Keep Your Press Releases Fresh!

Would you host a birthday party and wait until it started to invite your friends? As a business, would you wait for your new product to be placed on the shelves before you advertised its arrival? If you want success in either of these situations, you send out invitations and directions to the party, you build a buzz of anticipation for your product.

Press releases are used to announce a wide range of news items, such as scheduled events, personal promotions, accomplishments, awards, new products and services, sales and other financial data. They are often used in generating a feature story or are sent for the purpose of creating a greater attendance to news conferences or upcoming events.

Press releases serve two purposes at Centel Media™. They are used for article suppression, but more importantly, they are used to give you or your company more publicity. Through these press releases, we promote your product and generate press to bring you clients and customers. After we create press releases, we post them on 14 press sites for distribution, where they begin to populate search engine results pages.

Press releases are all about sharing your message and engaging with your audiences. Because visibility is the first step toward success, a distribution network that is optimized for search engines is essential to the success of your brand's reputation.

Besides distribution for search engines, another important element in the success of press releases is the frequency of information. Sites with frequently updated content typically rank higher in search engines. Out of date news will be boring for your returning customers and unhelpful or frustrating for new customers.

Keep your site updated with recent news about your business, articles or tips related to your products or services. Publish new testimonials from your customers or positive reviews of your business found in other publications. Even if you have no new information to present to the public, you can update your site by sprucing things up.

This may seem obvious, but a site that looks professional and offers a good experience for visitors will get more traffic, more referrals, higher rankings in search engines, which means more popularity above your competitor.

The Webs of Social Media

Read an article from any section of a popular online news journal. At the bottom of the article there will be eight small, brightly colored, creatively shaped icons. These are the sharing options; these are just the quick links, the top, most popular eight social media platforms used for sharing this article.

Press “Facebook” as your sharing option of the article, and instantly a new window appears with even more sharing options; on your timeline, in a group, public, private, write your own commentary, include the thumbnail. This is just one example, one social networking option. The options are vast; the means of online connection are endless.   

The internet is truly a “net,” called a web for many reasons; everything is interconnected, tied together and built upon its relation to the neighboring link. In our technologically driven society, social media sites have a huge impact on our daily lives, both personal and professional. Social networking sites are the spiders that weave all our business “webs” together.  

For example, corporate social media sites that receive a large number of likes or followers are going to be partially responsible that corporations online reputation and popularity. Online platforms such as social networking sites, are the catalyst of business growth, they are the virtual equivalent to the traditional “word-of-mouth.”   

For instance, you and five of your business associates read the same article from the online news journal. You and one other shared the article via Facebook, but two of your business associates shared the article via Twitter, and the remaining associate shared the article via e-mail with his entire contact list.

That sounds like a middle school math problem, and there is no correct formula. The numbers are all dependent on those individuals and companies involved in social media.

It’s important that we capitalize upon what others are using, and that’s social media.

With Centel Media™ optimization service, we guarantee an influx of Facebook likes, as well as Twitter followers, depending on your needs. We will also create professional social media accounts for you, and if needed, we will add logos and headers. Logos and headers will add interest and give your pages a polished appearance. These small improvements can greatly affect the online popularity and essentially the overall growth of your brand.

Different Strategies To Maximize Your Online Reputation

It does not matter if you're a professional, business owner, or a student, your online reputation is starting to become if not already the biggest asset that one could hold. The dream job that you been day dreaming of having, or that business that you want to run into making millions are all dependent on how your image is perceived through the internet. Do not make the foolish mistake of ignoring on how other people view your reputation through the internet, it does matter.

There are different strategies that you could take in order to be on top of things, but you should have a variety of different techniques in order to be more efficient. Your first step is to set up some kind of an alert that will notify you when there is anything circulating the internet that involves your brand name. Negative content involving your name is something that you want to be on top of, do not ignore the situation because this will only make matters worse. 

Customers have the right to voice their opinion, let them. If they have negative comments to say about your brand name do not over react. Try to get down to the root of the problem and fix it. You could take the positive approach when dealing with frustrated customers because this indicates that there are areas that you could improve in. 

Just as there are negative reviews there are also positive ones as well. The best way to receive positive reviews is to encourage your customers to say so, but also give them an unbelievable customer experience. The best way to get a customer to write a positive review is for them to go through an experience that is worth mentioning about. A simple mediocre experience will not do the job, keep that in mind. 

As mentioned above, the way you respond to negative reviews is vital. Deciding to ignore negative reviews will be detrimental to your business because it indicates that you do not care about your customers. Make sure that you do not give off this type of vibe. Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and do not overreact when it comes to responding to negative reviews.

