Celebrity Online Reputation Management: All About Social

When you’re a celebrity, you’re always in the spotlight. And sometimes that spotlight is a little too bright. We’ve all seen celebrities break down, makes embarrassing gaffes, and get caught in compromising situations. Even though we’re all human, and we all make mistakes sometimes, when you’re a celebrity, everyone sees your mistakes and immediately puts them on the web, which can tarnish their online reputation.

When a potential fan Googles your name, you don’t want them to see a heap of bad press and negative reviews of the work you’ve done. So, the first step toward a positive online reputation is to not do anything bad or embarrassing in the first place. But even if you have a clean background and rehabilitate wounded puppies in your spare time, there will always be detractors out there who want to tarnish your name through their blogs or online reviews.

Google News

First of all, if you’re a popular celebrity you may have a Google news spot at the top of your search results. This spot will feature the most recent and popular news about you and is determined by Google algorithms that keep that content constantly changing. This means that that top spot is very hard to control and it’s always changing. However, if you can continually get press for positive things you’ve done, this spot should stay relatively free of bad press.

The Bottom 10

Although the Google news spot is basically out of your hands, you can control the next 10 links fairly easily be leveraging the power of your fanbase.

Clearly, you should have an official website where you can publish updates, news, announcements, press photos, and more. And depending on what you do, you should establish official profiles on all the major social networks. You can easily fill the next handful of links on a Google search with links to your Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and others. Additionally, make sure you appear in online listings appropriate to your profession, for example, IMDB, Last.fm, and others. And, if you are a true celebrity, your Wikipedia page should appear in the results as well.

Simply including the majority of the above mentioned properties in your online reputation management strategy should fill most of a SERP for your name. Next you’ll need to turn to other online platforms where you name is mentioned. For example, look for unofficial fan sites (which will generally be all positive information about you), news articles in major publications, articles on popular blogs, and more. Once you’ve identified the most positive content about you on the web, all you have to do is point your fans in that direction through your social media accounts and it won’t be long before those properties rank well in your SERP.

Social Strategy IS Reputation Management Strategy

Building and maintaining an active social presence is the best way to control your online reputation. Not only will active social media profiles rank well in the SERPs, but if you have an active and engaged fanbase, they’ll do your reputation management for you. All you have to do is share links to positive information about yourself on the web with your fanbase and they will retweet it, share it, like it, and write about it on their own blogs and fan sites. The increase in links and mentions to the information you have shared with your fanbase will result in that informaiton ranking well on Google. And that is how you can fill the bottom few spots on SERP for you name.

So, in the end, reputation management for celebrities really is all about social media. Social media profiles will fill up the majority of a Google search, and maintaining an active social media presence will help you leverage your fanbase to get other favorable information about yourself on the web to rank well in your SERP.

Personal Reputation Management - 08/15/2012

How to Be a Corporate Reputation Management Wizard

Reputation management might sound like a job that doesn’t require much time or effort. Besides, doesn’t the marketing department deal with the reputation of the company? Far from it. Reputation management is about more than the messaging that the marketing department puts together. It’s about controlling the way your company name is used online, in what context, and—especially—how a search engine results page (SERP) looks when a customer Googles your company or brand name.

It’s about being aware of everything going on around your company, battling online trolls, and the dragons of so-called “scam alert” sites. In some ways it’s kind of like being a wizard. So when it comes to corporate reputation management, do you want to be Frodo or Gandalf? (Who doesn’t want to be Gandalf?) Here are a few ways you can be a corporate reputation management wizard.

1) Learn

Gandalf didn’t become Gandalf by sitting around waiting for magic to happen. He had to learn his art, and learn it well. As a reputation management specialist, you should learn basic and advanced SEO principles. Follow some of the top SEO blogs and influencers and emulate what they do to achieve great search results.

But also don’t forget about dabbling in marketing as well. Reputation management isn’t all about technical SEO, it’s also about nuance, dealing with people, and crafting the right messaging to your audience—whether that means a search audience or another blogger. If you can master both, you’ll be a wizard to be reckoned with.

2) Monitor

Part of the reason Gandlaf was effective was that he kept his ear to the ground. He listened to people and he saw trends in the culture around him. You need to do the same thing to defend your company against the figurative reputation onslaught from Mordor. Use tools that will monitor the web, like Google Alerts, for mentions of your company online as well as links to your main websites. When you see negative mentions or links, seek to understand them before jumping in to execute a plan.

3) Put out small fires

Gandalf knew well ahead of time that war was coming, and he started to gather his forces and put plans into action before the Orcs assembled a full-scale attack. When you find negative mentions of your company online, focus on them right away. It doesn’t matter if the site is small or if the mention “isn’t that bad.” Small things today can turn into big problems tomorrow. So, if you can keep on top of the small tings, putting out little fires as they arise, you’ll have fewer problems down the road.

4) Start with the small stuff

Why did Gandalf start his plan with Hobbits—small and simple creatures that knew no violence or war? Because he knew they were loyal, hardworking, and would follow the plan through to the end. He knew that the battle wasn’t about how big his army was or who had the most armor. He knew to came down to the details. As an SEO wizard, start with the small stuff. Create social profiles, buy domain variations of your company name, and more. Reputation management is not a war about the biggest swords. It is a battle of the most tenacious player. So start with the little things that will help provide a solid base for the rest of your strategy.

5) Be resourceful

Why use a sword, when a staff will do? Why send a knight, when a Hobbit can sneak through the cracks in the wall easier? To truly be a corporate reputation management wizard, you have to think strategically and look at ALL the angles. For example, if you can control your branded SERPs, why not try and control a branded “scam” SERP as well? Look for angles that haven’t been explored and new ways to attack the same problem.

With a little creative thinking and knowledge on your side, you can stand up to negative links in your branded search and yell, “You shall not pass!”

Corporate Reputation Management - 03/12/2012

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