So, you own a small business or you have a line of products and services you wish to put out there. Or it can also be as simple as you want to build yourself as a thought leader or at least someone known to be knowledgeable in a specific field. Because of the scope of reach of the Internet, people marketing a product or a service can easily reach millions of people without much effort. However, building a presence online is not a simple task which is why a lot has been written about how to do it properly. Here are some practical tips on building an online reputation.
- Clean up, if there is anything to clean up.
You cannot build a good online reputation if there is already a bad one circulating. According to Online Reputation.com, the first thing to do is to find out where this negative information is hosted online and get in touch with the site’s owner or administrator and request for the information to be taken down. Of course, if the unwanted information is on your own social media site, you should make it inaccessible to the public by changing privacy settings, or deleting it entirely.
2. Plan your social media strategy.
Assuming that you have already established your key messages about your business or your products, you need to think about your social media strategy. This includes determining what platforms to use based on which platform you think your target audience is active, according to an article on the Huffington Post. The most common ones are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but there are others that may be more useful to you such as LinkedIn. Once you choose your platforms, you must commit to regular (read: daily) monitoring of your accounts.
3. Create useful and meaningful content that will build your reputation in the field you are in.
In today’s fast-paced world where everyone is trying to get everyone’s attention, good and engaging content is key. If you know your target audience or market well enough, you should not run of out topics that you can talk about with them. You should also be able to give them a mix of content type, from the usual blog posts, to the more unusual video posts or info graphics. If your audience sees you as a regular source of useful and reliable information, they will always remember you.
4. Engage your target audience.
If you have built your own “fanbase,” the next step is to keep them engaged. Regular content updating is useful in doing this, but to foster more meaningful engagement, you need to interact with your audience. Give them a chance to exchange views and share opinions with you and with others. Be careful however in this strategy because if you do not set the ground rules for discussion, it may become uncontrollable especially if you have community members who are very passionate about their views.
5. Watch out and protect your online reputation.
It is useful every once in awhile to do Google searches of your name, your brand or your company. That way, you can check what information is available and accessible online. If you see negative posts or anything negative about your brand, this is also gives you a chance to deal with it directly.
Read Part one of Practical Tips On Building Your Online Reputation here.