It should come as no surprise that the internet and its search engines have become the perfect way to research a person before making contact for their Professional services. Now we can check out review sites, read their social media postings and then assess if they are a person that we want to employ or become associated with.

This all leads to the importance of a positive online Reputation whereby you know what people think about you. But there could be challenges. Problems in the past combined with malicious postings may not have been kind. It may have resulted in a damaging online reputation resulting in career limitations.

Thankfully, there are many different approaches that you can try to improve the situation. However, even with the knowledge you need to resolve the problems, it can take time out of your workday, which can be tough to achieve.

This is when the help achieved through working with a Professional Reputation management company can be invaluable.

Professionally Managed Reputations Are Essential for People Like You

While the internet has made it incredibly easy to work with other people worldwide, it has also created challenges. It would be very easy, in fact, to spend a large proportion of your day assessing online content rather than focussing on the operational aspects of your work.

Search Engines

What do you see when you Google your name? Does it inspire confidence in your ideas? Does it create a strong professional impression that would make you want to reach out? If there’s even a hint of negativity associated with your name on the first page of Google, then it will impact the impression that others develop of you.

That doesn’t mean to say that it has to be that way. There are several approaches which can be taken to change the search results to be more favourable.

Challenge and Remove Content from Google

If Google presents an online public impression of you, damaging your professional reputation, then action needs to be taken. This kind of material can have a devastating effect on even the most successful of careers. Now, anyone can request the removal of information from the search engine. However, as with anything, having the knowledge and experience for action to be taken, means that the internet can then start to work for you rather than against you in a much quicker time scale

Right To Be Forgotten

This legal remedy was introduced as part of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means that were irrelevant, unwanted, or dated information exists about you online, a request can be made for its removal. The request can be related to the removal of text, an image or videos.

When an application is made, Google always considers your right to privacy against the interest of other people to have access to the information. This then means that it’s essential to have complete clarity on the basis through which the application will be made and to know the best way to proceed.

Suppress Negative Content

When we use a search engine to find important information, we always tend to stop our search on page one. That then means that if we ignore what’s being presented on that first page, the benefits of Google will not be working for you. Even if there is positive content on page two, the chances are that people will never see it. However, there are strategies which can be used to ensure that when someone searches for you, they see the things that support and improve your professional reputation.

Social Media

Social media could be considered to be ‘the beast that never sleeps’. And that’s because 24hours of every day, posts are being made which can build your professional reputation, or cause it to come crashing down. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, your presence and behavior on it, will create opportunities for clients to want to know more about you or to continue their search for the right person.

Then there needs to be consideration of how a simple like of another company or your presence within a public group can influence others impression of your reputation. While this would seem to have created an immense amount of additional work, a social media presence and developing the number of people who follow you, is something which is now considered to be essential.

Developing a strong reputation through social media provides opportunities for potential clients to ask questions and seek advice, to share posts and to position yourself as an expert within your field.

Review Sites

Gaining new positive reviews can be a powerful way to both improve and sustain a strong professional reputation. When potential clients are looking for services and can see what others think about your offering, it develops their confidence in entrusting you with their business.

Whilst everyone wants to avoid a negative review, the chances are that it comes along at some point. Whether factual or malicious, the impact on your business or personal reputation is likely to be the same. There are several different approaches to try in this situation which might help to change the outcomes.

Reaching Out to the Reviewer

Where there might be a legitimate grievance, then reaching out to the reviewer to open dialogue can help develop trust and change someone’s image of you for the better. Knowing that someone is interested in building relationships and achieving a good outcome could be a strong indicator of their professional reputation.

Removal of Malicious Reviews

There will also be times when a new review is malicious or unwarranted. Be that a disgruntled employee or manager, or a competitor trying to damage your professional reputation. Sadly others will know little of the backstory to the review and instead will just see the negative comments. In this situation, it’s essential to take action to ensure that the person is not able to cause damage to others trust in your position.

All sites have mechanisms in place to address this type of situation. However, the people that work in their office might not have the same sense of urgency or see the necessity of getting something done quickly. This again is one of those situations where a professional reputation manager can find ways to open doors and make things happen. Now there is the potential to get the help you need from someone who understands the impact of a poor review both on professional reputation and on career opportunities.

It May Seem Complicated But Professional Reputation Consultants Make it Easy!

Running a business is tough enough as it is. It probably already feels as if you’re at work all the time. So, reaching out for help can make a significant difference in ensuring that you’re focussed on the many areas that need your expertise.

When your car breaks down, you probably turn to a qualified and experienced mechanic to fix the problem. You know that they are the people who can get the job done. Online reputation management consultants are experts in their field. They care passionately about the assistance that they can provide in both building and developing your online reputation. These are the people who can make results happen through creative ideas and well-structured strategies.

When you have an office of reputation consultants focussed on your online reputation, you know it’s going to be a job well done. Soon your name will be associated with a highly professional reputation that comes from taking care of how others perceive you.

The post How Can My Professional Reputation Be Improved? appeared first on Igniyte.