One of the most common questions I get when consulting is, “What if someone says something bad about me/the company/the organization?”

This is a good thing!  It provides some fantastic opportunities to strut your stuff.  But… it needs to be done properly.  This is the first part of my 10 part series on the benefits of reputation management.

Reputation Management is just that, managing your reputation.  As efforts are put towards developing a social media plan, it is always important to be aware and actively involved in your own online reputation.   Good reputation management is crucial to any social media market plan:

Part 1.  Set The Record Straight

I was recently presenting in front of a group of teenagers and asked if they had been accused of something that was not their fault.  Everyone had an example.  I had an experience in highschool where I was abruptly dismissed from class with no explanation as to why I was being asked to leave.  When I returned after class for my things, I asked the teacher what had happened as I was completely bewildered.  The teacher had thought I was sticking both my fingers up my nose in order to get a laugh (granted the teacher was known for his poor vision and I did have a reputation for being somewhat of a rabble rouser).

Words can be misconstrued or ideas can be misinterpreted and suddenly you may find yourself being questioned about your involvement with an underground ring of voodoo hexers.  Rather than fielding a bunch of e-mails and calls, set the record straight online promptly and effectively.

The best way to go about this is to simply state the facts, point out how the information was misinterpreted and leave it at that.  No need to talk about how upset you are, or how stupid and narrow minded the other person is.  Just give the facts and allow the reader to come to his/her own conclusion.

So… have you ever been wrongly accused? What did you do and how did it work out (good and bad)?

Part 2: Hear what others really think of you.

I have always considered the New Year to be a silly holiday.  I typically stay up past Midnight because I’m a “night person” and I figure if I’m not constantly making and adjusting my resolutions through out the year (which I seem to be doing constantly), what’s the point in waiting for one specific day to say, “this is it!”  So I find New Year’s Resolutions to be stupid, and most people give up by February (go to a gym in January and then return in March and you will see what I mean ).

A lot has happened this past year and I find myself reflecting on what I have learned and looking to the future on how I can apply it.  So, I guess I’m making resolutions…

This past year I have gone through a lot of self reflection and examination.  What I have thought were priorities; money, climbing the “ladder”, being “successful”, have suddenly become very trivial.  I have had to look at what I consider success and re-adjust my definition.

The insight I have gained this past year has been tremendous, and while I have felt pushed to my limits both emotionally, mentally and physically, this has truely been the best year of my life!

Here are some highlights of what I have learned this past year:

• Success is a state of mind.
• Confidence is the key to success.  If you are confident in yourself, you will succeed.
• Humility is the key to confidence.  Someone who is humble and open to learning and new experiences develops the confidence needed to succeed.
• Love is the key to humility.  A love of self and a love of others and a desire to improve and make the world a better place… just because.

I am far from perfect (just ask my wife) but I look forward to the new year and the lessons that it will provide.

What are your plans for the new year?

While I have been working on revamping my website and blog, I wanted to take some time out and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Facing a new year with all the challenges of today, I’d like to share this quote (anyone who can tell me the author, I would appreciate it ).

A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.

Here’s to new discoveries and having a mind prepared to recognize them and accept them.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor is this website. I am going through a renovation and working on a new design and layout. Please stay tune as this site will soon be updated.

~Nate

In today’s world there are poeple doing things all over the place, often working hard in a thankless job.  When I say, “thankless job,” my mind instantly goes to how unappreciated I felt, at times, working in various positions. Yeah I was being paid for my job… but still!  A nice, “hey we really appreciate what you do to help the company!” would have really boosted my morale (and a personal thank you, not just some, “We want to say thanks to everyone!”).  Then I start thinking to the many people who have helped me.  Have I really put forth an effort to show my appreciation?  Am I just perpetuating the cycle of ungratefulness by not demonstrating my own thanks?

