Business Tip of the Week: Managing Your Social Media Reputation
Ryan Gleason - October 3, 2012
It goes without saying that social media is everywhere. With over 955 million active users on Facebook and over 500 million active twitter members sending over 340 million tweets a day, its hard to miss the explosion of social sites and their influence on society. Let's put it this way, Facebook has more active users than the COMBINED populations of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. Try and wrap you head around that stat.
In this enormous digital and social world, it is extremely important to manage your online reputation. It's getting harder and harder to keep things private, and staying vigilant is imperative as a professional person looking to land your next big client, or as a business owner looking to create a good image among customers. Here are 3 very simple tips you can use to stay ahead of the curve.
In this enormous digital and social world, it is extremely important to manage your online reputation. It's getting harder and harder to keep things private, and staying vigilant is imperative as a professional person looking to land your next big client, or as a business owner looking to create a good image among customers. Here are 3 very simple tips you can use to stay ahead of the curve.
-
Separate The Business From The Personal
It's important, either as a business owner or a professional, to have a separate profile for you business life and your personal life. Keep you personal profile private (you can set your profile's privacy settings quite easily under your account name) - reserved for close friends and family. Post those embarrasing pictures there, or have that intense political discussion you've been itching to have. Never accept friend requests to your personal profile from clients, co-workers, or your superiors. That's not to say that your business profile needs to be boring. You can still post interesting, funny, and even goofy things to your business profile, but know your audience. The best bet is to post informative tips, sayings, or industry trends you have been reading or hearing about. Not only is this appropriate for a business profile, but it can also establish you as an expert in your field, and even lead to increased business.
- Know Who Your Friends Are
The privacy settings for social media sites are always changing and they can get pretty confusing and complicated. Who can see my posts, pictures, etc.. vs. who can't? How do I keep some information private without completely isolating my profile? Sometimes the simpler solution to privacy issues is to purge your account every once in a while. That college roommate you haven't talked to in ages, the one that hasn't really grown up since graduation? Maybe it's time to de-friend or unfollow them. The last thing you want is for them to post an inappropriate picture, go off on a tirade, or worse, tell those embarrasing stories about you on your profile for all the world to see. Letting them go is easier then worrying about whether your privacy setting are strong enough to block them from your customers' view. Go through your profile every few months to make sure you are connected to the people you want to be connected with, and purge anyone who doesn't make the cut.
- Stay Positive
Finally, it can be easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of negativity when using the internet and social media sites. Some customers will post bad reviews, others will make false claims, and some clients can give negative feedback. Resist the temptation to add insult to injury. Always stay positive and passionate about yourself, your business, and your profession. Respond to comments in a timely fashion and try to resolve any problems or disputes privately. If possible, avoid posts or pictures that might be controversial such as religious posts, political posts, or crude jokes found while browsing the internet. You don't want to alientate any potential clients or customers with one badly timed or insensitive post.
Hopefully these tips will help you navigate social media sites with grace and professionalism, and help you avoid the mistakes that can cost you business. In today's tech saavy world, your online reputation can be as, if not more, important than its real life counterpart. Keeping it spotless is a must to be successful and thriving.
Categories: Chamber Blog
