What pops up when you Google your brand?

If the results aren’t exactly flattering—or even downright embarrassing—it may be time for some online reputation management.

But how do you get started? What do you do first? Where do you go for help?

When it comes to managing your small business presence or corporate reputation, you’ll likely have more questions than answers. But as the leader of your company, there are two basic routes you can take to shore up those negative results (and polish up your brand in the process):

Reputation Management DIY

The first option in online reputation management (ORM) is doing it yourself—taking the time to ensure your brand is not only featured in a positive light, but is also compelling enough to inspire engagement and drive customers to action.

And to make sure your approach is starting off on the right foot, you’ll first need to:

Map out your online presence

Every strong reputation management strategy starts with actionable data. You can obtain it for developing a comprehensive roadmap of your reach and impact online.

This begins by identifying every article, blog, profile, social media thread and review that mentions your name on the web. It continues with an assessment of your brand’s performance for key search phrases—as well as how you stack up among online consumers (sentiment) and the competition.

Once you’ve given your digital footprint some perspective, it’s time to:

Build your strategy

With a big picture in place, you can then put together a strategy for mitigating online problems, fortifying your brand and improving engagement.

But to be successful, it’s important to build a plan that covers all your online bases—a multi-layered attack that not only suppresses negative search engine results, but that also thrusts your brand into the spotlight and gives customers a reason to take the next step.

An effective online reputation strategy combines anything from asset creation and curation to social media marketing and online review management to heighten visibility, reach and profitability.

And once your strategy is kicked into high gear, you must now work tirelessly to:

Maintain a positive corporate reputation

Whether you’re a professional, small business or global conglomerate, it’s not enough to simply establish a positive presence on the web. In an unpredictable online environment, things can change on a moment’s notice.  You must be vigilant to monitor and maintain the brand you’ve worked so hard to build.

Threats can come from anywhere and anytime. And while the internet offers a variety of tools for tracking new mentions and monitoring the conversation. you must maintain an ever-watchful eye to protect your brand’s integrity, authority and ability to feed your bottom line.

Your Other Option? Hiring a Pro

Of course, you could dedicate precious company resources to reputation management DIY—putting invaluable amounts of time, money and labor into an effort you can only hope will accomplish the task.

Or, you could hire a professional—someone who understands the digital landscape. Who has the proven digital marketing experience, expertise and tools needed to protect, preserve and promote your brand on the web.

With ORM specialists at your side, your business has the opportunity to:

• Avoid the risks of going it alone.
• Focus your time, money and personnel on what’s important.
• Build an online reputation that can withstand digital threats and create meaningful connections with your customers.

At Reputation Sciences, we offer custom, outsourced online reputation management solutions that protect your image and grow your revenue. Call (844) 458-6735 today to schedule a free consultation.

The post Reputation Management DIY or Hire a Pro? Our Reputation Experts Dig In appeared first on Reputation Sciences.

A business is only as good as the people who lead it. The drive, behavior and ethics of lower-level workers often reflect that of the executives in charge. As a business owner, you want all your employees to support a positive corporate reputation, but at the end of the day, your CEO should shine the brightest.

The above statements aren’t unsubstantiated, nor are they a part of anything new. Studies have repeatedly shown that almost half of a company’s reputation can be attributed to their CEO. While product value and customer service dominate the other half, the manner with which a CEO presents oneself to the public can make or break how your business appeals to target markets.

How Your Top Leader Can Help Boost Your Corporate Reputation Online

Humanize Your Business with Your CEO

While a crew of office workers doing community service is a noble and valid way to show your company’s culture of outreach, your average business cannot afford to do this on a regular basis. But most business can afford to make their CEO a one-person wrecking crew when it comes to public appearances, including exercises in philanthropy.

Not only does your CEO need to win over the public, but the media also requires some courting. According to a study by the University of South Carolina, “CEO’s receiving positive media attention led to higher corporate reputations for that CEO’s firm. Additionally, if a CEO received an award, it also positively affected the corporate reputation of that firm. In contrast, if a CEO received negative media attention, it was associated with a weaker corporate reputation for that CEO’s firm.”

Give Your CEO an Online Presence

In this technological age, your public appearance is synonymous with your online presence, meaning your CEO needs to step up to the digital landscape. According to the Holmes Report, “The growing importance of the CEO’s contribution to corporate reputation is driven by the high demand for content and by the numerous platforms on which leaders can engage with stakeholders in today’s digital era.” Here are some ways you can get started:

–       Create a personal blog for your CEO, and consistently link your business page in the content

–       Establish a social media presence for the CEO that constantly references the blog and business page

–       Have your CEO host live seminars, podcasts and more

Put A Familiar Face in Front of Crises

In the event of a crisis, even one that involves an average employee, a manager or executive often gets in front of the issue. Why? To name a few reasons, it could be because the lower level employee’s conflict resolution abilities are not as astute as the leader’s. But even more importantly is a sense of familiarity. Having a constant reference for not only clients but also the media, public officials and more means being able to resonate with those individuals, and an executive with a solid reputation is your company’s best defense when public relations becomes an issue.

