BY KRISTIN CLARKE / DEC 1, 2016 Public relations and online fix-it consultant John David tells you how to take control of your online brand.
You may be smart and competent in person, but take it from public relations and online fix-it consultant John David: Without a reputation protection strategy, you can easily appear stupid and vulnerable online. Forever.
In How to Protect (or Destroy) Your Reputation Online: The Essential Guide to Avoid Digital Damage, Lock Down Your Brand, and Defend Your Business, David notes that 18 percent of companies have fired employees for a social media post. And 40 percent of employers will make a job offer only after checking a candidate’s online presence.
Your organization also is at risk. The anecdotes David shares are the stuff of any association executive’s nightmares—unfair reviews or accusations that never seem to die, stubborn first-page Google rankings that showcase online complaints, and more.
Fortunately, David has created this guide to regaining control in the Wild West of the internet, including the how-to of suppression campaigns (placing loads of positive content about you or your brand onto Google-valued websites such as Twitter to push negative content past page-four search results).
“Reputational firewalls,” built in part by strong social media policies and practices and monitoring tools, also are in the arsenal against online attacks.
To “lazy” professionals who think staying “off the grid” of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn is safest and easiest, David warns that others will end up crafting online personas for them.
Guaranteed to help you sleep better at night.
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