Confrontation and Harassment and Bullying, Oh My! Let me share with you my recent experience. I was asked to speak on Reputation Management a couple of weeks ago and was shocked when a participant stood up, challenged my presentation, called me a liar and stormed out.

That in and of itself was bad enough, but the next day another speaker was challenged and a participant argued with her as well. Not sure if it was the same participant or not.

The age of the participant who I angered, millennial, early 20s. My presentation was on Reputation Management and after she left I made the comment that she needed anger management. Well the presenter from the second day was talking on Conflict Resolution! So the participant(s), again not sure if she was the same one or not, just needs some old fashion schooling on business etiquette and maybe some anger management.

For my presentation, I was speaking to young professionals about their online profiles and digital searches. The web is often our first and most important impression, and finding ways to monitor, improve, and control our reputations online is something that benefits everyone.

I pointed out that in our world today, the first impression of people now comes from what we can find online. People are Googling all the time and making critical decisions based on what they find.

Seventy-five percent of HR departments are required to research a candidate online before making a hire. Now this is where my seminar participant started to get agitated. In her opinion, HR departments cannot do this because it’s illegal. I beg to differ.

I quoted these statistics which further perpetuated the situation. Sixty percent of employers’ screen candidates via social media. This number is rapidly increasing — from 52 percent just last year and 22 percent in 2008. Employers are scanning social for red flags: 46 percent were turned off by provocative or inappropriate photographs, videos, or information; 43 percent by evidence of a candidate drinking or using drugs; 31 percent by bad-mouthing of previous company or fellow employee; and 29 percent by poor communication skills.

I gave examples of my own clients not hiring, rescinding job offers and shredding applications because of what they’ve found online.

I then asked for a couple of volunteers so we could do searches on them. The first gentlemen, had a few Go Fund Me pages for medical issues. On his Facebook page, he had several posts with medical issues. I suggested that he clean those up and maybe remove the posts and Go Fund Me pages where the campaigns have been completed. I told him that it probably wouldn’t stop me from hiring him, but it may stop others if they could see publicly that he had health issues.

This is where the participant flipped out, literally. I don’t know if I have ever been so publicly humiliated or had anyone ever scream and yell at me in a presentation before. She told me that it was illegal and in an interview you can’t even ask anyone about health issues.

I completely understand that, but we weren’t discussing the interview process nor were we in an interview. We were discussing an internet search to see if a business was even going to accept the application. We weren’t even close to an interview. I was giving suggestions on how to cleanup a profile or search for a potential employer. My suggestion about his Facebook page was to make his profile private so that all of that information wasn’t public.

I was completely flustered for a couple of seconds and had to quickly pull myself together, not respond and keep on going.

For the angered participant, you can ask questions in a presentation, but you should have pulled me aside and discussed this in private. I felt a little better when the speaker from the second day shared with me that she had the same issue.

These outbursts, in my opinion, come from our age of bullying. Where young people today, grow up bullying their peers and at this point in time, very little is done about it. Our bullying laws are not being enforced and so the spill over is affecting all of us.

I don’t have an answer as to how to deal with the issue. As for me, I may have to educate participants the next time that I speak. And ask that if they have something negative to say or disagree with my information to please stay afterwards and not to disrupt my presentation with their outbursts. I truly believe that we just need to educate this younger generation on business etiquette and what is acceptable and not acceptable behavior.

If you are needing help with your Online Reputation Management, please give us a call today! And let’s take the oh my out of confrontation and harassment and bullying!

The post Our World It’s a Changing…Confrontation and Harassment and Bullying, Oh My! appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

For business owners, professionals, and freelancers alike, now more than ever it is crucial that online identities be carefully curated and monitored. Establishing and managing your online presence is essential to gaining the upper hand in all personal and professional matters. You can take control of your personal brand to maximize the potential of your online identity by following these six steps.

1. Conduct a Search on Your Name
   First, do a thorough internet search for your name, your brand, and variations including nicknames, maiden names, and common misspellings. Be sure to carry out searches on a variety of search engines and social networks, and keep searching past the first or second pages of results.
2. Purchase a Web Domain
   Buy a web domain using your name and a customized URL. Domains are available through many providers; one of the more popular and most used providers is GoDaddy. If your chosen name is not available, opt for a familiar variation.
3. Optimize your Online Presence
   Set up a blog and start publishing original content in your field of expertise. Be sure to include your name or your business name in each post and byline. Make use of article distribution services to establish links and references to your content and main website. By saturating the web with your active content, any negative search results will be pushed further down the search results until they are buried.
4. Join Social Networks
   By creating accounts with major social media sites, you can maximize your internet presence with little expense. Whether you outsource the task or create the content yourself, frequent public posts to social media channels are a vital step in establishing and managing an online presence.
5. React Quickly
   Whether your online interactions are positive or negative, be sure to be proactive in responding to posts and messages. By maintaining a professional demeanor and responding quickly, people will be pleased that you have made them a priority and will respond accordingly. Use hashtags and monitor responses, keep a level head, and know when it is time to take conversations to a direct message or email.
6. Maintain Control
   Make sure to keep all content that references you or your personal brand professional and positive. Use Google alerts to track your name or business name so you can be alerted immediately when your search terms yield a relevant result. You can even set up alerts to monitor your email address. If you find content that you consider harmful or inappropriate, contact the author or website owner immediately to request that they remove the content.

Contact Blast Creative for all of your Reputation Management needs today!

The post 6 Steps to Managing Your Online Reputation appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.

Few things can sink a small business in the 21st Century faster than a poor online reputation. Whether it is in the form of bad reviews on sites like Yelp! or a lack of search engine hits, your business could be suffering in a big way even if most of your clients are satisfied with your services. This is why online reputation management is so important in today’s business world.

No matter what kind of business you may have, your online reputation should be monitored and managed closely. Here are a few tips that will help you with that.

Claim Your Brand
The first step to online reputation management is to claim your brand name. Whether that is the name of your business or even just your own personal name, you should do all that you can to claim it as your own before someone else can use it. They won’t necessarily try to use it against you – it’s usually a coincidence when someone has a similar name to your own on the Internet – but you should keep it as a representative of who you are so that people don’t get the wrong ideas about you.

Create Original Content
Any content that is related to you and your brand should be original and organic. Nobody wants to read something about a small business that sounds too much like corporate-speak. It may be difficult for those who aren’t naturally good writers, but it is important to create authentic and original content. If nothing else, it will help potential clients get to know you and who you really are.

Combat Negative Reviews
Negative reviews are a part of having a business online. Even if most of your customers are satisfied with what you have to offer, there will always be at least a few people who are not. Unfortunately, customers have plenty of platforms to voice their opinions online, and they may seriously hurt your business if they decide to say something negative.

Everyone has a right to their opinion, so you absolutely should not try to bury negative reviews unless it is clear that they are unfair or blatantly false. Instead, address the issues brought up by the negative reviews and explain how you are working to fix them. Customers will see that you are acknowledging your business’s faults and appreciate your commitment to honesty and change.

Engage Your Customers
Being online gives you plenty of opportunities to interact with your customers, often in real time. Respond to any messages, tweets and questions you receive as soon as possible. They will appreciate the attention, even if it is just technically over a computer network.

Stay Active
The most important thing to remember when managing an online reputation is to stay active. You can’t have a reputation if you aren’t present, so keep updating your company’s website and social media accounts, and pay attention to what people are saying about you and your brand. It may seem like a lot of hard work, but it will be worth it.

Contact Blast Creative for all of your Reputation Management needs!

The post Top Online Reputation Management Tips appeared first on Website Design and Marketing.