A Clean Start to 2012: Sweep Your Digital Dirt Away

Posted on Jan 5, 2012 in Social Marketing | 1 comment

New beginnings are what this time of year is all about for many people; new commitments to losing weight, exercising more and a variety of other items. As a business owner, every day is a new beginning with commitments to excellence and more success than yesterday.

Yet, success requires planning now and in the future. Therefore, your marketing strategy at the beginning of 2012 should be about maintaining the positive effect and presence of your business. With this being the start of year, it is an excellent time to clean up any “dirt” from the past year so you can build your positive influence through the year.

Yes, your business may be online, but that does not mean you are “dirt” free. Your social media, your blog and other aspects represent your presence online. But they may not have the influence you want. You also have consumers who have their blogs and social media forces which influence your business as well. These are the things you want to check and possibly cleanup for more success in 2012.

Even the best of businesses will receive unflattering information from time to time. Yet, that unflattering information about your business on the web can be damaging to your business. Ignoring it and hoping it will go away won’t help either. With some pro-active steps you can control and even clean up your presence so your business shines, which is why today’s post will help you.

Lee Collins
Managing Director
StomperNet, LLC

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”
~ Abraham Lincoln ~

A Clean Start to 2012: Sweep Your Digital Dirt Away

By Jorgen Sundberg of jorgensundberg.net

As we all know, the Internet has made information instantly accessible. You can find a customer, business partner, investor or employer quicker than ever before. The flipside is that they are only a few clicks away from finding your entire social life online, for better or for worse. That’s why you want to start each New Year with a clean start digitally.

A recent survey conducted by the good folks at CareerBuilder UK has revealed that more than half (53%) of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates. Another 12% plan to start using social networking sites for screening. Their preferred methods for looking up candidates are search engines, Facebook, Linkedin, blogs and Twitter.

OK, perhaps not much of a shock there. This is more interesting: 43% of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. The top reasons were that candidates lied about qualifications, showed poor communication skills, made discriminatory comments and posted content about them drinking and using drugs.

So there you have it; in addition to working on your actual application you now have to sweep the Internet for digital dust bunnies as well. If employers are doing it, we can assume that current and potential customers will be at it as well. You can see why they do this as a quick and easy way to find out who you really are. After all, they will only want to be associated with people that have ‘clean’ online lives as anything else might damage their business.

Here are 10 steps you can take today to check up and clean up your digital dirt:

1. Check your stats

What does a simple Google search reveal about you? And more importantly, are you happy with a prospective customer seeing the result? There are a few ways of checking your online personal brand, or reputation if you will. Google is the obvious one, at the very minimum you should check Bing and Yahoo as well. Use variations of your name, search pictures, videos, and news to really turn over every stone. You can also use Personas, an application that MIT developed, that scours the Internet to get the gist of your online reputation.

2. General clean up

Cleaning before any tender process may seem obvious but can actually require quite a bit of effort. Delete any embarrassing photos, comments, links from your online profiles and blog. You can even disable your wall/comments so that no new information can be added by others during your critical job search period. Sever all ties (remove/unfollow/block) to questionable or unreliable people as well as groups and associations that are not congruent with your professional reputation. All the security settings in the world won’t help you if one person decides to share your content with the rest of the world!

3. Facebook

The bad news is that Facebook is one of the first ports of call when someone is checking you out. The good news is that you simply change your security settings and they will only be able to see your mug shot or nothing at all. First off, you can specify who can find you in a Search, then change who can see what on the Privacy settings page. This should make things secure and you can carry on tagging yourself in pictures and videos with little risk of being seen by an employer.

4. Twitter

The bad news is that everyone can follow and see what you do on Twitter. The good news is that you can set up more accounts, and there is nothing stopping you from adding as many as you like. So if you do under your own name, make sure your content is clean. If you still want to retweet those risqué links, you had better make use of a nom de plume account.

