Manage Your Online Reputation - The No. 1 Mistake Call me at 714-300-9566 or reach me at http://www.edwindearborn.com/contact/ Manage your online reputation - It begins with a search. And when I say "Google" yourself, I don't mean just use Google -- use every possible search engine, including people searches, social networks and forum searches to find out everything (good and bad) being said about you on the Internet. Search for your name, your nicknames, your maiden name, misspellings of your name -- heck, it's even a good idea to search for your first name coupled with a few keywords. (Keywords can include things like hometown, current city, the name of your college and your occupation.) If you're worried about what a specific person, such as a potential employer, might find, make sure you search for any identifiable info they might have access to, such as your email address, a frequently-used username, or a phone number. You should also comb through any social media accounts, blogs or forums that you frequent to make sure there are no damning posts or photos that you forgot about, and check the Wayback Machine to see if any of your deleted accounts are still living in cached form on the Internet. Bonus: Check the social media accounts, blogs, and forum posts of your friends, family members, and significant others, just to be sure you won't be blindsided by someone who doesn't take your online reputation quite as seriously. The best online reputation management strategy is a proactive one. Instead of trying to suppress your past, focus on building your future. By adding new content in the form of new social network accounts, blog posts, articles and forum posts, you can boost your professional identity and tamp down your "drunk college days" identity at the same time. This works because search algorithms like to see new content -- in Google's eyes, an up-to-date blog is far more relevant than a years-old Facebook picture, and therefore gets prime real estate near the top of the search results. Spiff up your social networks.Create a separate Facebook account for your professional identity. Add your boss, coworkers and professional colleagues, and post (work-safe but interesting) content to this account frequently. If you're not a member of many social networks, consider joining some under your professional identity; LinkedIn is an obvious choice, but I also like review sites Yelp and Amazon; alumni sites such as Classmates.com; and blogging sites like Tumblr. After all, you want to come across as a well-rounded, totally work-safe person, right? Be an expert.If you're an expert in your field, try to get your name placed in industry publications or magazines. The quickest way to the top is to ride someone else's coattails, and an industry pub ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeI_XklPVXM

Buy my book today! http://bit.ly/bestbrandingbook Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwindearborn/ Raising money for your startup could mean the difference between turning your company into success or see it languishing by the wayside. If you need to raise money for your startup, social media is the answer. Research states 84% of CEOs use it to make financial decisions. If you are smart about it, you have the potential to communicate with millions on a tiny budget. The first thing you have to understand is that every social media platform is different. Every social media network has a niche and it has its own nuances that you have to take advantage of in order to meet the needs of that niche. You can’t apply the same strategy to every single social media platform and expect to get results. This is one of the critical building blocks of social media. By linking all your accounts together for simplicity, you are missing out on what every social media platform needs. Instead of concentrating on targeting as many networks as possible, stick to the ones where your target audience are. Build A Community You have the chance to connect with practically anyone on the planet. There has never been a more efficient way of sending a message to your target audience. This prompts feedback and interaction. Startups, at this point, often make the mistake of either not responding or leaving a generic response that doesn’t invite further conversation. You need to go out of your way to form real connections. It doesn’t have to take a lot of effort. As long as you are acting like a person speaking to a friend you are going to see incredible results. Don’t just sell to your audience engage them. The sales and the investor interest will come naturally. In the world of today, people want real. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67iSj3xwKQY