Online Reputation Protection

Online Repuation Protection
By Sharon Housley

Google is sometimes thought to be the bane of the Internet, and it certainly can be a thorn in the side of search engine marketers. Many fail to look beyond the search of today, toward what the implications of indexing and storing information will have on future generations. Forget the slogan "diamonds are forever" -- "Google is forever" is more accurate in regard to the Internet. And if not Google, then some other search giant will be able to retrieve information from previous years within a few seconds. If something is online, it does not just "go away". Like it or not, the entire world is being indexed and categorized, and will be searchable for years to come.

Individuals today have a personal brand. Employers and colleagues will search on your name, so it is imperative that you keep this in mind when posting online. You must control your online reputation.

The web is not always a friendly place, so what do you do if you are not using an alias and someone is posting derogatory information about you, your company, your products, or your brand?

Monitor Your Brand
The first step in monitoring your brand is to setup automated notifications within the various search engines, either via email or an RSS feed. This way, you will know when you are being discussed, either in favorable or unfavorable terms. For example, the "Google Alerts" feature is a free service that will send email notifications to you when specific words or phrases appear in new search results. Simply use your name, company name, product name, or brand as the phrase being monitored. Ego Feeds work in a similar fashion, except the alerts appear in a custom created RSS feed that updates whenever new mentions occur. For more information about Ego Feeds, see a related article at http://www.feedforall.com/ego-searches.htm


Control Your Brand
The second step in protecting your brand is to take a pro-active approach to appearing in the top search results when your name is entered into a search engine. You can do this by offering interviews, reviews, SEO, and writing articles or posting blog entries. At the very least, make an effort to control the top search results for your name. This will ensure that when your personal brand is searched, those items will be listed in the top 10 search results.


Damage Control
If you find something that is damaging or harmful, do damage control. Control your responses, and behave in a professional manner so it is clear that you took the high road when the exchange is viewed by others at a later time.

Social
The final bit of advice is to simply keep personal things personal. While the social sites are great for maintaining friendships, they are not helpful for people who have an occasional lapse in judgment. Refrain from posting pictures that show anything that you would not want your mother or future grandchildren to see, or saying anything when you are mad or upset since we often say things "in the heat of battle" that we regret later.

The Internet is preserving and archiving personal history in a way that has never previously happened. Control your online reputation for posterity.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Negotiations

Negotiation really is an art,

and can be a challenge to master for even the most astute business professional. And like any art form, it must be refined and crafted. Getting a "good deal" can result in a feeling of euphoria. So, how does one "negotiate" a good deal? It can be difficult, especially if the other party appears to be holding all the cards. Follow these tips to help negotiate a great deal...

Know What You Are Willing To Concede

Decide what your minimums are before you enter the negotiations. Knowing your bottom line, as well as what items are "non-negotiable" will help tremendously. It is important to know this before you enter negotiations, simply because all too often, in the excitement of bartering and negotiating a deal, parties will be tempted to make concessions they had not actually intended make, in an effort to close the deal.

Deal With A Decision Maker

Whenever possible, don't negotiate with a subordinate -- make sure that the person you are dealing with has the power and authority to approve the deal being negotiated. The last thing you want is to spend time working out an agreement, only to have your momentum come to a screeching halt because someone else in management needs to approve the deal. Start your negotiations at the top, so you can get the deal negotiated and finalized without added delays.

Communications

Once a verbal agreement is arrived at, put it in writing immediately. In fact, after each communication, be sure to document (via email or another source) a recap of the discussions, just to make sure that both parties are still in agreement when the ink is dry. Having written details of the agreement can also help in the future if the negotiations break down for some reason.

Best Agreements

In the best agreement, both parties will benefit. In other words, both sides need to feel that they've gotten a "good deal". Never enter into negotiations with a goal of trying to "best" the other side, but instead enter with the goal of finding common ground that will benefit all parties involved.

