BornEntrepreneur

For older entrepreneurs, the vastness of the Internet may seem daunting, and rightfully so. Since almost anybody can disseminate anything to an audience, monitoring your online reputation is more important than ever.

Online reputation management means keeping close watch of public commentary and opinion regarding your product, services and brand. Mitigating negative reviews or slanderous commentaries can seem like an overwhelming task. But it’s simpler than you might expect when approached with a few basic steps.

Without ORM, someone is sure to wrongfully ridicule you or your company. Because of the anonymous nature of the Internet, anybody can have a voice without real consequence. Sadly, that means vengeful customers and disgruntled employees have a way to criticize you, no matter how irrational or mundane the reason.

At the same time, the Internet gives you the chance to check yourself and respond to malicious content. Follow these steps and you’re sure to maintain a good online reputation.

Search Thyself. Don’t think typing your name into Google search is good enough either. Google doesn’t encompass the entire Internet, only its servers. Try other search engines, such as Dogpile, Yahoo! and even AskJeeves. However, it’s a good idea to set up Google Alerts for your name, its derivatives and your company name. Go to Yelp and find out if there are more bad reviews than good ones about you. The purpose of searching for content about you is to find anything that disparages you. Though you cannot delete that content, you can counter it with positive content, such as a blog of testimonials for your company.

Think prevention. To keep from always being on the defensive and having to produce new content, stop reputation-destroying web users before they start. A common practice is to buy domain names that are similar to your business’ site. For instance, buy different extensions (mybiz.net, mybiz.org), any abbreviation of your company name, several domains with your name in it and maybe unflattering site names (yourcompanysucks.net) by doing this you’re stopping some content from ever existing. You can also purchase and build simple customer review sites to help counteract potentially damaging online postings.

Be a social (networking) butterfly. You can’t expect to have one website with sufficient traffic anymore. Make use of the free social networking sites (SNS) to attract potential customers. Having tons of usernames and passwords can be difficult to manage, but free programs like HootSuite let you juggle all of your SNS accounts from one place. At the very least, you’ll need Twitter, Facebook and blog accounts. Don’t just use SNSs to manage your reputation because they’re great places to show off your personable side. You’re allowed to be more casual with your SNS interactions.

Embrace it all. Technology has come a long way, and as an older entrepreneur you might remember the days when computer towers filled a room and car phones’ one function was to make calls. No matter how scary, it’s time to make use of everything, especially the internet to manage your reputation. Regularly check what’s out there that might hurt your cash flow. Stay educated on your industry and post stories, your reactions or questions on your blog. Use SNSs to put a face with your name. Customers need reminders that you’re a person, too. Given your experience and wisdom that you’ve acquired for years, they won’t mind seeing a gray hair or two.

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This is a guest post from Chris Birk.

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