you post it.

    Great tips!
    Kevin

  15. Carla McNeil says:

    Thanks fellow North Islander!

    Great to have ya stopping by,
    and if you see my Uncle Karl Thomas tell him I said Hi

  16. Carla McNeil says:

    I love your blog Debbie, it may have been hard for you but it sure seem authentic to me!!

  17. Carla McNeil says:

    Yes, and who wants the grandkids to be reading something dumb and embarrassing?

    Definitely not me!

  18. Carla McNeil says:

    Loren I am finding exactly that myself, moving into the authentic self!

    a lesson it has taken me a while to learn

    thanks for stopping by!

  19. Carla McNeil says:

    I can’t believe what some of my nieces put “out there”. They don’t believe me when I tell them it may come back to bite them. It’s going to be a tough lesson to learn.

    I was just looking at the applications for a virtual assistant. One of the first things I did was head over to Facebook and see if they had a profile.

    One of them had a profile that caused me to move on and not even ask her if she was still looking for work.

  20. Great topic, Carla! This is something we all need to stay aware of. We don’t have control over cyberspace, including social media. What’s out there is “out there.”

    On the other hand, I may have the opposite problem. I have to keep reminding myself that a blogpost doesn’t have to be perfect before going live. I fiddle and fiddle with it, then finally throw it up and cringe! This is probably good for me 🙂

  21. Marc Korn says:

    Hi Carla,

    Great post and excellent tips for protecting your online reputation.

    If you protect your reputation now, you won’t have to do damage control later, so it is to your benefit to manage your reputation properly right from the start.

    Your online reputation will follow you everywhere, so it is worth the extra effort to offer value and be seen as a servant leader and expert in your chosen niche and not deviate from that.

    If you want to be seen as a Leader, you must lead by example and be accountable and show character. If you want to have success in any endeavor, you must be authentic and consistent in your behavior and build trust and you do that by being honest and maintain your integrity at all times.

    Keep inspiring us,
    Marc

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