Taking Advantage

There is a saying that goes "any press is good press" and while that may be correct in some instances we all can agree that it is better to be on the positive side of that press. But if your name is in the media and is circulating pretty fast there is opportunity there to take advantage of this free publicity and make the most of it.

Now, in no way am I suggesting that you go out and do something bad or unethical that will put your company in jeopardy just to get some media coverage. But, if you do happen to get some media coverage it would be in your best interest to try and flip it if it is bad, or enhance your brand's reputation even more if it is good.

The mark of a good business is one that can seize opportunity the moment it appears and use what they already have to build off of that. Your business might have been struggling initially to take off and there are no resources left to advertise or promote, but by some chance you got the opportunity to host an event that puts your business into the public eye. Now you have consistent business and you got some free publicity as a result.

While your business will most definitely take a hit if it gains a negative reputation, this can in some ways work in your favor. If your company was once a reliable and trustworthy business that hit a few rough patches, the question is, can you recover? You now you will have all eyes on you watching your every move. The decisions you make can and will answer those questions. Depending on the severity of your dilemma, you will have several options available to help you.

Because we live in such a tech savvy world, I believe it would be in your best interest to improve your online reputation first. That is where the majority of the doubt and skepticism will come from. By fixing that first, you are not only changing the opinion of your company, but you show are listening to the public and taking what they are saying to heart. The company that once fell is now showing resiliency. You can bank on profits going up and attracting more business due to you taking the bad press you were getting and making it positive.

A business that can take advantage of any opportunity is built to last and is going to separate itself from its competitors. While you don't want to have bad press all the time, you should have team on hand ready to take care of it. Or, you can hire a firm like Centel Media™ that will improve your online reputation and ensure it stays on the positive side.



Taking advantage of an opportunity when it looks like there isn't one will provide a strong foundation that will keep your business at the top for many years.

Using Your Reputation to Promote Your Business

Your business is the extension of you to the public, with a great reputation half of the work is done as you will have no problem attracting and keeping customers. On the other hand if you are not very popular among the public you might not lose customers but consistency will be hard to achieve.

How many times have you heard the phrase "your work is an extension of you", or someone telling you "actions speak louder than words". While that may seem to hold more water in other areas of life it should be applied to how you approach and handle your business operations. Great presentation of your business whether it be online or the standard brick and mortar stores can only add to your reputation.

Though some business owners believe that as long as they are providing good service and their products are doing what they are meant to do that should be enough, but they are wrong on many levels. For one it is not just about giving great service but also presenting yourself in a professional manner. Many customers put a lot on how the company is presented, yes operations count but that comes after you get past the initial layer of the company.

Your reputation whether you like to believe it or not can be a dealbreaker for business especially if you are doing business online. It is very important to not only have a positive online reputation but that your website has a good ease of use and of course is very presentable. Your reputation online can be the difference between gains and losses. For example if your company doesn't track shipping or update their inventory on a regular basis, your company gains the reputation of being sloppy and unprofessional.

No matter how big your company is or how much much they made last quarter a negative reputation is just what it is, you have been labeled as a company that is not interested in satisfying your customers but just making a profit which will start to shrink as your negative reputation grows bigger. A negative reputation is not the type of reputation you want to promote your business.

All is not lost and you can improve your image and you don't have to do it alone as you have more than enough to help you. Centel Media™ is a firm that you can trust to improve your online reputation and your presence on Social Media. Like I stated before once your reputation gets out it is out and Social Media can only enhance or hurt it depending on what side you are on. Centel Media™ also provides a defense that will protect you against any future attack against your reputation, so you can rest easy knowing your reputation is in good hands.

Your reputation can affect business even before you get a chance to see it. Present yourself in the most professional and positive manner and you will always have business to take care of.

Tools Needed to Help Monitor Your Online Reputation

Maintaining your  online reputation is a hard thing to do. It is a necessity though because you need to be on top of things when your reputation is on the line. You want to know what is being said about you, and if there is any negative comments being said in order to steer them towards the right direction. Below are some tools that will help you maintain your reputation and stay on top of it.

1. Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a much needed tool because all you need to is type in words relating to your business, especially your name, and it would give you email notifications about regarding conversations being made about your business. What better way on staying on top of things. This way you can jump directly into conversations and fix those negative comments being made about you.

2. SocialMention

SocialMention is extremely helpful because it is free and it lets you view the positive, neutral, and negative conversations that are being said about you. If you see a large amount of negative conversations being said about you jump on it and see what the problem is.

3. Topsy

Just like Google Alerts this tool will send you emails, and the best thing is that it's free.

4. Grader

This tool helps you get in depth analysis on your social media accounts. Once again helping you to control what is being said about you.

Having different tools to help your online management is very beneficial. You want to be in control of what is being said about you, and even though you may not have complete control at times, it is very satisfying to know that you could take measures in order to fix that.

Centel Media™, an online management company, will help you build and maintain your online reputation as well. It is very hard and time consuming to maintain your online reputation, especially with rival companies trying to put a bad name out there. There is no easy way to take care of your online reputation, and you must put in the time and effort to build it. Take the right measures, think twice before posting or how you respond to certain comments made about you, and you will be on the track to maintaining a positive online reputation.

Negative Online Reputation Can Cost You Your Dream Job

When the internet was not in existence all you needed to worry about was building up your professional resume, making and building professional relations, having strong recommendations, and staying out of trouble. This was the formula you needed to build up in order to land that job that you coveted.

The internet world does exist now and you must use it to your benefit, but at the same time keeping out of trouble from it as well. There are six ways your internet reputation can harm and each will be analyzed below. 

1. Search Engine Link- It is very common for a potential employer to just type in your name in Google in order to see what comes up. Actually, it will happen most likely than not. They are looking for what kind of light shows up when your name is typed in. For example, if your name provides too much of a negative light that company may not hire you. First impression is key in many aspects of life, it is no different when it comes to online reputation. 

2. Are you a complainer? If you tend to complain a lot about your current or former employer and you are sharing it all over Facebook, many companies may not want to hire you. Keep your comments to yourself, posting on social media accounts will only make things worse.

3. Inappropriate Information- You may think that the night you went drinking with friends is perfect to share with other people through socialmedia. Wrong! You do not want your future employer to be looking at these kind of photos. Links and other offensive topics that you decide to post will only harm you. Keep it professional online because it is not private when you decide to post things. 

4. Do not offer too much information- It is already advised that you refrain from posting about religious views, politics, or anything related to that matter. Think about it, when you post controversial topics online you are only attracting attention. This is negative attention and a future employer may not want to have anything to do with your controversial ways. 

5. Friends, Colleagues? Recruiters usually want to hear comments that are made about you from friends or former colleagues. Negative comments made them will only do harm to you, so remember how you maintain your relationships and the experiences you have with them. 

6. Groups- If you are part of a controversial group online, and you share it publicly this will also play a part in a company wanting to hire you. It may be very wise for you to get rid of any evidence of being part of a controversial group if you would you like to be hired for your dream job. 

Keep Calm and Repair

In today's society given all that we have access to sometimes things will go awry and will simply be out of your control. How you can respond to these events will be very telling about you and your business. Those who panic are setting themselves up to either fail or seriously lose business, while those who are calm and have taken the proper precautions and have the right people set up will get through it with relative ease.

There is always a time to panic and a time to stay calm and as a business owner it is very important that you know when to do both. Timing is everything in business so you can't get thrown out of motion at the first sign of distress that your company comes across. It doesn't give the public a good perception of you or your company it shows that under pressure you crack and are unreliable.

While that may be the signs of a weak company a business that is prepared to take on any task big, small, bad or good is one worth investing in. What this type of company shows is its ability to do great damage control which is very important for businesses especially if it is a big multinational business that services a wide array of people.

But it is not too late to transform your image in fact there are firms that can help you repair your reputation from a company that used to panic and fold under pressure to one that now stands tall no matter what is thrown at you. As a business owner you should be prepared to go through some type of adversity during your tenure.

Reputation Management will be needed because your company will have the reputation of one that can't do business without panicking and so begins the comments and rumors spreading about you online when that happens you must be prepared to take control of your firm's reputation. If you choose not to do anything you will see how the rumors and doubts about your company will continue to grow and place you to the back of the pack.