What Businesses Expect

Now before you think I am sympathizing with big businesses and companies that make billions of dollars a year in profit I am not. What I am doing is simply explaining your rights as customers of these large corporations, yes the rights you have but were unaware of. It is a secret that you the customer control more of the store than you think you do, a majority of how a store is built inside and out is a result of trying to appease to you the customer.

Just like the customer has expectations of a business, a business has expectations of the customer just with a lot less freedom. Businesses expect customers to not only spend money (which is a given ) but above all they want loyalty. In no way is a business in any position to demand loyalty but it would be nice to have that solid foundation to call upon. I will say that there is a lot of loyalty on both sides of the fence and it is because of that loyalty that businesses have been around for over fifty years making positive profits.

Technology is a major driving force behind customer and business loyalty. Social Media has allowed businesses to in a way get a bit more personal with their customers which has created some relationships and destroyed some. But what social media has done is provide a 24/7 olive branch that is available year round. As customers the least we can do is give our feedback when a company asks, I myself am guilty of not taking any surveys or giving feedback.  

Our feedback is important because it is how a business plans its next move, contrary to what we believe a business needs us to survive and operate. If people stopped shopping at one store and went to another what do you think would happen to the store that lost customers? They would shut down they can't operate,there is no profit coming in. So if we do one thing let it be something that benefits us in the long run and feedback is what is going to benefit both us and the business.

 Often times we hear customers complain about certain businesses but it gets deeper than that and most of the time those same complaints are unjust and very damaging. Customers are not required to spend their money at one place we have the freedom to roam but we can't be upset about changes that we were informed of but ignored. If you love a brand do yourself a favor and stay informed and do the business a favor and give feedback.

The business customer relationship is a two way street though their may be more give and take on one end, both sides benefit from working with each other. 

What Customers Expect

Expectations fluctuate depending on who they are placed upon. A business that has had a lot of hype and excitement built around it is going to have an enormous amount of expectation around it. Conversely a business with little to no fanfare will have little expectation. While expectations can motivate and excite it can also be very pressure intense if you can't handle it. It is important that as a business owner that you know your companies limits and that includes employees, know how far to push before you have to scale back.

As consumers we have standards and we hold certain brands and companies to a certain level of expectation. We expect a your business to provide a certain level of customers service and that your product be of the highest quality bar none. Customers place expectations on businesses based on how they promote and carry themselves. If you paint a picture of your company being a "luxury brand" we expect the service that a 'luxury brand" is required to provide.

It is all about perception and projection. You project your business to be viewed a certain way and if we "the customers" see it that way then that is the reputation you will have. With that being said only a handful of things stand above your businesses reputation, in fact your reputation is the hub of your business. It extends its roots and branches to areas such as profit,promotion,operations and all that your business entails. As you can clearly see your reputation both online and in your brick and mortar store is very important and if you don't take care of it your business will crumble from the inside out.

The customers expectations are somewhat based on your reputation, if your reputation is positive then the expectation level will be high, if it is negative then you have a lot of work ahead of you because you now have several factors against you now. Profit loss is starting to occur, fewer people are going in to your stores and visiting your website and this is just the tip of the iceberg. As a business owner it is important that you work to keep customers expectations of your company high. Those companies that have low expectations are barely operating, it should be taken as a challenge to keep your customers interested and loyal to you.

Yes the work is hard but the admiration of your company by your customers should be enough to keep you going.

Pictures Are Worth More Than 1000 Words

My Grandmother totes a small digital camera to graduations, birthdays, Christmas parties, and weddings. She attempts to capture every gift being opened, every smile on every face before the moment passes. Unfortunately, this endless family scrapbook has not yet been uploaded to a digital platform.

If these photos were uploaded to a social networking site such as Instagram or Facebook, the entire extended family could spend hours, even days, pouring over images, recollecting our past. Of course, this desire for pictures goes beyond my own family. Capturing our existence in photographs is of global interest.

The evidence is outstanding; photo uploads to the social networking site Facebook total 300 million per day. Those 300 million photos are uploaded and downloaded from around the world.  This is just the statistic of one social networking site. There are countless other online sources for photographs. These sites show the significance of visually engaging users, and what it can do for business ventures as well.

Numbers like these explain how important the use of images is to your business and your online reputation. With the help of images, you can quickly communicate with your viewers. In the blink of an eye, in a fast glance, a Facebook user can gather a wealth of knowledge about any particular subject.

A picture can summarize an entire article, it has the ability to add credibility or evidence to a claim, or it provides an opportunity to illustrate and highlight the capabilities of a brand or product.  In can also inspire a viewer, or intrigue them to investigate further into an article or the post attached to the image or thumbnail.

