What You Need to Know About Protecting Your Personal Brand Reputation

If you take the time to create a strong Personal Brand Online, you will want to take the time to protect your hard work. It is a common misconception that people tend to have, that because they are not a big business or corporation, that it is not necessary to monitor what the internet says about them.

Why do I need to keep a close eye on my personal brand reputation?


In wake of the alleged Facebook leaks, social media users need to be prepared to protect their personal information. It is quite easy for leaks of personal information becoming public and risks of stolen identity and information is becoming more prevalent. The rate at which information is shared is faster than ever as there are more people online that ever before. This makes it so much harder to protect your online reputation and is the reason why you have to be deliberate about it and to consciously stay ahead of the curve.

Develop a strategy.


The easiest way to get started protecting your personal brand reputation is to develop your personal branding strategy. What do you look like to the people seeing what you are posting?

Check your security settings.


Understanding the rules and guidelines of a social media platform is key to protecting yourself online. Get familiar with your current security settings and understand who exactly has access to your information. It is common that people not exercise the same level of caution when protecting their privacy on the internet due to the sense of anonymity leading to a false sense of security. We need to keep in mind that the internet is a public resource.

Related: 3 LinkedIn Connection Types That Can Destroy Your Business

Think twice before you post.


Before hitting the “share” or “comment” buttons, ask yourself whether your action is aligned with your brand. What impact could one status update or blog posting could have on your reputation in the long run? It is so easy for a shared post, that was intended to be a joke, be misconstrued as something rude or offensive. Furthermore, once you upload something to the internet, you need to be prepared for it to be there forever.

Call in the experts.


Owning and managing an Online Personal Brand that successfully drives business is no easy task. As the commitment to this is a daily one the process can become rapidly overwhelming. I have helped business professionals, executives and CEO’s from around the world build, grow and protect powerful Social Brands as a personal online branding consultant since 2006. If you would like to learn more about my family of service offerings focused on Developing and Managing your own online personal brand reputation, please read more here.

I cannot stress enough that a major component to managing your personal brand reputation is being proactive. We all know how important your reputation is. In 2018, your online presence and brand are what matter most. As I have detailed above, you cannot completely control your digital footprint, but you can positively impact your online presence and brand.

Think you need some help managing your personal brand? Contact me today and let’s talk about how I can help improve your online image.