Andy Beal quotes: rep. management OG on keeping a clean image online. Which is tough today, given the internet’s about as sanitary as a Taco Bell dumpster.
“I have been in the internet marketing space since the 90s, early on, focusing on search engine optimization. I stumbled into reputation management back in the early 2000s, while helping our own company protect and monitor its online reputation. By 2005 we were offering specific reputation management campaigns and a couple of years later I wrote my first book on the topic.”
“Monitoring your online reputation is the absolute least you should be doing. Marketers used to pay thousands of dollars to research firms, just to find out what people thought about their brand. Now you can monitor online conversations, posts, videos, and images and learn what they like and dislike about your brand. You can then adapt your product, service, or message to make your company better.”
“If you want to improve your online reviews, you need to improve your customer feedback loop.”
“Your reputation is a reflection of your character. So if you’re trying to get positive things to show up in Google, these positive things need to be legitimate, real – they need to be an extension of the great things that you’re doing.”
“You are the sum of all of your different characteristics, and while you can try and curate, and try and hide some of it, it’s better just to be authentic to your character and realize that that’s what your reputation is going to be. You need to decide how far you’re willing to let that go. Keep in mind that all these things, even if you think you are keeping them in nice little separate piles where they don’t blend, they’re going to be seen, they’re going to affect your reputation. The next time you hit like, share, retweet, whatever your favorite flavor is, just keep in mind that you are going to be judged.”
“If you wanted just one tip from me, it would be this: build an authentic reputation.”
“Don’t just try and build a reputation that gets you more likes or puts you at the top of Google. That is just a short-term resolution. You may achieve it, but if it’s just a whitewashing job, then it won’t help you in the long-term.”
“Work on letting your true, authentic character shine through to your reputation. Whether personally, professionally, or corporately. What do you stand for? What do you abhor? How do you conduct yourself when not on Twitter or LinkedIn? In other words, don’t focus on building a reputation that you think your target audience would most appreciate. Instead, build a reputation that most reflects on who you are.”
“By doing so, you will have fewer customer complaints, fewer employee arguments, and fewer reputation issues. Why? Because your reputation will not be built on what you hope your audience wants to see but built on a foundation of who you truly are!”
“Trying to improve your online reputation during a crisis is like trying to eat healthy food during a heart attack.”
“Just because you’ve had previous success does not mean that you are impervious to making mistakes. You’ve got to listen to that feedback early, and take a hard, honest look at yourself and say, ‘Okay, enough people are saying this. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe we do need to improve our service. Maybe we do need to make our products better. Or maybe I need to rethink the comments that I’ve made. Maybe I was wrong with what I said.'”
“Your online reputation is always the sum of all of your actions, past and present. In addition, it is the sum of the sincerity of your apology, past and present. The key is to show humility, demonstrate sincerity, and apologize quickly whenever you make a mistake, otherwise, it could come back to haunt you.”
“Be quick to apologize, explain how the situation happened, and then demonstrate how you plan to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Those three simple tactics can quickly turn around an unhappy customer and turn them into a brand ambassador.”
“Social media is often the spark that lights the fire in your Google results page. Most unhappy customers will vent first to their social media network, so it’s vital that you monitor different networks for any negative conversations of your name.”
“When unhappy customers feel they have not received attention or achieved a satisfactory resolution, they head to their favorite online destination to vent and warn others. They want your attention, but they also want restitution. Instead of waiting for a tweet, comment, review, or blog post, make sure you have your own, direct channel for customers to voice their concerns.”
“Just like a funny-looking mole on our skin which we just ignore and hope it doesn’t amount to anything, you should not stick your head in the sand and ignore unhappy customers. Instead, take the lead. Take the initiative. Provide your customers a means to share their complaints directly with you. Their complaints may not tickle your ears, but they will sound a lot louder if amplified by social media, Google, and word of mouth!”
“Start by offering the best product or service you can. Next, make sure your customer service is equally good. Answer the phone, reply to emails, solve problems quickly. Next, take ownership of your Google reputation by creating positive, relevant, and popular content to fill up the first page of results for your brand. Do this now, so you can crowd out any negative web pages.”
“Don’t just sponsor an influencer, first build a great company, then build a great relationship.”
“Build a product or service that is so amazing, key influencers will want to share and recommend it. Cultivate a natural connection with influencers. Follow them, share them, praise them, and thank them any time they say something great about you.”
“The problem with most individuals is that they have no reputation in place prior to a scandal or attack. They are then faced with a Google results page that is filled with only the negative content. My advice is to be proactive and treat your own name just like a company treats its brand. Build a blog, create an online resume, fill out social networking profiles, etc.”
“Start by listening. Get a feel for how people perceive your reputation. In addition, monitor and research the reputation of others that compete with you. That goes for individuals as well as companies. Then focus on building and optimizing web pages to demonstrate your strengths and entice people to do business with you. Of course, this all hinges on the fact that you are a good company or person. Your online reputation will only ever be as strong as your character.”
“Spend 80% of your efforts on optimizing content you own – anything on your server, which can never be deleted without your approval. Spend 10% of your efforts on optimizing content you control. Anything only you can change, but is owned by a third party that could go out of business or shut you down on a whim (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, etc.). Spend 10% of your Google reputation efforts on content you influence. This applies to content that you cannot directly edit and is owned by a third party. An example would be a partner page endorsement, or a speakers’ bio on a conference page. The reason for this rule is that you want to focus only on improving the Google ranking of web content you will always own, control, or at least influence.”
“Get your story straight in a world where celebrities control their own narratives. But some celebrities are simply better digital storytellers than others. It’s important to be transparent in your words.”
“Do not dare confine your reputation management to just one view: global, national, or local. Instead, monitor all of them. Learn where you earn praise. Understand what leads to criticism. Embrace each, learn from each, and your reputation will benefit immensely!”
“Facebook is not your hub. If you think about your brand as a bicycle wheel, then your own website – your content – is the hub. The spokes are the social media channels, so Facebook is just a spoke.”
“The networks want you to build your content around Facebook, because hey guess what? Surprise, we’re going to charge you now for that privilege. So, you’re falling into their hands. You’ve got to own your content.”
“The stakes are high: positive reviews and comments attract more customers. Negative ones can be the kiss of death.”
“You need to understand your centers of influence. Where is your target audience? Where do they hang out online and directly discuss your business? Don’t just assume the answer is Facebook and Twitter. One way to find out the answer is to use Google to search for your business name or industry keywords. The most active communities will show up higher on the results. You can also search your competitors’ names to find out where they are focusing their efforts. Survey your customers. Ask them what internet sites they go to for trusted information about retailers.”
“It’s that time of year when we all look ahead to the changes we want to make in our lives and in our business. While I wish you all the best for any plans to change your health, finances, or business goals, don’t overlook your reputation.”
Related: Frank Kern quotes.
