Online Reputation Management in a Social Media World //
Presented by Kevin Mullett, Director of Product Development for Cirrus ABS for Advertising Federation of Fort Wayne on Jan 18th, 2012.
Tools, Tips, and Techniques for managing personal, company, and brand reputation.
Over 30 tools.
2. // if youneedlegal advice, geta lawyer
• not a lawyer
• not an ORM guru/expert
• i have been caught off-guard
• i’ve been black and blue from
ORM/SERM skirmishes
• i’ve seen my share of issues,
normally starting with SEO
audits
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
3. // isvanitytheonlyreason?
have you performed a search for:
• your name
• your company or brand name
• your competitors name or brand
• a product or service by name
Why?
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
4. // who’sincontrol of your reputation?
what is easily found?
what would I find?
100’s more?
for brands or individuals (or individuals connected to brands)
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
6. // who’ssidearetheseguyson?
• reports and reviews are being marketed to the consumer
• these type of sites make sure reports show up in SERPs
• potential to reach 1000’s more then your outbound message
• traffic for them, lost business for you
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
13. // beingproactiveaffordschoice
• how would I score for“kevin mullett”if I had not been proactive?
• junk sites built on pligg, scuttle, defualt wordpress, and bookmarking
800+ more?
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
14. // evil doers, malcontents, & competitors
be on the look out for google
bowling (bad neighborhood
backlinks), sockpuppeting and
astroturfing (fake accounts).
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
18. action// documentEVERYTHING!
• false information perpetuated to miniscule demographic
• promoting defamation (libel) may leave you as culpable
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
19. // herecomestheCalvary?
allow others to come to your aid if
possible, because the type of
response is almost always as
important as the original
message.
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
21. // defamationisbetter thanopinion?
from a removal of content
standpoint, bold face
defamation is easier to have
removed than an opinion.
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
22. // you’vedecided, itreallyisa problem
thoughts on taking action
• stop, wait, weigh if response/deletion is warranted
• when is it time to pick up the phone to make contact
• copyright the work
• contact an attorney
• get professional ORM/SERM/SEO/SM help
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
23. // removal?
google’s game
• google accounts — Me on the Web
(if your name/brand is used, but only if on a porn site. why?)
• google help — Have you found webspam?
• google help — Removing Content From Google
• google help — DMCA – Google AdSense
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
24. action// jobs will change, your namewon’t
job changes?
you are likely to change
jobs many times in your
lifetime, however save
for a few reasons,
your name will not.
free services come
and go!
own a domain!
$10/ year (do it)
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
25. action// social media brand/identitychecks
grab your brand/identity
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
26. action// local listings for citations
grab local listings:
getlisted.org
be consistent with citation: name, address, phone number
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
27. action// areyou#winning?
more visible in search?
• better visibility
• keeping competition at bay
• better prepared for issues
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
28. // goodORMisgoodfor SEO
to proactively manage your online
reputation is to recognize the
value of everything else it impacts.
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
29. // all thelinksandquotesplusextras
30+ Links to tools and resources: (bit.ly bundle)
http://bit.ly/hQFs6m
Quotes in tweet-able form: (bit.ly bundle)
http://bit.ly/eu7X6h
Like it? Please take a moment to comment!
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
30. // gettips, tricks, invites, andinfo
Find out what’s in
The Puzzle Box
bit.ly/ThePuzzleBox
or text CIRRUSABS to 71813
@kmullett // # AdFedORM
Online Reputation Management in a Social Media World // Presented by Kevin Mullett, Director of Product Development for Cirrus ABS for Advertising Federation of Fort Wayne on Jan 18th, 2012.You can find Kevin: http://www.kevinmullett.com (blog), http://twitter.com/kmullett (twitter), http://www.facebook.com/kevinmullett (facebook), and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmullett
If you need legal advice, get a lawyer. not a lawyer. not an ORM guru/expert.i have been caught off-guard by online reputation problems.i’ve been black and blue from ORM/SERM skirmishes.i’ve seen my share of online reputation issues. They are normally discoveredwith SEO audits.
