online reputation management and repair guide, recover reputation/steven w. giovinco

The Online Reputation Management and Repair Guide

Recover Reputation

Steven W. Giovinco

Online Reputation Management

Topics Covered– What is Online Reputation Management?


Topics Covered – What is Online Reputation Management?– How Your Online Reputation Can be Damaged


Topics Covered – What is Online Reputation Management?– How Your Online Reputation Can be Damaged – What Happens When Your Reputation is Ruined


Topics Covered – What is Online Reputation Management?– How Your Online Reputation Can be Damaged – What Happens When Your Reputation is Ruined– How To Repair Your Online Reputation

What is Online Reputation Management?

Pre-internet– Brands, people and companies could control what

was said about them.


Now– The Internet is the new first impression. – Clients “Google” you when speaking on the phone.– Anyone can say anything, and it shows up online. – People don’t ask for references anymore, they search

Google.


Times have changed.

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• Top search engines…

Image courtesy by Danard Vincente


Now determine your online reputation.


84% say online reviews influence purchasing," Opinion Research Corporation (Opinion Research Corporation)

77% of executive recruiters use search engines to research applicants. 35% have eliminated candidates based on the information they found.

(ExecuNet) 83% of companies will face a crisis that negatively impacts their share

price between 20 and 30%, during the next five years. (Oxford-Metrica)


One negative post can ruin your business.


So what is Online Reputation Management?


Anything about you or your business online What people say about you What other sites say about you How you respond


What Makes up Your Online Reputation– Your web site– Your personal or business blogs– Comments about you from sites or blogs– Comments you write– Social media chatter


How Your Online Reputation Can be Damaged


Negative, misleading, inaccurate and damaging content

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Rumors, lies, or other hurtful material shows up in your search results

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How Your Online Reputation Can be Damaged– Competitors or disgruntled ex-employees destroy

your reputation


Harmful reviews or anonymous posts from troublesome sites

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Review sites– Yelp reviews– Yahoo reviews– Google+ reviews


Complaint sites– Scam.com– Ripoff Report.com– Complains Board.com– Pissed Consumer.com


Industry Specific Sites– Lawyers.com (Law)– Avvo.com (Medical)– Others

What Happens When Your Reputation is Ruined

A negative reputation can last forever

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Before


After


If a negative item shows up on the first page of Google– Clients stop calling– Prospects or leads decrease– Sales decline– Company folds

How NOT To Repair Your Online Reputation

DON’T write your own reviews, even under a different name


DON’T write your own reviews, even under a different name.

DON’T engage in a flame war or respond to a blog comment, especially using harsh or unprofessional language



DON’T engage in a flame war or respond to a blog comment, especially using harsh or unprofessional language.

DON’T defame or write critical posts about them



DON’T engage in a flame war or respond to a blog comment, especially using harsh or unprofessional language.

DON’T defame or write critical posts about them. DON’T ask an intern, your nephew or friends to help

with social media responses unless they are professionals or are very experienced


DON’T write your own reviews, even under a different name

DON’T engage in a flame war or respond to a blog comment, especially using harsh or unprofessional language

DON’T defame or write critical posts about them DON’T ask an intern, your nephew or friends to help

with social media responses unless they are professionals or are very experienced

DON’T use shortcuts such as “link farms”


What if something negative shows up?– Remain calm– You might feel violated, angry– Review the issue– Create strategy on how to move forward– Repair your online reputation


How to Repair Your Online Reputation– Search Engine Optimization– Social Media– Content Creation

How to Repair Your Online Reputation


Goals– Try to Remove Negative Reports– Push negative link off first page of Google– Add good information about you


Try to Remove Negative Reports– Once something is online, it is extremely difficult

or almost impossible to delete– You might be lucky and get it removed– Note that many sites often ignore removal

requests, such as RipoffReport.com-even though the posts can seem libelous


Search Engine Optimization

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Why do we care about SEO?– Optimize your web sites to get found by Google– Generates more traffic– Helps in focusing on good content


Finding good search terms is crucial– Determine how people search for you– Must be attainable– Based on research– Be specific

“litigation lawyer NYC” is better than “lawyer” “contemporary fine art consultant” is better than ”art dealer” “Chicago financial advisor” is better than “financial advisor”


How to Use Key Search Terms– Integrate into web page text– Add “behind the scenes” in code on site– Add to other sites such as blogs and Twitter bios,

etc.


Generating good organic site traffic is important


Social Media– Which to pick?

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Social Media– Know your audience– Pick just a few– Remember: goal is to generate good information

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Social Media– Twitter

Get key Followers Tweet good content several times daily

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Social Media– LinkedIn

Join several good Groups Add comments and connections daily


Social Media– Facebook

Add images, videos Post several comments daily

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Social Media– Pinterest

Post images daily in Boards Follow others

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Social Media– Google+

Join Circles Post frequently


Find industry-specific sites– Join discussions– Be active– Add content, images


Content creation

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Content creation– The best way to fix your online reputation is to

write good information– Post frequently– Flood the internet with quality content will

eventually push the negative element off the first page

– Videos, photos more important


Content Creation– Business Web Sites

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Content Creation– Business Blogs

Image courtesy of Search Engine People Blog


Content Creation– Personal Web Sites

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Content Creation– Personal Blogs

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Content Creation– YouTube Videos– Articles– Presentations– White papers– News Releases

Image courtesy of Maria Reyes-McDavis


How long will it take? – It depends on how bad the negative item is– How popular it is or how many hits it gets– Your existing online presence and the effort you

put into fixing your online– Average project takes six months


Conclusion– Remain Calm– Don’t take it personally– Learn, and move on – Continue to add good content

About Recover Reputation

Boutique online reputation firm, focused on professionals

20+ years IT, writing experience Personal, hands-on approach

Steven W. GiovincoOwnerRecover Reputation

Recover Reputation

Questions for Steven W. Giovinco? Connect! Call 347-421-7598 Email [email protected]