In the representation of brand reputation it must be taken into consideration that there are 300 million other photos, 300 million other first impressions being made each day, by competing brands. It is not just a matter of using images, not as simple as being a part of that trend, you must be competitive. Keep in mind that a viewer will only see your image for a few moments. It is necessary to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of your photo, and determine if it will stand out from the other 300 million, if it is a picture worth remembering, if it’s a picture worth more than 1000 words.

Reputation Rehab

“Reputation rehab” is an expression used in Hollywood to describe an attempt to control the public perception of a misbehaving celebrity by sending them to a rehabilitation center for the PR value alone. These attempts at rehabilitation are typically short lived, and provide little substance for the celebrity to make lasting and real changes in their life.

Like a car accident with rubberneckers slowing down to look, a celebrity’s downfall usually becomes a public event, with everyone feeling entitled to know what's going on. Today, social media deepens the impact of a ruined reputation, netting countless onlookers and attackers.

Instead of using rehab as a publicity stunt, you can legitimately put your brand reputation itself into rehab. There are measures you can take to prevent damage to your online reputation, but, if it’s too late for prevention, here are the twelve steps to rehabilitating your reputation.

1. Acknowledge. As with all programs, the first step is admitting you have a problem.

2. Move quickly to assess the situation and damage. You cannot properly respond to a reputation crisis if you do not understand the depth of the issue.

3. Act as if, eventually, all truth will be known. You may have gotten away with certain actions or poor behaviors in the past, but do not continue to assume you will get away with them again.

4. Control your emotions. When your personal emotions begin to swell, you must conquer them and think strategically.

5. Keep your focus directed toward social media. You may be tempted to withdraw from social networks, but keep yourself and your brand involved.

6. Determine the correct message and medium of response. If a Tweet was the cause of controversy or upset, use Twitter as your first avenue of response.

7. Never make a public denial. Accept responsibility and present an acknowledged apology.

8. Be original. Each crisis is different, never copy the responses of others.

9. Use the opportunity to reset the moral compass of your brand. This is a perfect opportunity to restructure old ways of thinking in how you communicate with the public.

10. Redirect focus. Present your accomplishments, past and present, to the public.  

11.  Establish lasting, game-changing solutions. Develop strategies, or hire brand management companies to assist in future crisis’ and implement procedures for daily interactions on social networking sites.

12. Move forward. Don’t dwell in the past, otherwise the public's attention and your reputation will remain in the past as well.

Avoiding the Rumor Mill

It is tempting to gossip in both our personal and professional lives. Around the water cooler at the office, the mirror in the ladies room, e-mail or Facebook, gossip happens everywhere. We've all received and repeated information that may be harmful to someone else's reputation. At times it may seem innocent or without consequence, but gossip can be dangerous to your appearance.

It is common to be the victim of rumors and gossip, yet even with first-hand experience of the discouraging, damaging result, we continue the cycle by spreading dirt ourselves. This come from our failure to  take the consequences into consideration. If we talk slanderous to one person, they may repeat the information to another, leading to a wildfire of gossip that will injure not only the person of topic, but your professionalism as well.

Spreading gossip is unquestionably poor business practice, even if shared in a private setting. Obviously, there is nothing private about social networking sites and online media, so relaying gossip in these arenas  can be even more damaging. The best action is to avoid spreading rumors in the first place. Don't gossip, especially about competitors or other brands, and don't slander someone else's name.

With all the destructive, classless mud-slinging we see in the media, particularly in the realm of politics, it can be difficult to prevent ourselves from following in their footsteps. There are too many role models in society that set poor examples for those trying to establish business models. It was common to grow up being told that "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." But, as adults, and as business conscious individuals, sometimes finding the "nice" words to say fall outside what's best for our interests.

In other words, gossip may seem like a necessary path to follow. Revealing a negative truth about someone else could look like a way to build your own reputation. But, in reality, this doesn't reflect how good of a worker or employer you are, it only reflects how that other individual isn't. Before you head down the road of selling out someone else's shortcomings, keep in mind that if you get your facts wrong, you will be the one who is hurt.

Instead of drawing attention to your competitors downfalls, focus on drawing attention to your own positive qualities. In time, the consumers or superiors will see, on their own, the margin between you and the poor quality of your competitors. 

Why It Might Be a Good Time to Change That Bad Press

Celebrities, no matter if they're a film actor, reality television star, athlete or radio personality, are constantly in the public eye and subject to media conversation. Unfortunately, it seems the worse their behavior, the bigger the splash, and the longer the discussion continues. This has been true for decades, from the era of paper boys in flat caps to our present ability to instantly stream news on our mobile devices, more papers are sold when the news is negative.

 There is a saying that any publicity is good publicity. You may think this to be true if no one has ever heard of you or your brand, since your brand has no reputation to corrupt in the first place. The public cannot form an opinion of you, negative or positive, so fifteen minutes of fame may seem beneficial. However, it is never advisable to begin your public reputation on the wrong foot because a poor first impression can be long lasting. Eventually, after the turbulence settles, it's the reputation that ends up taking the hit, possibly tarnishing it forever.

