Online Reputation

Management (and Social

Media Survival Skills)
 Online Reputation Management
n Online reputation management, or ORM, is
the practice of consistent research and analysis
of one’s personal or professional, business or
industry reputation as represented by the
content across all types of online media. –
Wikipedia
n
 Why Reputation Management Matters

n Consumers will Google you

n Consumers are using social media to find
service providers
n It takes years to build your reputation, it
takes minutes (seconds) to ruin it
n The internet never forgets
n Social media can be used to attract clients
 What Does it Entail?

From PluginHQ - http://www.pluginhq.com/what-is-online-reputation-

management/
 Managing your Reputation
n Buy the domain name for your full name
n Set up profiles on all the social networks
n Point all links back to your main blog or
website
n Whenever others write about you, encourage
them to link your name to your website
n This usually happens naturally

 Repair
n Prevention
n Social Media Survival Skills
n If a blow up happens…
n Respond as quickly as possible
n Admit your mistakes
n Make sure your side of the story is out there
n Resolve differences with the other party
n Comment on every conversation with link to
your side of the story
 Monitoring
n Google alerts
n Feedreader
n Google
n Twitter search
n Trackur ($18 per month)
n
Social Media Survival Skills
 Why Social Media Marketing Works
n Residual benefits of permanent content
n Publicity of open communication
n Network effects
n Social capital = powerful currency
n Consumer trend: P2P research
n Consumer trend: “opt-in” marketing
 Social Sites
nTwitter
n Zillow
nFacebook
n Active Rain
nLinkedIn
n Trulia
nYelp

nMyspace

nMeetup.com

nFlickr
1. RIP the Hard Sell, Long live the Soft Sell
n Hard Selling: you chase, pitch & close leads
n Soft Selling: closed leads come to you
n Your soft sold “products” are advice,
experience, reputation, info resources, free
services and your reputation (followers,
reviews, profiles etc.)
n Sell Softly but don’t be soft. “Always be
closing” the permission marketer’s way ...
 2. Imagine your virtual conversations IRL
n IRL = In Real Life
n If you wouldn’t do it IRL, it won’t work online!
n Look for (funny) analogs:
n Blog comments = crowed room full of
strangers
n Community forum = you’re the new guy/gal
in a room full of old friends
n Twitter = talking out loud as you stroll main
street USA

-Jay Thompson,
Phoenixrealestateguy
3. Acknowledge your (perceived?) bias
n If you declare your bias, no-one else can!
n Some topics are out of bounds for pro’s. Set your
“no-man’s land” BEFORE you start
n For me ... CMA & list price inaccuracy,
commissions, listings, ads, politics ...
n For you ... “market has bottomed”, FSBO sucks,
Renters suck, politics ... etc.
n Transparency + Consistency + Thoughtfulness =
Credibility
n LOOK FOR opportunities to say “I was wrong”,
“we fixed that”, “of course, I’m biased”
4. Don’t be (perceived as?) a Spammer
n Good chance that a “spammer” reputation will
hurt your business
n The hard sell in public conversation = SPAM (if
your primary goal is to get them to call, you
have crossed the line.) e.g. “call me, I can help
you”, “fill out my application form ...” etc.
n Stay on topic (no matter how badly you want to
talk about your market)
n Imagine your link-filled comment signature IRL
(biz card, biz card, biz card, biz card ...)
n Avoid thinly veiled help/FUD. “You poor FSBO, I
can save you from a world of hurt”
n Rather use your links, blog and profiles to attract
leads - now, you’re soft-selling!
Example of Not Spamming

Matt Stigliano,
RERockStar
5. “Never ascribe to malice that which can be explained
by incompetence” Napoleon

n You have a professional reputation to protect.

Consumers don’t. Pick your battles!
n Learn to differentiate between a personal insult
and a generalization.
n Step away from the keyboard. When in doubt,
don’t type! Save a draft & sleep on it.
n Never start selling until you’ve settled your
differences.
n The only appropriate response to a troll is to
ignore them.
n Everyone is entitled to their opinions (no matter
how wrong.)
 6. The Internet Never Forgets
n Stay on message
n Get your facts straight
n Don’t exaggerate
n Correct your mistakes publicly & quickly
n Every now and then ... Google yourself
 The Internet Never Forgets
n Carol Hian example – April 2008
n

n
 7. “Lurking” is actually good for you!
n Read (much) more than you write. Reply to
more posts than you originate.
n Every community is different. What works on
x.com won’t work on y.com.
n Respect is earned. It takes time.
 8. Escalate Communications with the
Conflict
n No-one will solve the world’s problems in 140
characters or less; don’t even try!
n Perception gaps are often best closed in
person (on the phone or F2F)
n Brian Brady
n Beware the passive-aggressive (or just plain
aggressive) e-mail
n It’s OK to ask for public reconciliation and it’s
good for your reputation
 9. Links are the Soft Seller’s Upsell
n Don’t bother participating if you don’t get a
good link out of it.
n Think about where you link back to: Blog /
Site / Post / Listing / Profile
n If the site links to your profile, build a GREAT
profile
n Look for the SEO angles:
n Good (followed) links from authoritative sites
to content you want to rank
n Can the profiles and posts you control rank
for your keywords?
 10. Be Yourself & Have Fun
n Be controversial ... to an extent
n You can’t please all the people all the time ...
don’t even try
n Jay Thompson
n Play to your niche passions and mix them in
with your work online; it’s the stuff that
makes you interesting
 RE Pros Doing it Well
n Jay Thompson
n http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/
n Kris Berg
n http://sandiegohomeblog.com/
n Jim Duncan
n http://www.realcentralva.com/
n Ines Hegedus-Garcia
n http://www.miamism.com/
n Teresa Boardman
n http://www.stpaulrealestateblog.com/
n Heather Elias
n http://www.locomusings.com/
 Questions to Ask Yourself
n What do you put online?
n What does your online presence mean for
those around you?
n What about anonymity?
n Do you keep separate personal/business
personas?
n
 Last Resort
n Change your name
n Start using a middle initial
n
 Questions

E-mail: drewm@zillow.com

Twitter: @drewmeyers