Online Reputation: What Does it Mean?

Online Reputation: What Does it Mean? Did you know that everything you say and do online has an impact on your reputation? The internet is a huge collection of detailed information and you might be surprised at how much information about each one of us can have an impact on how we are perceived as an individual.

Statistics coming out of the US suggest that 48% of recruiters and HR professionals use the internet to search personal websites when deciding whether or not to hire you. Blogs, websites and social media sites are all sources of information searched to find out more information on individuals.

Understand that your online reputation extends beyond what you put online. It reaches to when you put something online too!

Why does it Matter?

Some of us might not care what people think of them online, but you should! Think of yourself as a ‘Brand’. Call it Brand ‘You’. The internet has the potential to create far much more than small town gossip. It also lasts a lot longer too!

Future job prospects may be in jeopardy if HR professionals come across ‘boozy’ photos of you taken in your teens. Remember, who you hang out with is just as important as the previous companies you have worked for.

Companies are now very concerned with their own online reputation and will often implement social media policies to ensure staff understand their responsibilities when it comes to online social media. A company doesn’t want their staff talking about the business in a negative way.  8% of companies have fired somebody for abusing social media.

On the other hand, creating a good presence will enhance your ‘Brand You’, help you gain respect and also win business and recognition.

“ Understand that your online reputation extends beyond what you put online. It reaches to when you put something online too! ”

Employers are regularly watching for bad publicity about their company. Content that you want to avoid online include photos of you being used without permission, unflattering information or comments about you in a negative way.

Online Reputation Management

Its important to protect and manage your online reputation to ensure it remains positive. Here are some tips to help you along the way:

1. Build your own online reputation by creating digital content. You can establish a strong and positive presence by building a blog of something that interests you.
2. Keep updated with your ‘Brand’ online by frequently Googling your name and following where you appear. Do the same on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
3. Ensure you post content regularly. In doing so, you create more positive content than potentially negative.
4. Use strong passwords for the places where you create content. These should include a combination of upper and lowercase characters, numbers and a special character.
5. Keep personal information private, by not revealing birthdates and addresses online.
6. Monitor images online by image searching online and ask others to remove any photos you appear in that show you in an unflattering way.

For products and services around internet safety see websafety.co.nz