If you're struggling with brand management and reputation, then you may want to listen to a few words of advice. First, you need to devise tactics that can battle against negative accusations or comments. A wrong way to handle these situations would be to become defensive and deny any wrongdoing because it comes off as unprofessional and immature. Instead, you should take on PR problems with a productive approach. Focus on what you or your brand has done right or positive goals you have for the future, because doing so will shift the story from any poor behavior to your accomplishments and aspirations.

So, even though it may seem that all press is good press, because getting your name in the papers may peak interest and traffic to websites or blogs, in the long run, it can affect your career, along with all those connected with you. The ripple effect will reach a large pool of individuals and corporations that have taken either a personal or professional interest in you. When met with difficult situations or events that can have a negative impact on your reputation, don't focus on the allegations or other negative accusations. Instead, redirect your focus to past or present accomplishments, positive qualities or future goals. Leave a fresh image of optimism in the mind of the public.

Your Reputation Beyond the School Yard

Our reputations can change at many different points in our lives. Billy, for example, had a reputation of being a difficult child to birth, his mother bragged about his ability to walk at an early age, and eventually he had the reputation among the daycare staff as having the most terrible temperament of all the toddlers.

On the schoolyard Billy was a bully, verbally teasing the other kids. This was a point where he began to have control over his reputation through the words he spoke and his behavior towards others. A change in neighborhoods meant Billy could begin high school with a clean slate. With no one knowing that he was previously a bully, he could rebuild his reputation. Billy had several more opportunities to repair and manage his reputation, like when he started off college, began his career, and joined new communities, along with the times he gained new experiences, and built social and business contacts.

At other moments in time, we no longer have the ability to start over, to have that clean slate; our reputations follow us, they precede us, in good ways or bad. After Billy had been with his company for five years, he had an inappropriate outburst of anger in a confrontation with a co-worker. The situation resulted in Billy’s termination from the company, and unfortunately, when he applied for positions with other companies, tainted his reputation, all due to his own actions and behavior.

    In the earlier scenarios of Billy’s life, his reputation was beyond control. In the later examples, his reputation was corrupted and tarnished due to his own lack of reputation management. In our day-to-day lives, we often receive new opportunities to begin rebuilding our reputation. However, we don’t have this same luxury in online formats. Content can be published, including pictures, videos, or commentary focused on us that is permanent in many ways. Once it is published online, in many instances, it becomes impossible to remove or undo.

Your reputation is perpetuated by your own actions, those you have control over and those you don’t. Your reputation is also determined by both yourself and others. If you have a desire to succeed in your business or personal life, it is necessary to manage your reputation in all arenas. 

Your Virtual Happy Place

"Close your eyes and go to your happy place." We've all heard this line so many times it has become cliche.  But, keeping that "happy place" in mind can help you approach web ventures from a different perspective. For you a "happy place" may be a large, open room with pale yellow walls and hardwood floors, fresh flowers and windows looking out over a lake, curtains floating in and out with the breeze, quiet, and restful. Or, maybe you prefer a plush leather chair in the corner of a crowded coffee house, jazz music playing, your legs curled under you, like a cat, nestled in with a newspaper.

In one paragraph I have created two very different and realistic virtual realities. Appealing to all the senses, utilizing color, size, shape, sound, feel, and visual surroundings. Much like these imagined places, your website or social mediapage is a virtual destination for all your viewers. Your first impression online can be captivating, uncomfortable, calming, or boring for your viewer. Depending on how you utilize tools such as website layout and design, photographs uploaded to Facebook, and videos streaming on YouTube, you can create an oasis or desert for the visitor.

In whatever online interests you have, the makeup of your virtual reality will be the difference in your audience's reaction. Aspects such as the options of background color is much like the paint on a wall, the layout of text and pictures are similar to the placement of furniture in your living room. These features are the rooms of your virtual home, and with the correct organizing and effort they can create a very satisfying place for your viewer.

Depending on the size of your virtual “home,” it may be necessary to hire a designer, a company or individual to give your website and your social networks the sprucing and customization that they need. It is a large task and an exhausting undertaking to design all the online content, and to do it effectively is another task altogether.

Without a welcoming and inviting space for your visitors, they will quickly become restless and frustrated at the lack of effort you put forth. A professional can assist you in creating a virtual space that your viewers will enjoy, and consequently a space they will spend more time in, visit often, and tell others about.

