3 Tips for Anyone Interested in Maintaining their Reputation

Nearly every type of business today has some tie to the web. Even traditional storefront businesses need to have a highly functional website to remain competitive. However, the greater connectivity that being online allows for also comes with greater responsibility.

If you are interested in keeping your name and brand viable on the web, you need to be concerned with online reputation management. What is Reputation Management you ask? Online reputation management is when you remain proactive about how your business looks to the average consumer online. Although many large companies will employ firms to personally manage their online reputations, there are a few basic steps any entrepreneur can take to properly perform Online Reputation Management:

Obsess Over Social Media
Any business interested in remaining competitive needs to be on various social media sites. Not only do businesses need to be on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but they need to be actively participating on these sites on a day-to-day basis. Owning a Facebook account that you log in to once a month can be disastrous for your online reputation. Not only will posting frequently keep your customers engaged, but it will also help keep your name high on the search engine results pages.

Maintain Consistent
All of your websites, blogs, and social networking accounts need to convey the same message about you and your business. If your blog conveys one message about your business, and your social networking accounts convey another, your customers and potential customers will notice the incongruity and be less likely to trust your company. If they don’t trust you or your company, they won’t be likely to trust your products and services and business will suffer.

Quick Damage Control
To remain highly visible online, you need to promote yourself through every online avenue possible. However, while promoting your company, you also need to be highly aware online image at all times – and this includes anything that is ever said about you. Online forums and social networking sites can become a hotbed of negative press if not closely monitored. When negative press does arise on these sites, you need to be able to quickly respond politely to deter any more negative comments from being made.

As more and more businesses move online, online reputation management has never been more important. It takes years to build a brand and only a few seconds to completely tear it down with a neglected Facebook page or poor Tweet. To effectively stay ahead of the competition, you need to properly employ online reputation management on a day-to-day basis.

This post is a guest post from Online Reputation Management which is a partner of Growth Partner Company.

LinkedIn – The future of career advertising goes social…

About one and a half years ago, the guys from Mediamind asked me if I want to write a guest post on the future of banner creatives on their blog. Well, I flashed back to find the future – the old strategic approach… What came out was a headline called “Engagement creatives reloading the future”. Seeing what was happening on LinkedIn in the last months, it seems I had quite a good feeling on what the future might look like.

In the Mediamind post, I focussed on the response banner functionality of Facebook creatives and how the referential potential of social graph marketing intelligence let the personal network get engaged. One individual creates buzz just by being integrated with a linked name in one line of the graphic. So, people know your name and get dragged into campaign activity, just by curiosity, just by wanting to know why, what and how. Just by … you name it.

In the last weeks, LinkedIn came from being just another platform selling space to opening the potential for intelligent career online advertising, and leveraging the network potential with clever display advertising. Companies were focussing on personalization, the social targeting opportunities and the API potential to enable innovative campaigns creatives on the business network.

While some social media marketing companies (funny right…?! see picture above) use the traditional way of banner creatives, Volkswagen identified the evolution of the pick-a-boo effect and the competitive aspect of having more contacts, more recommendations and better education. Just the things that make up a career…

Another example is AMEX. They took their social advertising career campaign even a step further by not spoting you, but the person next to us that helps successful managers, the teams and you: the administrators. People could nominate their business supporters, and by voting promote these “second liners” to have a chance to win a gift card courtesy of 2.500 USD.

In the end, the most convincing career social display campaign is when you find yourself in the middle of a personalized creative. When I checked one of my contacts from SAP today, a rectangle banner appeared next to the SAP contact profile of the person I am linked with. Now, guess what happened? I got offered a job from SAP. Well, maybe not the job I wanted but still a great approach.

The banner was personalized using my LinkedIn picture and my name. It was really somehow talking to me. It detected I could be in the software industry, I could be a consulting sales person, and yes, the creation is clever in terms of straight interaction and sharing. Don’t you think…?

Spot On!
We are still early stages with these new (career) display advertising opportunities. Still, the advertising evolution is happening, and publishers need to have a close look at the opportunities if they don’t want to loose the battle to social networks. These examples might be geeky – however, they are engaging, personalized and conversational. Just what traditional banner cannot offer far too often…

Study: Social Media and Advertising – What is the next hype for marketers…?