A Good CEO Goes Down with the Business; A Better CEO Will Keep the Business Afloat

Executives must be tough when it comes to protecting their businesses. Not only does their job depend on it, but also the jobs of all those working under them. When a company’s reputation is under fire, it is the responsibility of its leadership to step up and defend the brand. Not only that; once the crisis hits, that responsibility automatically becomes an inevitability.

So why do good executives quit in crises? Because sometimes, they take their share of accountability with them, which can help provide damage control for the brand and the individual. Public relations can become an increasingly complex issue for executives in companies in crisis, and some find that sticking around too long can be detrimental to both parties. Meanwhile, a leader who braves the PR storm and comes out unscathed will be tasked with boosting the company’s reputation. A study done by the Academy of Management found that “highly-regarded CEOs enhance their firm’s reputations, sometimes substantially, and CEOs who receive negative press coverage damage their firms’ reputations.”

A Reputable CEO With a Strong Online Presence Is Invaluable to Business

Digital marketing is a growing demand for businesses; if your executives have such an influence over your business reputation, isn’t it time your CEO had a digital strategy? At Reputation Sciences, we have helped hundreds of corporate executives boost their personal online reputations as a bigger part of their overall corporate strategy.

The post Using Your CEO to Boost Your Corporate Reputation Online appeared first on Reputation Sciences.

So, what is fake news, exactly?

In its most current iteration and understanding, fake news seems to be a catchall term for “gotcha” journalism; the spread of so-called ‘disinformation’ that, while delivered as legitimate news from a credible news source, is rather scurrilous, unsupported by evidence, and in existence solely to fuel or lend credence to a narrative. Seen primarily as a threat to undermine those levying the claim, news items charged as disingenuous tends to be quickly and very publicly dismissed. This may seem an attempt at delegitimizing the story, its author and its source, all in one fell swoop.

What’s even more fascinating about the fake news phenomenon is not how quickly it has become entrenched in the national conversation, nor how casually, even haphazardly, the idea seems to be tossed around or applied these days. What is really interesting is how much its definition and application seems to differ on either side of the partisan divide.  Whereas one side will hurl a fake-news claim at stories and sites considered less-established and more on the fringes of the Web, the other will return fire by lobbing such accusations at longtime media stalwarts (print, TV and otherwise), leaving either side subject to questions of credibility and solid footing. In the end, any such claim mainly succeeds in muddying the waters between truth and falsehood.

The end result of this disagreement is the obfuscation, even alienation, of the truth. Regardless of a story’s veracity, its crux, and the most basic facts and evidence within, are ultimately left open to interpretation. The fake news controversy encourages a sense of doubt, of fiction, to even the most verifiable, and verified, of details, no matter their actual truth or the people, event or issue they pertain to.

It may not be the truth or fiction within the piece that ultimately dictates its authenticity, but the perception of artifice. The stigma of the fake news label, depending on where and who it originated from, can resonate with a considerable segment of the population, creating a widespread perception that then shapes and solidifies mass opinion of the article, the author and its organization well into the future.

The perception of fake news, though many times highly subjective, and sometimes perhaps a bit misguided, can have the impact of bending reality to its will, shaping a new destiny for a piece of information, the way it is disseminated and, eventually, the people it is built around.

The Fake News You Don’t Hear About

News articles and organizations tend to receive the brunt of the Fake News fallout these days, and understandably so. After all, it is still newspapers, TV stations and their online counterparts performing the major reporting duties on anything and everything political. True or not, accusations of impropriety and inaccurate reporting will always be thrown at journalists first, particularly by those they’re charged with covering.

But what about those items that don’t receive the same level of media attention as news articles? They may involve misleading or false claims about individuals, professionals and businesses with little supporting evidence, yet receive enough visibility in a way that creates the impression of credibility.

Such items have been around since long before the current Fake News phenomenon, and include anything from news article mentions, gossip site posts and social media gripes to customer reviews and court case records. Yet they may fit the definition of fake news more aptly than most news articles, and tend to gain and maintain online momentum and prominence that far outlasts the 24-hour news cycle.

The mere mention of a person or organization’s name within something negative, regardless of the context or their level of involvement, greatly increases the odds of that item appearing in search results pages…those that populate the screen whenever their name or brand is searched. Once such an item appears on Google’s first page, that job seeker, professional, start-up firm or corporation has fake news of their very own; something that will most likely have real consequences for how they’re perceived for years down the road.

The ultimate and unfortunate impact of these items is a skewed, misleading and sometimes wholly fabricated perception of the name or brand in question. This fake news becomes online perception, eroding the integrity of the name or brand in the process.

For the most part, major news organizations will come out the other side of the current ‘fake news’ uproar relatively unscathed. These organizations have the resources and the experience needed to adapt and push through whatever political backlash comes their way. Some, in fact, have greatly benefited from the attention, attracting increased readership, ratings and revenue as a result.

Unfortunately, the other fake news, the one that rarely receives widespread media attention, doesn’t operate on a cycle, and has no end date in sight. In this case, the perception these items create become actual long-term realities, carving into images, potential and legacies for years on end. Without awareness or vigilance, such “news” can forever stigmatize a name or brand, driving it into oblivion.

The post Fake News: What You See Vs. What You Don’t appeared first on Reputation Sciences.