It never feels good to read something horrible, critical or patently false about yourself online. I know this first hand, having appeared on a popular reality show where I traded lives with a cantankerous pet cremator. It seemed like overnight, the entire world was weighing in on my hair, clothes, job, and utter lack of talent as a funeral director for parakeets.
If you have thick skin — great! But it won’t protect you from the realities of an undesirable online reputation, and the potential loss of dollars that digital attacks can invite for business owners.
Interdependence is a performance-driven PR firm supercharged by the most advanced AI and predictive analytics to maximize consistent media placements in prestigious media and industry outlets.
Schedule a consultation with our PR experts and start seeing results
Mark Leone is a top reputation specialist and Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Reputation Management Consultants, in Irvine, CA. He recommends the following for anyone who is online:
- Be Aware of What’s Out There
- Monitor your reputation on a regular basis.
- Conduct a simple, basic search for positive and negative information.
- Stay alert.
- Register Your Name as a Domain
- The last thing you want is for someone to hijack your identity. Take control of your online brand with your own unique website.
- Don’t Act in a Way That Will Come Back and Haunt You
- Sanitize your online presence. Don’t post anything you wouldn’t feel comfortable with your mom (or boss or dentist) seeing.
Don’t post:
- Political Rants — You can’t un-ring that bell once your very conservative customer reads your very liberal posts. (Or the other way around).
- Pictures with drugs or alcohol. Use common sense. No one wants to see their kid’s 5th grade teacher doing a keg stand in Cabo, and it could get you fired! Improper or inappropriate behavior outside the workplace can be grounds for termination.
- “I Hate My Job” rants. Your boss could see this. Potential and current employers use Google frequently, and negative posts will damage your career.
- Keep in mind that social media privacy controls are not enough protection — anyone can screenshot a “Friends Only” post. There is no true social media privacy.
When to Hire a Top PR Firm
Dealing with negative reviews for businesses can be a more involved process, and may require the services of a PR professional. A top PR firm like Interdependence can implement an encompassing reputation and media blitz, and will better understand Google’s algorithms, the social media landscape, and how best to present and promote information.
Because the proliferation of negative info is so widespread, and given the strength and authority of negative websites, reputation repair often takes the services of a trusted and established PR firm.
The Good News
It’s possible to gain back control of your reputation. Doing so takes the right strategy, implementation, and expert promotion. Schedule your FREE PR consultation with Interdependence today and start seeing tangible results. Results you can trust.