When you do Social Media marketing seminars and trainings (and I have done many in the last 24 months), most of the times marketers want to know everything around Facebook and Twitter (maybe Google Plus these days). However, according to the Pivot Conference that released their study “The Rise of the Social Consumer”, with the response of 230 brand managers, executives, and marketing professionals yesterday, some new hypes from marketers can be seen. Just check out the platforms that marketers are planning to invest in…

Although the big players on the market dominate at present, the next wave is already approaching marketers mindset. YouTube, LinkedIn, Foursquare and Zynga have made their popularity in the Social Media market and might get the future attention of the marketers. The second column shows an increase of those four platforms between 13-26% which obviously have some good business value if seen from the right customer service and customer relationship management spot.

For B2B companies LinkedIn got some great assets, not only with their special groups. YouTube is some higly underated platform in my eyes. It can be used for different visual aspects in B2B, but also viral topics and campaign opportunities in B2C. If restaurants, service providers or entertainment brands want to head for local promotions, Foursquare (and Gowalla in some areas – also 5% increase forecasted) offers some fantastic buzz potential. Whether Zynga is really so powerful for marketers to promote their offerings, needs to be seen and proved in the future. I would rather recomment and elaborate on reward advertising models.

The study also showed that 84% of brands encourage user involvement with social advertisement campaigns. This is interesting as very often the perception of marketers was that people don’t really see the ads next to their streams. The intention of marketers why they invest in Social Media advertising is manyfold…

Spot On!
Over half of respondents of the study (see full report) said they were shifting money away from other forms of marketing towards Social Media. 23% of respondents even stated that social advertising delivers a greater ROI than other forms of advertising. Although this sounds great, the strategic approach to every social advertising and Social Media engagement needs to be double-checked. The development of the results need to be aligned with the expectations and targets set before the Social Media activity started. At least if they don’t want to lack business credibility in front of their bosses…

Some great comparisons… Twitter vs. Facebook vs. Google+

A lot has been said about Twitter versus Facebook versus the rising star Google+ the last fourteen days. And sometimes you are just glad that great people are challenging the effort to compare stuff in (info)graphics, you have had no time for yet…

Stefano Epifani generated a wonderful infographic comparison of the three competitors in the social networking industry…

Another graphic by Hutch Carpenter, VP of Product at Spigit, did an even more detailed version in terms of highlighting where Google+ comes closer to Twitter or Facebook. And it is starting from one of the main differences in my eyes. The symmetry strategy of Facebook (but here we could also add XING or LinkedIn) versus asymmetry strategy of Twitter and Google+ in allowing the connection between people…

And if you ever wondered who really is the leader of the three platforms in the world of tomorrow, we should start understanding these number. How long did it take the platforms to reach 10 million users (according to Paul Allen’s Google+ Account):
Facebook 852 days, Twitter 780 days and Google+…? 16 days!

Any more questions…?

Studies – How women and moms use social media and mobile today…

Are men still the drivers of trends? How do women approach the Social Web, and the new mobile technology? Is the realm of gadgets still a mens’ business? Interestingly enough, a recent study from Women at NBCU found that women are the main drivers of tech trends, particularly on social networks. But there are more studies to obey…

Some findings of a recent study from Women at NBCU show that women are more engaged in social media and the mobile trend than men. The results say that women are the main drivers of tech trends, especially on social networks.

Women in General
Making purchases, a high number of women (71%) surveyed stated that they have their recommendations from online friends rather than review websites. And even more, they are far more likely to connect with brands on their social networks. According to the survey, women are alsoo more likely to own a smartphone, a gaming app like Angry Birds or a Wii than men.

So, the question will be which social network is dominated by women and which one by men? The Pew Internet Research allows some insights. Except for LinkedIn all other social networks seemed to be ruled by women. Is business is a mens’ domain or just more men in the workforce…?

Females participate stronger and more intense overall and in every other social network. Also interesting, that male versus female usage on Twitter is just the opposite. Another study last year by BridgeRatings said that men prefer Twitter while Facebook is more appealing to women.

However if we take a look at the Google+ stats, it seems that Google+ is a male-dominated platform by a ratio of 3:1. However, Paul Allen, predicts that “Google+ is quickly turning pink”. His view is that the “percentage of women on G+ may soon outstrip the number of women on LinkedIn”. Although women are more thinking in segmented friendship circles, I have heard many women complaining about the complexity of Google+. We will watch this trend evolving…

Women in business
The Women Presidents’ Organization found in a study, based on the responses of 259 women-led companies, that 40% women-led business owners thinks that an increase in revenue was based on their social media efforts. Even more, 10% of the respondents saw a “significant” revenue jump.

However the great figures, 40% of respondents also denied having seen sales improve from social media, but 31% of them remained “hopeful”. They envision other benefits like building credibility or better recruitment opportunities. Still, there were 16% not using Social Media.