Time Line & Expectations

Often when an agreement is made, the actual timeline for implementation is an afterthought. It is important that all negotiating parties have realistic expectations about the deal. The timeline should be part of the initial agreement, so that everyone's expectations are realistic, and the same. Detailing a list of benchmarks, timeline, and a payment schedule (if appropriate) will help ensure that everyone's expectations are manageable.

Performance

All good and not-so-good things must eventually come to an end, so be sure to discuss how any agreement will be concluded. Both parties should have an exit strategy, just in case the deal does not work out to their satisfaction.

Walk Away

Know when to simply walk away. Some deals are just not meant to happen. If you can not live with the terms offered, do not sign on the dotted line. Know when to walk away from a deal that doesn't work for you, or that you know you'll regret in the future.

At the end of the day, negotiating is a cleverly crafted game, and you need to know the rules in order to play the hand you are dealt.

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.

Top Small Business Mistakes

Mistakes Small Businesses Often Make

By Sharon Housley

Many small businesses make mistakes, and smart entrepreneurs will learn from the mistakes of others. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of some common mistakes that small business owners often make....

1. Knowing It All

Business owners who think they have learned it all will very often tend to fail. Even the most experienced entrepreneurs have to be willing to learn continually. There are always new technologies and markets emerging. It is very important to learn these new technologies and adapt to changing markets.

2. Blindly Taking Advice From Others

What works well for one business may or may not work as well for another. It is important that all advice be considered and weighed. When evaluating advice, be sure to consider the source, the similarities, and the dissimilarities to your situation, and then make a determination of whether the advice is applicable or relevant. Avoid the urge to just blindly follow the advice of others, no matter how successful they might be.

3. Not Using Targeted Marketing Efforts

The most effective type of marketing is "targeted" marketing. A locally-based retail store that spends money on a global marketing campaign will likely spend that money reaching customers who will never cross their threshold. Target your audience with a clear message, and focus your advertising in ways that will target legitimate prospective customers.

4. Believing That If A Little Is Good, Then More Must Be Better

This applies to a wide variety of business aspects. Not everything in business will scale equally. For example, if you conduct an email marketing campaign once a week and have great results, that does not necessarily mean that increasing the frequency of the mailings will lead to even more positive results. Such assumptions can often lead to big and costly mistakes.

5. Not Listening To Customers

Your customers are the best source of ideas and inspiration available to you. Welcome both compliments and criticisms from your customers. Small businesses can learn a lot from their customers, so listen carefully to what they are saying, and more importantly, listen to what they are not saying!

6. Lack Of Diversification

Having all your eggs in one basket can be a serious mistake that many small businesses fall into. Small businesses should make an effort to diversify their income streams whenever possible. The key to doing this successfully is to strike a balance between diversifying your business interests to create multiple revenue streams, yet not spreading yourself or your staff too thin to adequately handle everything.

7. Hiring Friends And Family

They are your family. You know them, you love them, but... can you really afford to hire them? Hiring family members, as well as close friends, can often do serious damage to otherwise strong relationships. How someone behaves in a social situation is not always a good indication of how they will perform as an employee. Many small businesses staff their companies with friends and relatives, and at times it works just great; but when it doesn't, it can be really messy, and can often lead to seriously damaged personal and family relationships outside the business. Avoid the urge to hire friends and family members as employees.

8. Failure To Adapt

Businesses may need to make changes due to shifting economic conditions or advances in technology. Small businesses have the advantage of being agile, and most can quickly and easily adapt to changing market conditions and advancing technologies. Yet many still fail to do so, and that can lead to serious problems.

9. Failure To Build Brand

Regardless of a company's size, building a brand is all about establishing a reputation. Do not make the mistake of thinking your company is too small to need a brand. Identify an image or logo with your product or service in order to effectively establish a brand, and then use that image to reinforce your brand on an ongoing basis.

10 Failure To Track

It is critical that business owners track what works in their business, and what does not. Why waste precious and often limited advertising funds on marketing efforts that do not result in sales. Monitor and track all marketing efforts carefully, so you will know the best and most successful options to spend your marketing funds and efforts on.

These are just a few of the more common mistakes that small businesses often make. Watch for and avoid making them yourself!

About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com audio recording and editing software.