Gain Attention Through Twitter

Twitter can be a great platform to make your voice heard, giving those who wish to be noticed a chance for their popularity to grow. If you're interested in gaining attention for your blog, career or any other reason, then you may want to listen to a few quick tips first. Many use Twitter casually, following celebrities, figures, family and friends just to stay connected with the world and what's going on in the now. And, believe it or not, making an account geared towards expanding your name should retain some of those casual elements if you truly want to gain followers. Just like in the real world, you need to build a network from the ground up, one that gives you more clout and a chance to be noticed by a larger number of people.

A casual Twitter user wants to remain in touch with people they care about, either ones they know personally or celebrities and figures they want to know more about. To be noticed on Twitter, you should first establish a similar platform, following people you know and want to know. Give your Twitter page an identity and character, so that when you do gain more followers, they see that you're invested and not some hollow figure without a purpose. After you maintain a solid base, it's time to think about what you can offer to Twitter that can gain you followers.

To begin establishing your name, you should come up with a goal for using Twitter. Do you want to tweet about a specific topic or do you want to use Twitter simply as a way to speak to the public under your own name? The way people react to your page will be determined by what your Twitter interests are, so make sure you choose something that you truly want to follow through with and can keep consistent. Now that you have your purpose, it's time to branch out and begin building your network.

To gain followers, you need to be active on your Twitter account and tweet regularly. Responding to other's tweets will get you seen by more people and spread your name further. Be a part of conversations in as many different places as possible using creative tweets that can attract people who agree with you or like your personality.

If you still need help gaining followers, check out Centel Media™ social media promotion service.

Tumblr, Endless Possibilties

With one hashtag, one word search, hundreds of worlds and realms are displayed instantaneously. Millions of people upload text, quotes, links, photos, videos, chat, and audio to the same site at any given moment, the platform for this particular phenomenon is an online social networking site called Tumblr.

Input a simple word like... “dog” into the search bar on Tumblr’s main page, and you will find the entire spectrum of a dogs existence and the endless possibilities of the expression of that word “dog”: puppies bathing in a shallow pool, German Shepherds, guard dogs photographed in an aggressive documentary style, entire pages dedicated to the sounds dogs make, the spiritual concept of a dog, hot dogs, famous writers’ quotes about dogs. The results exhaust every avenue.

What would display if your corporation's name was entered into Tumblr’s search bar? What if I entered the hashtag of the service you provide, how would your presence in that field be reflected in this online social network? Would you even be present?

Tumblr is not just an informational site, in many ways it is similar to Googling your last name and uncovering public facts such as address or the high school you attended, but, with Tumblr, there is a much more subjective result, pliable, and artistic even.

There are dozens of opportunities to expand public knowledge of your corporation, tools to utilize that will enhance or drastically alter your reputation. If you are not aware of these possibilities or if you are not actively controlling your reputation on the social networks such as Tumblr, you are in essence surrendering that control. If you don’t proactively manage your online reputation, someone may negatively affect it with your knowledge. This may have more influence to your reputation then you could imagine, and in some cases, it may be irreversible.   

Tumblr does have extensive features and tools that may seem overwhelming to learn and navigate; all social networks have their bells and whistles, and each are a resource worth tapping into, buttons worth learning how to press. It is necessary to make your business accessible in every medium possible, to expand the reach of your online reputation through every social network possible. Just as there are dozens of features to learn, there are just as many resources dedicated to teaching those features, they are also online reputationmanagement sites dedicated to the success of your presence in social networks.         

Avoiding Bias on Social Networking Sites

Bias can present itself in many ways. It can be blatant or subtle, offensive or agreeable.

We may be unaware of our personal bias, perhaps we are attempting simply to express our opinion, but this can greatly affect our business relationships and our online reputation.

When using social networking sites such as Facebook, it may seem appropriate to express our political, religious, or personal opinions; and while this is our right as Americans and as humans, it is important to remember that what we may be expressing is actually a personal bias and not an opinion based on fact. Whatever it is we post to Facebook will certainly not be an opinion shared by all who view our Facebook profiles, comments, status updates, and so forth.

It is impossible to appease every person who views you or your business online. In most cases, it is also impossible to remain neutral on every matter.   Bias may be applied to procedures, products, people, and many other circumstances. For instance, bias may entail the endorsement of a certain product with little concern or consideration of the product’s competition. The bias may be rooted in personal relationships or emotional reaction instead of factual evidence or logical aspects of the product.

As an example, a sales representative of cleaning supplies, while making a pitch, may disregard all comments or complaints that his product does not clean as quickly or effectively as the leading competitor. Instead of confronting the evidence, he simply disregards it and allows his personal bias, the bias of being employed by the company, to determine his actions and behavior.

In this scenario, and in almost every scenario of bias, the salesman is undermining his own credibility, and the credibility and reputation of his company. By not acknowledging the evidence against his product he becomes untrustworthy to those witnessing his blatant bias.

