Take Charge of Your Online Reputation - Getting Seen in the Right Places
(Page 3 of 4 )
Rob Garner wrote a piece for Media Post Publications that gives 17 tips to help you improve your online reputation. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to assume you’re starting from a blank slate. You might well have heard of some of these resources before; if you’re already using them, give yourself points for being in touch with these issues already. None of it will happen without some work on your part, of course, but then again, building a reputation offline isn’t easy; why should building one online be any different?
Let’s start with the social sites. Nothing says getting down to business like a good LinkedIn profile. Don’t follow my own example; at this writing, I still haven’t gotten around to doing the appropriate work. You want to build a real page, with real connections, that gives anyone looking at your profile a good sense of who you are, what you’re about, and what you’re after. I hope to cover ways in which you can use SEO on your LinkedIn profile in a future article.
Likewise, you’ll want to create profiles on other social media sites, like MySpace and Flickr. You might want to consider Facebook as well. Just keep in mind that whatever you post on those sites may come back to haunt you, so think before you upload. Also, be mindful of copyright and the site’s Terms of Service; content entered into Flickr, for instance, is covered under a Creative Commons license.
Start a blog. Garner recommends using WordPress. In fact, he recommends starting a blog on WordPress, and starting a WordPress blog on your own domain (you DO have a domain, right?). Expect to devote some serious time and effort to this blog. Make it real; put content into it that readers will enjoy and find useful. You’re not going to get a good reputation if you put out bad content. Speaking of which, that’s another point that Garner makes: “Avoid putting out any material that you wouldn’t want in your primary namespace. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Next: Content, Content, Content >>
More Website Promotion Articles
More By Terri Wells
/ 4 