Is vanity the only reason?have you performed a search for: your name your company or brand name your competitors name or brand a product or service by nameWhy?
Who’s in control of your online reputation and visibility? What will potential customers find? What do you think I could find right now? Stopping use isn’t the same as removing, nor isdisabling an account. Sure you have an outbound message you “control”, but what about user generated content about you? Just because you are not participating doesn’t mean it doesn’texist.What is your online reputation, that of your brands, or other individuals attached to your brand?
Carefully monitor not only the reputation you create, but that which is created for you. Often people will obsess about one or the other. Your outbound message that reaches hundreds isn’t as critical as the review that reaches thousands!You can’t create policies for other people discussing your brand or identity.http://bit.ly/dOUWGW
Who’s side are these guys on? reports and reviews are being marketed to the consumer these type of sites make sure reports show up in SERPs potential to reach 1000’s more then your outbound message traffic for them, lost business for youOthers:complaints.com, consumeraffairs.com, thesqueakywheel.com, consumerwebwatch.org, my3cents.com, & others
Treat online reputation management as a positive ongoing activity rather than a defensive situation. Why do most want to always treat this as a negative? This is positive message buildingand is part of normal business activities. Are you providing good service?http://bit.ly/eDTP19
It may not have started on social media, but it made it there anyway.PR nightmares may not start on the web, but there’s a good chance they’ll end up on there.
There is a big difference between getting something indexed and having it rank in SERPs.bitly.com/psHgTt
Weigh what really needs to be addressed. Is this known to the general public or only to you? Don’t help bring a hidden matter to light, push it up in the SERPs or allow personal principle to get in the way of sound decisions.http://bit.ly/hIxant
What about online reputation monitoring? Setting up alerts is crucial to being made aware of what is happening with your brand, even if that brand is you. You might be surprised what you find along the way. Maybe you even find someone who you owe a thank you too.socialmention (sentiment, rss,csv), google alerts (email & rss),topsy (email & rss), samepoint (sentiment & rss), tweetdeck (twitter search), tweetalarm (email), tweetbeep (email), ifttt, kurrently (rss), etc Other paid solutions: Lithium (ScoutLabs), radian6, sysomos, netbase, trackur, AuthorityLabs, Social Engage, etc
Actively watch name(s), usernames, nicknames, brand, competition, others in your organization, and product/service names and their misspellings.http://bit.ly/hR4HNo
Here is an example of something that should be addressed, but isn’t critical becauseof a proactive program. I found this because I actively watch my name(s), usernames, nicknames, brand, competition, others in our organization, and product/service names. Cost of destruction is cheap with Pligg, Scuttle, and social bookmark sites. In can also be illegal.When they plagiarize your content will it take over your spot?
Be on the look out for google bowling (bad neighborhood backlinks), sockpuppeting and astroturfing (fake accounts).http://bit.ly/dJYIJX
What about online reputation search? Did you get caught being reactive instead of proactive! Not a good position to be in because it can take time to correct depending on when you catch it. If you didn’t have alerts setup for the right keywords, it’s time to do some searching.duckduckgo,socialmention, whostalking, icerocket, topsy, samepoint, social search, twimmachine, and the internet archives wayback machine.
