Online Reputation Management For Women

Online reputation management (ORM) is gaining traction, but do women business owners really need it?

Earlier this year, leading search engine marketer Jennifer Laycock found a need for online reputation management when she received a threatening letter from the National Pork Board of America for an $8 T-shirt she was selling that sported the phrase, The Other White Milk.

Did she spill tears over pork’s attack? Did she slash someone’s tires in retaliation? Did she threaten to milk the Board’s corporate assets if they didn’t about-face, or have her oversized boyfriend, Porky the Milkman,pay her legal bullies a visit and deflate their egos?No. She did none of that.

Instead, Laycock took the bull by the horns and went social. She blogged about it. A few days later, she received a letter of apology from the Pork Board’s CEO and a hand full of donations for her charity, Mother’s Milk Bank of Ohio. What changed?

Nothing really. Except that other bloggers blogged about it and thousands of people bookmarked her blog post and shared it with their friends. And the Pork Board received thousands of e-mails complaining that Pork enthusiasts don’t give a rat’s behind about breastfeeding mothers. All of a sudden, the Pork Board was in need of a little reputation management themselves.

In this day and age, news travels faster than the speed of light. Bad news even faster. And if it’s a good rumor, especially untrue, then you can expect light to look like it’s standing still.

Women have always had the worst end of the deal when it comes to power. I’m not whining, but some of these uncanny accusations have the potential to malign us for good. In an online forum, someone shouts the B-word for disagreeing with their version of the story, or an ex-boyfriend reveals the awful secret that didn’t happen. These things can and do happen. So what’s a girl to do?

First, don’t panic. Online reputation management begins before you need it.

Laycock’s example is just one. There are many others. It could have been uglier. What happens if a former business partner or employee gets mad enough to post negative comments about you online? Sure, you could sue, but even if a lawsuit has grounds and you win, those comments will still be there for the whole world to see. And they’ll be there for a long time unless you have a strategy to push them down in the search engine rankings. That’s why every businesswoman needs to think about online reputation management before it’s necessary. But what ORM tools, specifically, do you need?

The first tool for online reputation management is your ethical standards. DON’T give anyone any reason to talk about you unless they’re saying how wonderful you are. But let’s be real. No matter how good you are, people will sometimes find something bad to say, even if it’s not true. So be good, but be practical.

Jennifer Laycock used her blog, and it’s a good tool. In fact, I’d say a blog is one of the most important tools for online reputation management. But it’s not the only one. You also need a website, and your website needs to be search engine optimized for your name, for your company name, and for any special branding that you’ve done for the business and your products. It also needs to be optimized with particular keywords related to your niche.

After an optimized website and a blog, online reputation management needs to be carried out using other important tools, such as:

  • Articles Syndicate your articles online. Distribute them to article directories and promote them just as you would your website, creating valuable links for your name or company online.
  • Press Releases Yes, press releases are a very important reputation management tool. Make sure you write and distribute a press release about you or your company at least three or four times a year.
  • Social Bookmarking Include bookmarking icons on every web page of your website and your blog. Encourage your friends and readers to bookmark your items as they will appear in search results and create links for your site as they gain popularity.
  • Networking Online networking is perhaps one of the most important reputation management tools in every businesswoman’s arsenal. Join a few networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. Make friends lots of them. That way, if you need help with anything especially counteracting an attack of negative publicity online – then you can always call on your network.
  • Directories Use directories to boost your online reputation. There are directories for everything, including blogs, websites, newsletters, articles, and even directories of directories.
  • Forums Every time you post a comment in a forum, you are building your online reputation. Make it count. Use signature links and maintain a positive relationship with as many people as you can meet there.

Online reputation management is a zero sum game. You must ensure that there are more positive comments about you online than negative. The way you do that is to start right now. Comment on other people’s blogs. Stay active in a few forums. Post to your blog every day. Update your website regularly. Write articles and distribute them often.

Even if you do all of this, there is no guarantee that a negative comment can’t rise to the top of the search engines. But for every positive comment you have that ranks well for your reputation management keywords, it is that much more difficult for someone else to come along and damage your reputation. An important note:if someone does post something negative about you online, your first reaction may be to set the record straighton their blog or the site where they posted about you.Don’t do it!Always maintain the high road, don’t stoop to a negative level yourself.Follow these suggestions, and you’ll be well on your way to protecting your reputation and that of your company online and offline.

About the Author
Caroline Melberg is President and CEO of Small Business Mavericks, a division of Melberg Marketing. She has over 20 years of experience creating marketing communications materials and writing copy for some of the largest and most successful companies in the world. Her small business columns are syndicated online, and she publishes the popular eZine, “Small Business Maverick Secrets.” Learn insider Maverick Marketing secrets you can use immediately to find new local customers and increase your sales. When you subscribe, you’ll also get a FREE copy of her e-Book, “Local Small Business Internet Marketing Secrets” – learn insider secrets to marketing your local small business on the Web today! Get your FREE subscription at www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com.