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This is one in a series of marketing articles that will explain
e-marketing in layman’s terms. This
information is provided to help you modify your online presence to get
your practice noticed.
Marketing Tip:
Digital Reputation Management
Have you ever done a Google search on your own name or your firm name ?
If you are lucky, your website and social media profiles will show up,
followed by the extensive library of articles that you’ve written. If you
are unlucky? Well, let’s just say we need to avoid that problem.
A few years ago I was doing web work for a psychiatrist, and as part of
the work I did an extensive web search on his name (which happened to be
extremely unusual). When I got about 14 pages deep in a Google search, I
stumbled across a page that was written specifically to slam him, his
skills, and his integrity. Following some investigation by staff, it
turned out that the individual who created the page was psychotic and the
“facts” stated on the page were not only untrue but easily provable as
false.
Unfortunately, as a doctor he was required to bring the matter to the
state licensing board, which was then required to open an investigation.
This used up everybody’s valuable time, but in short order the claim was
dismissed in the doctor’s favor . At that point we were able to ask the
web hosting company to remove the offending page.
Part of the problem with the digital world is that much of it is anonymous
and that anonymity empowers people to say things that aren’t true, things
they would never say if they could be identified. Worst of all are the
people who deliberately set out to destroy the competition through their
digital actions. The challenge for you is finding these items quickly and
taking action. Let’s take a look at some of the things you can do:
Weekly Google Search
Add it to your calendar – once a week do a Google search for your
name and your firm’s name. Look for all iterations of your name (e.g., if
your full name is Daniel L. Webster, but you normally go by Dan Webster,
look at both). Make sure you include your city in the search to help
narrow down the items that get returned.
Google News Alert
You may already be monitoring the news for specific content, but why not
monitor for your own name ? Go to
news.google.com
and search on your name. After you check the items that pop up, scroll to
the bottom of the Google search page and click “Create an email alert
for…” This will send you an email every time you appear in a new news
article. This free and automatic service not only allows you to rebut
negative press, but also to use positive press on your website and social
media pages.
Social Media
One of the primary reasons people give for not wanting to get
involved in social media is their concern that others might make negative
comments about them or their postings and those comments would be there
for all the world to see. While it is true that people can make negative
comments, it is also true that as the page owner or administrator you can
remove those comments ! On Facebook, all you need to do is hover over the
upper right hand corner of any posting and an “edit” button will appear.
If you click it, you’ll be able to delete the offensive posting.
Want to monitor other people’s pages to see where you are mentioned ? Try
using
Nimble.com
or
HootSuite.com
to track mentions of you or your firm.
Blogs
Yes, our friends at Google also monitor blogs. Just as with news
alerts, all you need to do is go to
google.com/blogsearch
and enter your name or firm’s name in the search box to find out where
you’ve been mentioned. Like a news alert, you can scroll to the bottom of
the page and set up a blog alert so you’ll know when you come up without
having to constantly search. Free, automatic, easy.
Okay, now that you’ve located all the horrible and untrue stuff that
people are saying about you online, what do you do about it ?
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A. |
If
someone has posted a page of lies about you, like happened to my
doctor friend, contact the web hosting company with proof that these
are lies and ask that the page be taken down. To find the hosting
company, go to
networksolutions.com/whois
and search for the domain registration. If the site owner has not
purchased a privacy option you should be able to see it there. |
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B. |
On
social media, monitor posts at least once a day and use the edit
features to delete anything you feel is offensive. Or if the poster
is someone “reasonable,” engage in an online discussion to get your
side of the story out there – as a mediator you have the skills to do
this ! |
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C. |
If the
author seems “over the top” don’t hesitate to report it to the
appropriate authorities. Often the first indication of pending
violence is a digital comment – often mediators work with parties who
blame them for the outcome of their mediation, and it’s important to
nip their aggression in the bud. |
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Take Control Now
The mention of things such as disciplinary hearings (even if they have
been in your favor) or any negative information that has been posted will
be there forever unless you get it removed. When a disciplinary action
notice pops up in Google, the viewer isn’t going to know you’ve won unless
they read the whole article. If someone puts up a negative page about you
or tries to assume your identity to post negative information, the average
reader isn’t going to know it is false.
While you can get things removed, the best defense is a good offense.
Blog regularly, get involved in discussion groups on LinkedIn and post
daily on Facebook, write articles that appear in electronic publications
like this one, grab opportunities to speak at events that are recorded.
In short “stuff the pipeline” – get as much of your own content out there
as possible, and you’ll overwhelm the negative content.
Your reputation is everything! Make sure you do everything you can to
keep it, because regaining it is extremely difficult !
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Michele Gibson is a Georgia-registered neutral and a certified
emerging media consultant. She is the president of Digital Smart
Tool, LLC – an e-marketing firm offering website design, SEO,
electronic newsletters, social media coaching, and marketing training
seminars.
Phone: 404-592-3367 E-mail:
mgibson@digitalsmarttools.com |
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