5 Things You Need To Know About Online Reputation

Your online reputation is the most important asset you have. It has become more important than your offline reputation, which used to be the most vital part of personal branding. Your digital footprint could make or break your career and business opportunities in just a few clicks. To get ahead of this issue, here are 5 things that you need to know about how to protect yourself from cyberbullying and online harassment.

1) Online Reputation is Important

• Your online reputation has become more valuable to your personal brand than even your offline one.
  
  
• Online feedback could make or break a business deal in just a few clicks, which means that you need to monitor and protect yourself from cyberbullying and online harassment at all costs.
  
  
• In fact, there are legal ramifications when it comes to cyberbullying and online harassment. For example, employers are increasingly checking applicants' social media accounts before they hire them - so you need to make sure your digital footprint is squeaky clean!

2) Monitor Everything

• Your digital footprint is essentially your reputation. Therefore, you need to monitor every single thing that could potentially affect it - including email accounts and social media profiles.
  
  
• This also means monitoring all comments on any public posts or reviews of your business online. Many websites allow you to delete negative comments while others don't so make sure to do this on a regular basis.
  
  
• It also makes sense to monitor any feedback on your current employer's social media accounts too, just in case you want to leave the company but still maintain a sterling reputation.
  
  
• Finally - don't forget about monitoring what people are saying about you offline! Most of us don't realize that our neighbors or co-workers could be saying something negative about us and it's important to know if they are.
  
  
• You can't control what other people say or do, but you can at least monitor them so that you don't get blindsided by a false rumor or rude comment.

3) Don't Respond

• When it comes to online reputation, the best thing you can do is ignore negative comments and feedback. If someone has something negative to say about your business or personal brand - don't respond! This will only get other people talking about you even more which could potentially snowball into a bigger problem.
  
  
• In fact, by responding to negative comments online, you could be opening up a can of worms that you simply don't want to deal with. It's best to just ignore the comment and leave it alone so everyone else does too!
  
  
• If someone is cyber bullying or harassing you - report them immediately by contacting your ISP provider and report their profile if they're on any social media websites.
  
  
• If you don't feel like it's safe to respond, consider consulting a professional reputation management service that can help you monitor and protect your online presence without getting involved in any unnecessary drama!
  
  
• Once the negative comment or feedback is gone for good - move on with your business as usual.

4) Think Before You Post

• This is the most important part of protecting your online reputation. Once something is on the internet - it's there forever! It doesn't matter if you delete a photo or status update, screenshots can still be taken which means that you need to think twice about what you post before doing so.
  
  
• Even if someone else posts something negative about your business, you can't delete their comment or review. This means that it's important to think carefully before posting anything on any public website or social media account.
  
  
• Don't say things like "I hate my job" - even if the post is private! Think twice and then once more before hitting send because there are no take backs with the internet!

5) Act Quickly

• When your online reputation is under attack, you need to act quickly and decisively. Ignoring the problem won't make it go away any more than trying to defend yourself will do any good either! The best thing you can do in this situation is take some time (if necessary) before responding publicly while seeking professional help if needed.
  
  
• In the end - it's up to you what you do with your online presence. Just make sure that everything is on the up and up before publishing anything! Remember, once something has been posted publicly - there are no take backs anymore so act accordingly!



To learn more about how LevelUP Digital Solutions can help you grow your business

through happy customers, contact us today at 401-298-9361. Our automated feedback collection, management, and syndication platform makes you the authority for your reputation and turns your customers into your best marketers.