Women at home: Moms
Moms are a definiely an emerging and lucrative target group for marketers. We can see this from a NPD group research and Pandora, the streaming service. They are using social networks longer and more frequently to share their views on kids and education, and they are even more heavy mobile users. Mothers make up 20% Internet traffic and are the fastest-growing buyers of iPhones. And also a Nielsen report claims that American mothers are sharing more photos and news on Facebook than anyone else.

“We’ve known about the opportunity of online moms for a while now, but then mobile technology came along and blew everything up”. Marshal Cohen, Chief Retail Analyst, NPD Group

Spot On!
Men are no longer the forerunners of modern technology. Women adapt at least as quickly as men, and seem to be more engaged in Social Media and social networking than men. If this is because men focus and identify themselve more with business topics, or whether there are other reasons like American focus of the studies, the readers of this post might find arguments for or against some of these views.

Share your insights and views. Why are women more engaged in Social Media? Why are they positive about their usage of social networking for business? Or is this a complete wrong picture that we get here?

Study: More companies succeed in recruiting via social networks

Social Media is becoming the new talent aquisition tool for companies. A recent study by Jobvite states that almost 90% of companies are planning to use social networks to find job candidates. This is an increase of 7% to last year. Two thirds of employers said they had successfully filled a job position via social networking.

The study that polled 800 human resource staffers and headhunters in the U.S also illustrates the importance of personal branding which I proclaim for years now – also with the vision of a personal scoring index. Job seekers should understand the importance of having an active profile on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. However, this is essential and career benefitial, the study also warns that what you say and do on those sites has an impact on your career.

Running the survey in their fifth year, Jobvite is seeing a steady increase by employers in the use of social media.

“Employee referrals are the highest quality hires. (…) They last the longest, have the best match with expectations, and churn the least.” Dan Finnigan, CEO, Jobvite

According to Jobvite’s own client data, 70% of companies examine candidates’ social media profiles after getting a referral. Which means you never know who is checking your latest party pictures and how much you ruin your reputation by updating embarrassing information

“Don’t post any picture, say any words or take any actions that you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see,” advises Finnigan.

Some interesting finding shows that Facebook is not the main place to look for job candidates. However, LinkedIn went up from 78.3% to 86.6% (inclusive of all possible usage like search, job postings, etc.).

Having said that, Jobvite also asked their own customers how many actually hired staff using social referrals from various social networking sites. 43% of referrals that resulted in hires came from Facebook versus 41% from LinkedIn and 16% from Twitter.

Spot On!
For the Social Society in which we are living social engagement become an asset bonus but also a challenge for job seekers. Today, it is still difficult to understand for many recruiters why you have a personal brand. In the future, this will change and show your affinity to a topic, to brands and to modern business tactics. People might be addressed or recruited by younger hiring managers who are more tolerant of social media failures or side steps but the more senior a position gets, the pickier recruitment managers are getting.

How do you see the future of personal branding and how recruiters are checking your capabilities via social networks?

What happens in 60 seconds on the Social Web? A comparison and the value of “infographics”…

There are different ways to illustrate how fast the Social Web is growing these days. For two years my favorite “real-time” resource -based on studies and research data- was Gary Hayes Social Media Count. And I am sure, you have all seen this great little widget already…

However, we also have to keep up with the pace and realize that -although people already hate them- infographics are sometimes a nice way to grab facts quick and easy. The Shanghai Web Designers created an infographic which illustrates how fast conversations, comments and content are produced on social networking and online platforms in only 60 seconds.

Infographic by- Shanghai Web Designers

Now, although I honor the work of the Shanghai Web Designers, it lacks some information on where the data was generated from. Gary Hayes explains nicely how the app data was put together and how actual it is (having said that I think Gary needs to refresh his links as I found links ending in 404′s).

A comparison could be interesting, I thought. Why not compare the 60 seconds data from the Shanghai Web Designers (SWD) versus a “one-minute-momentum” of Gary Hayes (GH) counter…? I started the counter and waited 60 seconds, and there you go. Here are the results…

The comparison will just focus on the essentials Google, Email, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. You can still do your own comparison afterwards…

Google
Search queries: 694,445 (SWD) versus 1,393,519 (GH)

Emails
Emails sent: 168,000,000 (SWD) versus 204,255,455 (GH)

Facebook
Status Updates: 695,000 (SWD) versus 696,758 (GH)
Comments: 510,040 (SWD) versus 512,100 (GH)

Twitter
New accounts: 320 (SWD) versus 208 (GH)
Tweets published: 98,000 (SWD) versus 62,707 (GH)