5. LinkedIn

I will assume that your LinkedIn profile is business friendly, as it is a professional network after all. What you could consider is the Groups and Associations you are a member of, whether you want them to be visible on your profile or not. Furthermore, your personal interest field is the only one where you can actually show off some personality so make sure it’s consistent with your personal brand and other communications.

6. Cyber Twins

An evil twin on the Internet is not what you need in any situation. What if there is someone out there with your name that is preaching hatred on their blog? If that person is the first to come up when searching Google for your name, you had better be prepared to explain what the score is. So make sure you know this before you get the question, however unlikely it may seem.

7. Blogging activities

What have you posted on your own blog and other blogs out there? Think back to when you first started blogging, perhaps you tried out a few topics that aren’t perhaps conducive to your new job? Or maybe you left a comment or two in haste that you really shouldn’t have. Use Google Blog Search to find your blogging footprint, as it scours the entire blogosphere on a daily basis.

8. Create positive content

The best way to let the good outweigh the bad is to create lots of new content that will eclipse whatever dirt is still left out there. The Internet handles so much new information every day that the old stuff tends to be pushed down the search results and slowly forgotten. This will take a great deal of time and effort, but will be worth it.

9. Send in the marines

If all else fails and you still have your own digital landfill out there, you might want to call up the professionals. There are a few online services that will seek out your dirt and can annihilate it on the spot. Sites like Reputation Defender and DefendMyName all offer to stay on top of your online reputation for a fee. They will typically identify non-flattering information about you, alert you about it and you can then decide whether to keep or destroy. I believe this option is useful when running for a public office or when you have a few too many skeletons in the closet; however most readers will not have this need.

10. Keep it going

Google Alerts is a very handy tool for real time alerts about anything, in this case yourself. Punch in your name in inverted commas, set it to send you updates as soon as you are mentioned online. This way you will be able to monitor yours whenever your name is mentioned anywhere on an ongoing basis.

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Secret Sauce Checklist

Cleaning your Digital Dirt

Check your online reputation
Do General Clean Up
Check your Facebook privacy settings
Create multiple Twitter accounts if necessary
Remember LinkedIn is a site for professionals
Who else has your name? What do they represent?
Check your blog footprint
Outweigh the bad with good
Hire professional cleaners as necessary
And lather, rinse, repeat throughout the year as necessary

Stomper Buzz

Next Week’s Focus: Conversion

“StomperNet Open Forum” Fridays at 11EDT
We know everyone has questions about their business or different stumbling blocks. Well we invite you to bring them to the table during our Open Forum. With the combined training and experience of our Coaches you will get the direction you need to get you back on your road to success!
The next StomperNet Open Forum Call with our Professional Coaches happens next Friday at 11am EDT and we hope to see you there! These calls are intended to be live Q&A sessions and playback will not be available.

Let us know your thoughts on today’s issue.

Post Your Comments Here

Twitter Lists: Research, Share and Spy

Posted on Sep 23, 2011 in Social Marketing | Comments Off

This week has been full of social media and marketing. You know Facebook, Twitter and other social media formats seem to be growing ever more popular. The Facebook Like button is now on billboards and as you know, Google + is getting into the mix.

Many businesses around the world are learning to use social media as an effective tool to draw in loyal customers. Social marketing is what allows people of similar interests gather together online and share information. I know all the members of the StomperNet staff; myself included, are involved in various ways with social media and special interests. This sharing of information is what brings you here to this blog as well, and why you have been reading the articles and hopefully enjoyed the webinars this week.

Social Media and SEO for Domination

Posted on Sep 21, 2011 in Social Marketing | 1 comment

By John Limbocker

You may have heard that the search engines love social media. What you probably haven’t heard is why and what it can mean to your business. Most people think it is because the search engines like all of that fresh new content social media sites provide, but that is only a fraction of it.

The real reason that social media sites score well in search engines is because of the authority of the social media site itself. Hundreds of thousands of sites all linking to the social media sites are what makes them extremely popular in the eyes of the search engines. In search engine geek talk, all those links translate to authority.