While all scenarios may not be this cut and dry, avoiding bias is an easy matter of developing an objective eye towards the content on your social networking sites.

When communicating on social networking sites, it is most important to simply take into consideration why you hold a certain viewpoint, before posting a seemingly controversial comment, or endorsing a particular product or service; double check, question if bias has any footing. Because, almost every case of bias will result negatively, it will negatively influence the reputation of you or your business, and should be avoided.

Don't Let Your Reputation Go Unmanaged

I recently traveled to the southern United States. Away from my home for over four weeks, my mail accumulated at home and at work, envelopes filled my mailbox, newspapers overlapped each other in the yard, emails took significant time and data to download. It was overwhelming, like a garden that hadn’t been weeded in years, there was a lot of work to be done. Determining what belonged, what didn’t, what was important, what wasn’t, what needed to be responded to, and what should be ignored.

Beyond the issue of time consumption and minor papers cuts accrued by all that mail, there were more serious consequences; an overdue electric bill, an unanswered wedding invitation, and a non-attended mandatory jury duty. The poor upkeep and ill managed mail resulted in ruining my reputation financially, with the electric company, personally, with the future bride, and legally, with the court system. It took several months to undo the damage acquired in just a few weeks.    

Consequences, large or small, inevitably follow when we let such problems go untreated.

This is also true of our onlinereputations, and the management of such. Without constant upkeep, your onlinereputation can quickly become an unruly garden, a pile of junk mail and overdue bills.

Unfortunately, cleaning up a messy online reputation is not as easy as weeding a garden or throwing envelops in the recycle bin. It can take days or weeks to determine the root of the problem, and that is just the beginning. After determining the problem, the hard work comes in reversing or correcting the reputation which could take months or even years.

Of course, the solution is obvious: be consistent in managing your onlinereputation. But, it may be too late to do simple monitoring and upkeep. You may just be starting, going back through several years of online content to begin the process of reputation repair. If this is the case, you may need professional assistance, your time and energy are valuable, but the dilemmas and necessities of repairing, monitoring, and managing your online reputation cannot go undone. Each day technology is growing, more people are connecting online, your online reputation will only grow from this point forward, you must be proactive in ensuring it grows positively, and not negatively.

Protect Your Privacy

Your privacy is what allows you to get away from the daily stress that life graciously gives to you. It is that one moment of the day where you don't have to worry about a case you are working on, completing a deal or anything that will more than likely bring on more stress to you. What about your online privacy, how important is that to you? Are all your social media accounts secured? Are you the only one who knows the passwords? These unfortunately situations can bring a lot of harm to your online reputation if you are not careful.

There has been a commercial on TV lately talking about privacy but not about your identity or credit cards but your social media accounts. The times have certainly changed and a new market has opened up, people are now becoming victims of fraud not by their bank accounts but by their social media accounts. Keep in mind that social media is just an extension of your personality when you are not in office or in a professional setting. So for people to become victims of fraud on these platforms raises a lot of questions.  

My first question is how much information you are putting on these sites, I know when filling out an application you have options to put phone numbers, email addresses and even your location! Those options right there are can be trouble if you choose to fill them out. Your email address should not be published online; you should never put your phone number online especially on a social media account. While your location is acceptable it should stop with your city and state nothing more.

You are already exposed by having your pictures online don't make easier for a potential hacker, stalker or creep to find you steal your identity and create another life for you will you live your own life. It is a crazy thing to imagine but according to some articles and TV commercials this form of identity theft is becoming very popular.

The best thing you can do to make yourself less likely to be a target is have an account on just one social media account, cut down your exposure. You don't need to be active all over social media you're just asking for attention and you will receive it. The best way to get through this efficiently and thoroughly is to hire an online reputation management firm that will help you restore your reputation

Just when you thought it was safe to come out and play online it's not. You find yourself looking at you but you already have an account, you then realize you have been hacked and it is not a good feeling.

How is Your Online Reputation Compared To Competitors?

Nobody wants to lose a step when it comes to their rivals, that is why keeping a close eye on your online reputation is a must. Business owners and professionals are becoming more aware of how important it is to maintain their online reputation and are taking different measures in order to achieve their goal. It is well known that a negative online reputation will cost you customers, and possibly your dream job that you were seeking. Take action now.

How does your website reflect your business? This is an important question that must be taken into consideration in order to become aware of how you are stacked against your competition, or if you meet the standards you claim. If your website claims that you will give your customers the best customer service possible make sure that you live up to your word. Hire the right staff, and have employees that are well trained in order to give the customer the best possible customer experience.