YouTube
Hours of content uploaded: 25+ hours (SWD) verus 36 hours (GH)

LinkedIn
New members: 100 (SWD) versus 60 (GH)

Spot On!
The comparison makes clear that the Facebook figures are similar whereas for the rest of the figures there is a massive discrepancy in numbers. Facebook is sharing their latest actual figures, for the other technology platforms the data probably comes from third party sources (or at least as far as I can see). If all platform and technology owners would share their latest data, those discrepancies won’t happen. The lack of source information from Shanghai Web Designers makes it difficult to argue which data is the latest, where the differences in the comparison are coming from, and so on. Maybe this is the reason why some experts don’t like infographics any more. “Don’t like…” might be wrong when I see how many people have shared the infographic in the last days. They appear very nice and compelling in social networking accounts and “illustrate” thought-leadership in presentations. Right…?!

The social web and the digital change

Watching the latest trends in the Social Web, I dedicate this post to your thoughts…!

This weekend, I just want to get you thinking about the future of the Social Web by focussing on three studies. All studies have an impact on our digital lives from a personal and our business professional point of view: They illustrate how the social web is changing the world we are living and working in…

So, here we go…

1. Digital Profit. The latest study by Regus asking 17,000 managers and business owners across 80 countries makes clear that companies can win new business with Social Media. Main aims are to gain new customers and keep the ones companies have. “Social networking has fully evolved from a nice-to-have to a necessity as the majority of businesses in the U.S. (69%), and internationally (74%) agree that social media activity is playing a bigger role in their marketing strategy,” claims the study. The finding sounds as if marketing objectives and personal reputation uplift are still the main driver why people use the Social Web.
Right or wrong?

2. Digital Visibility. A recent survey from ROI Research, sponsored by Performics of 2,997 active social networkers states that 59% of respondents said it is important to have a LinkedIn account, more than any other social network. “We may not necessarily be in a double-dip recession but, individuals have embraced social networking as a means to actively manage their personal visibility in the global economy.” said Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics. The finding, apart from sounding very general, seem to state that Twitter and Facebook are about to miss the boat with respect to their importance for professional career visibility.
Right or wrong?

3. Digital Divide. The University of California, Berkeley, suggests in a study that the Social Web is increasingly not the people’s Web. “The working class is underrepresented on the Internet. (…) Without their voices, their issues are ignored,” summarizes Jen Schradie, a doctoral candidate in sociology and author of the study at Berkeley. The finding sounds like a bigger digital divide is about to arise from the Social Web as the input on social media just reflects perspectives of college-educated and Web 2.0-savvy users.
Right or wrong?

Are we still in the “conversation mode” which was mean to be the imperative of the social web? Three study findings and three simple questions. It would be interesting to get your views on them. Looking forward to your feedback.

News Update – Best of the Day

According to a study released by the BtoB Magazine, 93% of all B2B marketers use social media marketing for their day-to-day activities. For most marketers the most popular channels are LinkedIn (72%), Facebook (71%), Twitter (67%), followed by YouTube (48%), blogging (44%) and online communities (22%).

The main challenge for B2B marketers is a lack of resources (70%) and defining valid success metrics and key performance indicators (57%). Surprisingly enough, the lack of knowledge about social media (44%) is still a big topic… and management resistance (22%).

Statistics are the best argumentation against management resistance, and to get management behind the changing world of your web-strategic efforts. Hubspot’s author Marta Kagan put together 12 mind-blowing arguments that will empower the change your modern web-strategy is heading for.

In order to get your future web-strategy right, companies need to proof their areas of best practice and knowledge. Jacob Morgan published on his blog their companies Adaptive Social Business Strategy (or framework) which in my eyes is an interesting check-list for businesses on their strength and weaknesses from a web-strategy perspective.

News Update – Best of the Day

Some day sago, I have written about the changing atmosphere since social media monitoring companies are moving into the CRM sector. Andrew Hunt discusses the issue if “Sales is killing Social Media?” and explains how B2B sales is changing from both sides: Customer are at least “spectators” according to a Forrester study. The question is when companies are changing their sales process to a “listen and engage” model for the old “speak and push” format, where he refers to an interesting insight from OgilvyOne about the future of selling.

A recent Penn State research claims that updates on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other real-time content sites could be worth more than 30 million USD a day, or nearly 10.9 billion dollars a year, to advertisers. The study was based on separating duplicate searches from unique search terms. Then, the research determined the value of the real-time search terms by using Google Adwords Traffic Estimator.

Start the day with a smile and don’t invest in the wrong portfolio… Nice commercial from Invesco.

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