Let’s use search operators to dig a little deeper once we discover what we are looking for. Use quoted searches Use date ranges and custom time settings Use search operators to discover all that are indexedGreat guide for Google Operators: http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators.html
Tools don’t catch bad guys, minds do. sometimes you need a plan and someone to back you up. The tools may alert you to an issue, but frequently it is not obvious where it started or who started it. Unfortunately sometimes it is impossible without court intervention and iffy even then.http://bit.ly/ehporY
It is important to document everything! Use the Google Chrome cache tool and full page screen capture tools. false information perpetuated to miniscule demographic promoting defamation (libel) may leave you as culpablehttps://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bnmfcdcicagaffaokphooddegagehcin cache toolhttp://bit.ly/i1VAcn » Capture whole pages. webpage screenshot (chrome)http://bit.ly/e2ONOa » fireshot (firefox)
Allow others to come to your aid if possible, because the type of response is almost always as important as the original message.*This is not a new concept for addressing bad publicity.http://bit.ly/essK6r
This old screenshot finally paid off when the person forgot and changed it to something I could take action on.https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bnmfcdcicagaffaokphooddegagehcin cache toolhttp://bit.ly/i1VAcn » Capture whole pages. webpage screenshot (chrome)http://bit.ly/e2ONOa » fireshot (firefox)
From a removal of content standpoint, bold face defamation is easier to have removed than an opinion.http://bit.ly/fYRvsA
thoughts on taking action stop, wait, weigh if response/deletion is warranted when is it time to pick up the phone to make contact copyright the work contact an attorney get professional ORM/SERM/SEO/SM help
google’s gamegoogle accounts — Me on the Web(if your name/brand is used, but only if on a porn site. why?)google help — Have you found webspam?google help — Removing Content From Googlegoogle help — DMCA – Google AdSense
Jobs will change, your name won’t: you are likely to changejobs many times in your lifetime, however save for a few reasons, your name will not. Free services come and go. Owning a domain gives you flexibility, portability, and security. Own a domain! $10/ year (do it)
Easy social media brand and identity checks: Use a service like namechk.com to go grab your brands social id’s. I think it is wise for both branding reasons, and for online marketing presence to grab them. If you have an intern, this would be a great task to set them out on. Which ones are important? Which ones don’t you want a competitor or squatter to have? While the backlink value for many is not high, the fact that search engines are constantly crawling these networks is worth noting. This is especially important while the crawl rate on your website is low.Posting links to some of these networks, like twitter.com, friendfeed.com, ning.com, mybloglog.com, and others where the search engines already spend a significant amount of time, can lead to pages being indexed in under an hour radically improving the time it takes for your sites content to be available to potential searchers.Extra credit actions: namechk.com free, http://usernamez.com/ free (?),http://claimid.com/free (?), http://knowem.com/ $$ (400)
It’s free and easy to do. Go grab your local listings. Use http://www.getlisted.org to help with the process. Don’t forget to review your friends businesses, those service providers you appreciate, and ask clients to review yours. Use a consistent name, address, and telephone number whenever possible.
We need to know what winning looks like. This would be a great time to input keywords, names, brands, nicnames, etc you have selected into a tool like Rank Checker, a Firefox add-on, to establish a baseline. It is FAR from perfect but you can watch trends!http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/rank-checker/When checking rankings use: IE = “InPrivate Browsing”, Firefox =“start private browsing “ , Chrome =“incognito”, Opera = “new private tab”, to avoid personalized results.You will also want to express the need for everyone in the company to be committed to monitoring their own online identity!
To proactively manage your online reputation is to recognize the value of everything else it impacts. http://bit.ly/i3BW6p
30+ Links to tools and resources: (bit.ly bundle)http://bit.ly/hQFs6mQuotes in tweet-able form: (bit.ly bundle)http://bit.ly/eu7X6hLike it? Please take a moment to comment!
Find out what’s in The Puzzle Box by subscribing to:bit.ly/ThePuzzleBox or text CIRRUSABS to 71813
Managing Your Online Reputation // Presented by Kevin Mullett, Director of Product Development for Cirrus ABSYou can find Kevin: http://www.kevinmullett.com (blog), http://twitter.com/kmullett (twitter), http://www.facebook.com/kevinmullett (facebook), and on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinmulletthttp://www.cirrusabs.com, http://www.twitter.com/cirrusabs, http://www.facebook.com/cirrusabs, http://www.youtube.com/user/cirrusabs, http://www.linkedin.com/compaines/cirrus-abs, by email: info@cirrusabs.com or by phone: 1.877.817.4442.