Your online presence plays a role in how others view you. It can make or compromise your reputation. Especially negative comments stand out and travel faster than the speed of light.
How many times have we seen an athlete or celebrity receive negative attention after their old social media posts resurfaced? It can happen to anyone.
Today, 80 percent of employers do online checks before inviting candidates for interviews to ascertain if they are suitable. Also, 45 percent of people that googled a potential business partner found information that made them not want to do business. And so, any lapse in judgment can cost you your career when it comes to looking for professional opportunities. For instance, comments and posts that contain profanity can come back to bite you. Even so, the top three posts that leave people with a negative image of posters include:
- inappropriate photographs
– posts promoting alcohol or drug use
- race, gender, and religious related discriminatory comments
What more, surprise, surprise women are judged more harshly than men for hate speech on social media. You may recall, in 2013, a communications director at a New York-based company tweeted, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” before boarding her flight to Cape Town. According to the Guardian, “During her long flight to South Africa, unbeknownst to her, she became an internet phenomenon. The offensive tweet got over 2000 retweets.” The hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet went viral. Apologizing was not enough to save her from being terminated. (And rightfully so!)
Knowing how to deal effectively with an online mess-up can save you. There are many actionable tips and tricks to manage your online reputation and avoid getting canceled.
Google your name results.
What shows up when you search your name from a logged-out browser? Most likely, everything from tweets and photos to personal data. It is easy for anyone to come across information you now prefer to keep private. Therefore, look through the first three pages and know what shows up.
If any photos or posts could potentially tarnish your reputation, delete the individual posts yourself. You can also change the privacy settings to ensure they do not come up. All social networks will make your profile public by default. Change the settings to secure your content. Also, you may consider using tools like Facebook’s “On This Day” or TweetDelete. The latter enables you to delete your tweets in bulk.
If there are photos online that you can’t remove yourself, be proactive. Contact website administrators and ask that they be. If the website does not comply, an attorney can send a takedown notice. If the images are explicit and distributed on the Internet without your consent, research your state’s revenge porn laws. Legal action can be taken against the distributor or website if in violation of state laws.
Take control of your brand.
Taking control of your brand is the foremost thing you can do for your online reputation. It allows people to learn about you and even envision where you would like to be in the future. Authenticity is everything, however. If you try to emulate someone, people will soon find out. That will hurt your credibility. Instead, develop a compelling vision for your brand and portray a genuine human side of yourself. By doing so, the expectation of your expertise and authority in your field will gain traction.
Create new content.
Finally, by creating new content, you give Google’s algorithm new, relevant content about you that will rank highly in search. Some ideas include a personal site, social media bios, videos, guest articles, and blog posts. If you build a personal blog, buy your name domain. Or, if you’re looking for a quick solution, a simple resume website with blog functionality is a good alternative. It can be helpful during interviews because you can share your work in a centralized, organized location. Too, update your site often as Google favors new content.
Also, choose social media platforms that fit your field. LinkedIn is the best social media place to begin. Having a Facebook business page and Instagram may work well too.