“Google-ability”

The reality is that your reputation can be boosted or crushed by search engines. Ten search engine links can decide whether your company wins a new contract or whether consumers choose another product. Whether you’re researching a new iPod purchase or simply looking up the background on an individual you’ve recently met, the information you discover on Google will influence your decision going forward one way or the other. Google is more than just the leading search engine; it’s the world’s most trusted reputation engine. As a business, your strategy for your reputation is to ensure that each of the first ten results is a positive reflection of your company, products and employees.

Here are some sound suggestions to accomplish this:

WebPR

WebPR is a vital component of your online strategy and focuses on increasing your online presence while building authority through better online exposure. WebPR is very different from traditional PR. In contrast to TV and radio, the internet is interactive. People choose the content they see or hear, and they will talk back.

WebPR is an ongoing conversation, full of immediate and straightforward feedback. It has an important role to play in building your reputation online and can help you seed your campaign message, lay a solid foundation for your brand and make it easy to get your messages across should you ever find yourself in a crisis. The most important place to start is with your own website, whether you prefer to call it a press centre, media room, or newsroom the key thing is that you need one on your site. A pressroom tells the world who you are, what you do, how to reach you and why anyone should care.

Search Engine Optimization

Even though you can’t necessarily guarantee which web pages will appear in a Google search, search engine optimization (SEO) can help swing the power in your favour. As a business your goal is to ensure that the first ten results is a positive reflection on your company, products and employees that you control and endorse. In applying some core Search Engine Optimisation strategies you can increase the likely hood your message shows at the top of Google’s first page of results.

Blogs

Blogs are an important ally in your pursuit to structure your online identity and manage the spread of potentially damaging information. According to Amatomu, South Africans view on an average workday 290 000 blog pages a day. Blogging technology has enabled millions of citizen journalist to put fingers to keyboards and share everything from their daily routines to their thoughts on political candidates and their opinions about products and companies. It is true that some bloggers have considerable more influence than others, it is also true that a single blog post can have a huge effect on your brand – the classic example of Jeff Jarvis and the whole Dell-Hell blog rant comes to mind.

Social Networking

We all want to do business with companies and people that we trust. We build trust online through the association with others in our social media networks, and the conversations and content we share with those connections. This means you need to identify and join networks that include your stakeholders and that are important for your industry. The benefits include more potential for business partnerships, referrals and opportunities for sales. Whether it’s a Facebook group, professional profiles on LinkedIn or social bookmarking on Digg, there is no escaping the role social networks play in shaping the perception of your brand or company.

Multimedia content

Photos, videos, and podcasts are just some of the tools that can be used to help create a consistent reputation online. Every word, picture, video, or sound bit you post and those that others post about you, reveals who you are and influences the perceptions people have about you. Images can be used in many ways to build your online reputation. Most cell phones also have digital cameras as you carry your phone around the whole day it is easy to get some great spontaneous shots. Videos on the other hand have the ability to engage viewers because they deliver a full sensory experience. Video sharing sites like YouTube is growing constantly with currently more than 13 hours of video being published to YouTube every minute. Videos is great for spreading your reputation via word of mouse giving your content legs as people are easily able to share it with others and post it all over the internet.

Whats next?

This should provide you with the tools to ensure you build yourself a stellar online reputation, but now what? Once you have engaged with your consumers, you need to show them that you understand and are listening and responding to them in their territory. The next step will be to put a relevant action plan together that reduces the damage or increases visibility. It is crucial that you pro-actively monitor the success or failure of your efforts and realign strategies accordingly. And lastly continue to monitor, monitor, monitor…