Keep your ears open and listen to what your customers have to say. If a customer claims to be unhappy about a recent encounter do something about it. The worst possible thing to do as a business owner is ignoring your customers, put in the time and effort in order to make sure your customers are happy with the brand that you represent.

Many companies are hiring an online reputation management company in order to better help them in building a positive online reputation. It does not matter if you are a big company or small, online reputation will make or break you. Work with your online reputation management company in order to build a fine establishment with a reputable name because at the end if it is reputation that outweighs everything else.

Centel Media™, an online reputation management company, has shown to be a reputable company and work hard on building the type of reputation that you need in order to be successful. They have trained professionals and experts working with you on your online reputation, and will make sure that you have the upper hand when it comes to your competitors. These experts have the skills and techniques that are needed when it comes to dealing with negative content surrounding your name.

Something Old, Something New

In today's world we are quick to dismiss anything that is not modern or not up with today’s time. We are truly doing ourselves a disservice when we choose to leave "old" methods in the past. Little do we know most businesses have been around before we were born and just because we have social media and most if not all businesses are active on those websites does not mean that they should be the measuring stick for how a business is supposed to be developed.

Before this technology boom businesses depended on other means to survive and promote their business to the masses.Social media came along and has given businesses a chance to expand and get their brand out to a wider audience, but a business should still have a foundation where they don't have to depend on social media to develop their business. I actually think that businesses that thrived before technology became so big are at a huge advantage over everyone else.

Those businesses are structurally stronger because they have had to use lesser means for promotion such as newspaper ads, radio and TV. While these three methods of promotion are still very strong they don't have the same effect as a mobile app or an e-mailed coupon. Before we were pulling out our phones to upload a coupon or opening an app we had to use newspapers and circulars. From a competition standpoint it really brought out the best in everybody because the pickings were thin, so you had to stand out and appeal to your audience if you wanted business.

That was the old way; the new way consists of mobile marketing, scan codes on the side of every product we buy and other tech savvy methods to increase business. If you want information on something just pull out your phone and scan it and a coupon along with a newsletter will be sent to you. What used to take hours now takes minutes to do.  

In my opinion it would be wise for a company to adapt an old school method and apply it to the way you do business today. While a technology based foundation is good, technology is changing every day and that means everyday your foundation shakes which is not good. If you were to apply some radio ads or create a circular that can be placed in papers that would stabilize you.

When one foundation becomes unstable you have another to fall back on which is going to keep you in business and guide you through a lot of tough times.

Social Media Reputation

Social Media is another way to connect with people, in some ways it is more efficient and takes less time than the standard routes of communication. It has also become an essential tool for businesses who want to attract a younger audience. In some ways social media has replaced your newspaper as the go to place if you wanted to get coupons for your favorite brand.

But just like anything online it is important to make sure that your accounts are not being used to respond to negative comments, it is important to keep it professional at all times. It may be tempting to respond to some comments but your businesses social media account is not the forum to do that. Your online reputation consists of more than just your website and comments that are written about you. Your socialmedia account is a big part of that.

Being that social media is less restrictive than a professional webpage people might find it easier to attack your reputation. The effect that this can have on your company is very damaging because everyone can see what someone one says about you. All it takes is one post and millions of people can view a negative comment about you which can get bigger if you do not take care of the problem as soon as it happens.

Your social media accounts are your customers go to place to get updates and more of an inside peek of your company. You want the atmosphere to be very inviting and pleasant, there should not be any negative comments left out in the open for everyone to see. It looks bad on your part because it makes your page look very sloppy, there should not be a compliment followed by three negative comments. Those comments should be taken care of and removed.

Monitoring your account is easier said than done, it can take a lot of time and attention away from your other business operations. It is very advisable that you hire either a team of experienced social media users or an online reputation firm that can help enhance your social media presence as well as monitor your account against any attack. Just like your online reputation it is very sensitive and should be handled by professionals who specialize in this particular field.

When dealing with your online reputation never hesitate to get help. It’s an investment that will pay itself off before you realize it.

Managing Your Online Reputation

Your online reputation should be taken with extreme consideration and managed with the right skills and technique. As a business owner you should be aware of all the negative content that can surround your name on a daily basis and that is why searching your name constantly on Google is extremely important. Checking your name should be a daily routine that you do, such as brushing your teeth, you want to make sure you are constantly on top of things so that if you see anything wrong you can fix it before it gets worse.

Buying domain names is also important because it will allow for you to have a control over the content that will be on the internet. Include your bio, blogs, anything that will help receive positive content to counter act the negative. Be sure to be organized where you put this type of content in order for others to easily view your information as well as other links to your social media accounts for example.

Social media accounts are very important when it comes to your online reputation. At the same time however, they can be your worst enemy if these accounts are not used properly. The point of a social media account as a business owner or professional is to network. Expanding your business, or meeting people that are in your field of business is the main idea. It is not a place to post inappropriate content, such as photos showing drinking or inappropriate activity. You will be digging yourself a major hole if you do not use your social media account in a professional manner.