The best way to deal with an attack on your company's reputation is to make sure you are prepared to deal with it. That means having hired an great Reputation Management firm or having a good in house PR team that can take on this task. Proper preparation is the key to success in any business.


You're only as strong as your weakest link. Standing tall and succeeding in the face of adversity shows there are no weak links in your business.

Your Future Is In Your Hands

The future is what we are looking at today. The technology is only going to get bigger and more advanced making our lives easier in some aspects but we will continuing to be exposed to the pitfalls and dangers of it, especially the younger generation.

Powerless is what can best describe us to the ongoing evolution of technology, there is no stopping it or preventing it. You have two options either use it or don't. Being that we are in the technology era those who choose not to use it will find themselves at a serious disadvantage. But what does this mean for the children growing up in today's world. while they have more access to online educational and learning tools which is a major benefit how are they going to be able to cope socially when they do not have the luxury of a laptop or cell phone in front of them.

 What leads this tech boom is SocialMedia which has transformed how we communicate with each other. But for every good that it offers there is a bad lurking around in the background ready to jump out and take advantage of an unsuspecting victim. Those victims are the ones who become exposed online either by picture, personal message or rumor. We see more than often that today if you want to find out something about somebody that you can just go online no need to pick up a paper or magazine.

This is very alarming because with a paper at least you knew you had some time start damage control before it spread all over but with Social Media it can be across the world within a matter of seconds. For younger kids growing up this is their future so it is more important than ever to educate them on the does and don'ts of Social Media activity.

Without guidelines or proper training businesses will not be the only clients of online Reputation Management firms, but you will see an influx of individuals seeking help from firms like Centel Media™ to help rebuild their reputation online. It also can't be stressed enough that whatever you do will follow you and is there for everyone to see if you are not careful with your dealings online. One piece of advice I would give is not to post anything that might seem private or personal if you do then you are setting yourself up for a long and hard fall that will take a lot of hard work to get up from.

Educating the youth is the best way to help them avoid making the same mistakes that the previous generation has made, especially when it comes to the internet and Social Media.

Don't Believe the Hype

Being a celebrity or a person of famous status has perks that we regular people can only dream of. Whether it’s going to fashion shows all over the world or VIP treatment at the hottest restaurant in town, it doesn't get much better than that. As easy as it may seem to get to the top one little rumor or claim can rapidly bring all the special treatment to a standstill and leave you trying to repair your reputation.

There seems to be two worlds, the world that normal people live in and then you have the celebrity world which we will most likely never live in but hey anybody can dream right. The job of a celebrity is very hard if you ask me one must try and save face in both worlds and not manage to get caught up in any type of scandal that can destroy your image in both worlds.

Believe it or not your favorite celebrity is a brand and that brand is represented every time they step outside into the public eye. So it is in their best interest to make sure they are staying clear and away from trouble if not the brand in which they represent becomes diminished. The same path should be taken when it comes to Social Media activity as well. Since the rise of Social Media there really hasn't been a day where you haven't seen a celebrity being crucified for something the put on Facebook or Twitter.

As I always state a person should never get too personal when it comes to posting things on Social Media. No matter what it is because often times when they do post things the words get twisted around and then you have celebrities blaming the media for this misunderstanding. One must understand that when you put something online 50% of people will understand it in the context you put it in and the other half will try and make a big story out of nothing.

When situations like that arise it is in your best interest to have either a great PR team on standby or quickly hire and online Reputation Management firm to help with beginning the process of rebuilding your brand back up to respectability. These two options are very necessary because as soon as your name becomes embroiled in some type of trouble the online press will have a field day with you. Web searches to SocialMedia the first thing you will see is the bad not the good doesn't matter how much money you donated or what good you did the bad is going to overshadow that.

The best way to deflate the hype bubble is getting a professional team or firm to help you. Doing this all by yourself will take too much of your time and is not the best method because you might feel compelled to argue back which is the worst thing you can do. Doing it the right way ensures you that your brand will make it out and be stronger than ever which can only mean success for your career.

The biggest people make the easiest targets to hit. Protect yourself from all attacks that can diminish your brand.