Daniel Dessinger

Tag: personal branding

  • Personal Reputation: Five More Tips to Manage Your Rep Online

    You’ve probably already read the first six tips for personal reputation management. If not, stop here and go back. Feel free to join us when you’re caught up. I wrote that post in 2007, before anyone but a handful of professionals were using the term “online reputation management.” In 2011, there’s a whole new slew of opportunities to win or screw up.

    1. Recommend Quality People on LinkedIn

    Regardless of your religious affiliations, karma truly works online. Pay it forward. Do unto others. Pick your cliche. Whatever. It WORKS. Try going about this in two steps. First, run through your list of LinkedIn connections. For anyone you’ve worked with, for, or near who excels at what they do, write an unsolicited recommendation. Be specific. Point out something about them that sets them apart. Second, ask yourself who you know that does quality work but isn’t yet connected to you on LinkedIn. Make a list, connect with them, and then surprise them with a glowing recommendation.

    What are the benefits?

    First, you’ll bless a bunch of people who didn’t know how much you appreciate and respect them. That alone is reason enough. On top of giving to others, you will undoubtedly stir a few people to reciprocate and write recommendations for you. You will also build reputation equity with them.

    2. Respond to criticisms and assaults with uber kindness and professionalism

    Keep in mind that there are probably endless ways to improve your online reputation. Not all reputation problems are search engine based. Maybe someone’s bad talking you in a forum or social network that isn’t visible on Google, but still affects the opinions of industry associates or peers who visit.

    In the heat of the moment, we often tend to type before we think. An unfair accusation should be met with swift justice, and a little attitude… I mean, why not? Here’s why not. The people who read the conversation string in the future aren’t idiots. We can all tell when someone is being a jerk. We can also tell when someone is blowing smoke up our skirts. Correct false accusations or details with specificity and kindness. And then leave it there.

    Don’t return fire. Regardless of whether you feel vindicated, you will set an impression for all future readers to see how professional you are. How you chose to be kind in the face of hurtful attitudes. This is serious reputation karma. Do it right, and you’ll build a fanbase you don’t even know exists. PLUS, someone else could come along later, see how unfairly you’re being treated, and do your dirty work for you. By taking the high road, your hands are clean and your reputation above reproach.

    3. Promote other people and businesses who are unique and outstanding.

    Do this on a regular basis (Facebook, Twitter, your blog, LinkedIn, wherever) and you’ll quickly become a source of fresh and positive information people actually care about. The subjects of your compliments will often retweet, share, or link to your comments. This fortunate side effect draws additional attention to your personal brand / reputation.

    4. Be quick to admit fault and apologize

    If there is ONE thing we can learn from Major League Baseball and sports in general, it’s that whoever confesses fault and apologizes before they’re caught is forgiven and accepted back into the fold. We all make mistakes, and we want to believe that we’re forgiving people. There are enough “villains” out there hiding from the truth that we can villify. We don’t want to make everyone out to be a criminal. So we naturally give people a pass when they out themselves and do whatever they can to correct their mistakes. Whether you were hotheaded in a moment of spontaneous anger or you shared information unsuitable for public consumption, be quick to respond.

    This holds true for negative statements as well. A quick response when you are at fault will disarm 80% of your enemy’s anger. Self-righteous judgment and outrage are fueled by the need to “bring truth” to a situation. Admit the truth and take ownership and you’ll have disarmed your foe. Just be sure you follow up with what you say you will do. Otherwise, you’ve only exacerbated your reputation crisis.

    5. Write a handful of well-placed guest posts

    Every guest post you write can have a byline at the end, that talks about you and your expertise or business. Include an optimized text link within your byline that links to a profile or site that needs some help rising in organic search visibility. Each link will help your personal branded sites and profiles compete for rankings.

    As I mentioned before, there are literally dozens and dozens of approaches to improving your personal reputation online. If you have a specific scenario, drop me a comment and maybe I’ll feature an answer to your situation in a future post.

  • A Proverb on Self-Promotion

    This is the age of self-promotion. Blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, communities, conferences. All for the sake of promoting one’s expertise. A trend I’ve noticed is the super popular blogger / tweeter with thousands of readers and followers, yet they can’t afford a car or a home.

    Their level of influence is inflated beyond their success. Some of us prefer popularity and fame that we pursue it to the detriment of other areas of our lives. Proverbs addresses this very issue.

    Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
    than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

    I know some people who have become financially successful without much self-promotion. They’re not demanding anyone pay attention to hear them speak or read their blog. They just work hard, deliver top quality results, and let others recommend them based on the quality of their work.

    In essence, we’ve squandered our time and efforts if we’ve become “somebody” in the eyes of the public and our fame is built on a flimsy foundation. Talking the talk can float some of us by for years… maybe a lifetime. But there is more to life than fame.

    thinking

    In all fairness, I think I should point out that some people chose self-promotion via blogs, forums, conferences, and such because they are not cold calling salespeople. Some of us feel comfortable selling our services to prospects only after they’ve decided we are authorities in our industry.

    Though it’s easy to judge, I actively choose not to because I can’t discern who is involved in passive selling and who is only interested in becoming famous. The best we can do is to ask the Holy Spirit to examine ourselves and show us where He’d like to bring truth and transformation.