Interaction with your customers and how you react to comments is also vile to your success. If you receive a negative comment on the internet remember to post without over reacting, or reacting out of emotion. Acting out of emotion will only cause your customers to think less of you, and perhaps lose their business. Remember that the customers that are going to leave comments about your brand name are either going to have a remarkable experience that is worth writing about, or a horrible experience in order to warn future customers. Make sure that you treat every comment with a professional attribute, and deal with the situation with a clear mind.

Maintaining a Loyal Customer Base

It is easier to say you are loyal than actually completing the act of being loyal. It often an overused word that over the years has developed many definitions and meanings. What one person may think loyalty is another person might have a totally different perspective on it. Is loyalty at times overrated, yes in some instances but it is very much underrated as well. Customer loyalty is very important to your business and when you have solid customer loyalty it is very important to reward them.

With businesses popping up all over the place something you can thank technology for, getting customers is now easier than ever right. I mean you have to be a caveman if you don't have a computer and your phone should be smarter than you. The gadgets are very nice but that won't attract customers to you and it definitely won't sell anything for you. You could have the best mobile app in the world and your website could be the most beautifully designed website running, it is going to take a little bit more work than that.

How much work you ask well that depends on the owner and his or her drive to be successful , stand out from the competition and deliver the best product and service imaginable. In other words there's a lot of work to be done if you want to develop loyal customer base. Starting with the basics whatever sectors you choose to do business in always remember to be honest with your customers. Speaking as a consumer the worst thing you can do as an owner is make false promises or not admit when you're wrong or have made a mistake.

It is a proven fact that when you're open and honest you will be forgiven much faster than if you lied, granted the forgiving process takes time nonetheless you can find yourself back in the good graces of your customers in due time. With honesty taken care of let’s get to the service and products, what you won't do another will. I mentioned earlier that businesses are all over and you would be hard pressed to find one business that specializes in one field and not have any competition. You're competing for business so it is important that your product stands out and is the well ahead of your rivals.

Your services has to be just as good, customer service, shipping, prices and inventory has to always be on point. Customers today have so many options to choose from so you will constantly be measured by your competition detail for detail. Knowing all of this is key to longevity and loyal customers, I’ve mentioned before if customers feel comfortable using your products they will continue to give you their business for a very long time. It's a win-win for both sides in my book.  

Starting and creating a business is a headache in its own right, now you have to make sure that your business attracts customers and keeps them doing business with you for many years to come.

Etymology and Understanding Our Online Origins

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the ways in which their meanings have historically developed. In understanding the meaning of words, their origins, and their application to our lives, we begin at the root of the word and dissect it. “Photography” for instance is derived from the Greek photos - for “light” and graphos- for “drawing.”

Applying these same rules to our modern, online vocabulary, we can discover the deeper meanings of social networks use every day. Most titles or names seem self-explanatory at first glance; “Pinterest,” “YouTube,” and “Facebook” for example. We are so familiar with these networks that we gloss over their true meanings and functions.

As with most modern technological names, Facebook does not follow the traditional patterns of name origin. But, by dissecting the word, perhaps we can derive a new meaning applicable to our online selves.  The website began as ’“facemash” which derived from the nickname of Harvard student directories. When the site launched the second time it was renamed “The FaceBook,” which we all know now as “Facebook.”

If we apply the same logic to the word Facebook, dissecting it, the first word being “face” deriving from the Latin word facies- for “appearances”. The second word being “book” deriving from the Latin word codex, meaning the modern equivalent of book carved into a "block of wood".

In applying etymology to our online reputation, we can see that Facebook could literally mean carving our appearance in a block of wood. While this may not be as permanent as carving into stone, the basic gesture of carving has a significant impact, especially when it comes to our reputation. We are carving our online reputations. Therefore it is vital for us to remain consistent and constantly aware that we have an appearance to consider, not only of ourselves, but those we represent, and those who represent us.

  

The physical layout and design of your online self, on Facebook or other social medias, is vital. The initial appearances found online mimics the first impressions we often experience in person. Managing an online reputation can be exhausting and time consuming, especially when there are countless networking sites already demanding detailed management and more sites coming into popularity each day. While Facebook may seem like a fun pastime, or a way to keep in contact with old friends, and distance family, it is also a valuable tool in which we can carve our onlinereputations.

Summary: In applying etymology to our onlinereputation, we can see that Facebook could literally mean carving our appearance in a block of wood. Therefore it is vital for us to remain consistent and constantly aware that we have an appearance to consider, not only of ourselves, but those we represent, and those who represent us.