Writing Your Online Legacy; 5 Ways to Protect Your Business and Personal Brand

Posted by on Jul 1, 2010 in Small Business Marketing | 0 comments

Google, Twitter, Facebook, etc… are all tools that help us find what we need, connect with people and market our businesses, but they are also making it very easy for you to leave a legacy. Every little thing that we now do can be documented and placed on the Internet for world to see and our great grandkids whether we like it or not, all the good and the bad.

Here are 5 ways that you can protect yourself and your business from leaving the wrong legacy.

1) Use Google Alerts

This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect your business and personal brand from being destroyed. Sign up for Google Alerts and do it right now! You simply state what keywords or phrases you want to be alerted about and then Google sends you an email with links to websites and blogs that used those phrases or keywords. Make sure to enter in your business name, your name and the phrases that describe your business if you want to keep an eye on your competitors and see what others are saying in your industry.

2) Respond Don’t Ignore

Customers have all the power and they are not afraid to say what they think about you and your business operations. So now that you have signed up for Google Alerts and know what others are saying make sure to respond in the right way! Today many businesses are choosing to ignore their online reputation (especially your big name businesses, this is why I love small businesses because they are more in tuned to what’s going on) and if any business continues to do so they will be regretting it very soon. I believe you should make an effort to respond to all comments that are left about your business whether it’s good or bad. If a customer, follower, or friend stops by your blog and leaves a comment that adds value to your blog take the two seconds and thank them. It will go a long way. Now if there is a bad review about your business be proactive, reach out to that person, apologize, find out more about the problem or explain the situation from your point of view, whatever the situation calls for to earn the respect back for the readers of those negative comments.

3) Act Like You’re On Camera 24/7

It’s just smart to think that someone is always video taping you or taking a picture of you. The second you walk out of your house act as if you are on camera there is really nowhere that we can hide and no way to cover up the mistakes. You must always be accountable for your actions. Now some random person who you don’t even know you can place a video of you on Youtube and make you a star or a fool. Think about this, six years ago traditional media had the power and they decided if we were worthy enough to have our outrageous view, courageous story or a moment we would like to forget broadcasted to the world and most business owners thought so what if one customer didn’t like their food at my restaurant or thought my customer service sucked at my retail shop. Some business owners thought how many people could that one person possibly tell and who’s going to care about their experience – their mom? Now one bad review on yelp.com can turn away thousands of dollars of business and one person can send out a negative tweet about your business that can be heard by the thousands.

4) Use The Privacy Features

So of course you are on a social networking website like Facebook, but what surprises me the most is the amount of people who don’t use the privacy settings that are available. They might look difficult to find but they are there so decide what you want your friends, family, co-workers, customers, and potential employers to see. Also, think twice before you place something on a social networking website and just leave those wild pictures from Vegas off Facebook, just saying.

5) Watch What You Say

Living in the day of the social web, we as consumers feel we have the right to say anything that we want and for the most part we do, but what goes around comes around. If you are the type of person who is always on twitter or Facebook saying how much you hate this company and dislike this and that; who is going to want to do business with you or care about what you have to say? More people dig their own grave online then what they realize. Voice your opinion, but do it in the right way otherwise you will be out of luck trying to get people to trust your personal or business brand