What I am about to reveal to you is unknown to most people, and yet one of the more powerful techniques used to dominate search results.

Press Releases and 16 Ways to Use Hyperlinks

Posted on Jun 22, 2011 in Backlink Building | 4 comments

By Joan Stewart

If you want to make a Resolution that will help build your business and improve your promotional campaigns, repeat after me: “Whenever, I write a press release, I will ALWAYS include hyperlinks.”

To Stompers, this is probably a no-brainer…

But Business Wire, one of the major press release distribution services, says only about 13 percent of the press releases it distributes have hyperlinks. People either forget to include them or are unaware of the three most important reasons to use them:

They improve your search engine optimization.
They drive traffic to your website.
They amplify your message.

Used correctly, links can also push consumers to take the action you want them to take, whether it’s buying a product or calling for a reservation. Here are 16 ideas for linking from your press releases. You can use anchor text hyperlinks anywhere within the release, but be sure you have one or two in the first two paragraphs:

1. A sales page

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t promote from within releases because you’ll offend journalists. Truth is, we write online press releases primarily for consumers, not for journalists. These press releases seldom prompt journalists to cover our story. For that, we must deliver a customized pitch, not a one-size-fits all press release.

2. A video

Announcing a new product? Link to a video that demonstrates how to use it. Promoting an upcoming event? Include video clips and highlights from last year’s event.

3. Testimonials

Don’t just link to written testimonials with photos. How about an entire page of video testimonials which are much more effective?

4. A blog post

If the press release is about a controversial topic you’ve already addressed at your blog, provide the link where readers can join in the conversation.

5. Another press release.

Link to a press release either at your website or on one of the press release distribution sites so readers can learn more about a sub-topic.

6. A podcast.

People have different learning styles, and a link to a related podcast will help auditory learners. They might even be inclined to subscribe to the RSS feed.

7. Your online press room.

A press room isn’t only for journalists. It’s for consumers and anyone else who wants to learn more about you. It can include video, audio, your bio, photos, background information and other content.

8. Your social media profiles.

Let readers know where they can follow you on Facebook and Twitter. Link to your YouTube channel, or photos on Flickr. Be sure to mention why they should follow you.

9. An opt-in box.

Build your list by leading people to a landing page where they can opt in for a special report, eBook, list of tips, a video, or other helpful material.

10. A book you’re selling on Amazon.com.

Why pass up a chance to use your press release to sell?

11. FAQs.

FAQs give readers a great opportunity to learn more about a product, service, cause or issue and help you keep the press release within a reasonable length, about 500 words.

12. Photos and graphics

These can be photos at your website, or on Flickr or other photo-sharing sites. Make it easy for journalists and bloggers to access your photos. Graphics can include pie charts, bar charts, graphs and maps.

13. A page where readers can submit a question.

A great way to generate leads!

14. Customer reviews

These reviews don’t necessarily have to be at your website. You can link to reviews on sites like Yelp or Amazon.com.

15. An online catalog

If the press release is about only one product, link to your catalog so customers can see what else is available.

16. A link to your website

Include a link, not a hyperlink, to your website, preferably high in the release.
I’ve given you lots of ideas here, but don’t go overboard. A good rule of thumb is one hyperlink for every 100 to 150 words.

If you’re linking to pages at your website, be sure the page you are linking back to is optimized for your keywords. If the anchor text is “weatherproof patio furniture,” make sure it’s linked to a page containing “weatherproof patio furniture” in the title tag and within the text on the page.

Use this list the next time you write a press release, and choose the type of hyperlinks wisely!

By Joan Stewart

Publicity expert Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, shares publicity tips at Twitter.com/PublicityHound and answers publicity questions at Facebook.com/publicitytips. Her tips and commentary have appeared in more than 60 books on marketing, publicity, social media and small business. She publishes “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week” Ezine at http://www.PublicityHound.net. Subscribe and receive the handy cheat sheet, “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release.”