Following along the lines of my #1 tip for social media marketing:  People want to feel important, and saying thank you helps them feel very important!  It shows that you appreciate what they contribute.  Saying thanks is an excellent way to start. Sending a personalized e-mail (including something unique about what they have done for you) is a step up and then there is the dying art of handwritten, snail mail.  Nothing impresses more than taking the time to handwrite a note expressing your appreciation.

It is important to take the time to express your gratitude.  As I write this, my mind drifts to people that I need to thank… I guess I better go and start writing those notes :).

My favorite is number 1, “GIVE PRESENCE INSTEAD OF PRESENTS !!!”  We need to remember that the importance of the holiday season is around family and friends.  I know I’m going to scale back this year, but I’m really looking forward to it.  I’m determined not to let stress get the better of me and have a nice, relaxing holiday season.

What is your strategy for the holidays?  Are you going to be doing anything different?

“Um, start a blog.”

“WHY?”

Here are the 5 reason blogs are so important:

1. It gives a final destination for all your other social media efforts.
   While you want to have all of your accounts linked together (link from twitter to facebook, from facebook to myspace, from myspace to youtube and all of them linking back to your blog) you want to think of your blog as your social media headquarters.  This is where you can really engage your viewers.  People will “friend” you to be polite, but not pay attention to anything you post on your social network.  You might have 5000 followers on twitter, but your tweets could be lost in the onslaught of other tweets.  A blog is completely your space and those who are really interested will come.
2. This is your domain.
   For the most part, you can say whatever you want in as many words as you want.  While there are many suggestions as to what guidlines to follow, you are in control and can adhere to them or toss them out the window.
   
3. Show off your expertise.
   A blog allows people to really get into your head.  It is one thing to “talk the talk,” throwing down jargon and dropping names.  Getting serious about blogging is like taking the gloves off and really showing your worth.
   
4. Demonstrate your personality.
   People want to get to know the person behind the curtain.  Not just the business end but the actual person/people.  I once blogged about my cooking hobby (on another blog that no longer exists) and people started asking about things I like to cook and if I would share recipes.  No one is a business robot and people feel more comfortable when they feel like they are dealing with a real, breathing, human person.
5. It shows you are passionate.
   I have blogged in the past about passion.  This is one of the biggest reasons to blog.  I am passionate about being social and social media.  It is important to me and an integral part of human nature.  Enthusiasm is contagious and people love to get behind someone who is truly enthusiastic.

Blogs have been around since the internet began in some form or fashion.  While popularity of sites can rise and fall (did some one say friendster?) people still flock to blogs as a means of communication, reaching out, and socialize with like minded people.  If you aren’t blogging, you might want to start thinking about it.

What are your reasons to blog?

In honor of this transition, I introduce this point of humor in hopes to enlighten and brighten your day.  With out further adieu, I present this e-mail forward now as a blog post…

Actual Analogies and Metaphors Found in High School EssaysHer face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

1. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
2. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse with out one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
3. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
4. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
5. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
6. He was as tall as a 6’3” tree.
7. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM.
8. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t
9. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
10. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
11. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
12. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
13. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
14. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.
15. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
16. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East River.
17. Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
18. Shots rang out, as shots want to do.
19. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
20. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
21. “Oh, Jason, take me!” she panted, her breasts heaving like a college freshman on $1-a-beer night.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
23. The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
26. She was as easy as the TV Guide crossword.
27. Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH cleanser.
28. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
29. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

Artistic Penguin by Jennifer Goode

JGoode Designs is gifts and apparel featuring original illustrations, photography and art design by Jennifer Goode. Cute and girly themed items are the primary focus. I would consider Jennifer a social marketing ninja, both on-line and off, as she can be found anywhere and every where.  You can check her out at jgoodedesigns.com.

She took the time out of her busy schedule to answer 5 quick questions about her methods of marketing…

1. What do you consider “social Media?”

Social media is any form of public communication that requires an angle of interaction between one or more individuals. The “location” or venue for these types of interactions varies greatly from micro blogging, such as twitter.com to standard forums or friend networks. Because of the potential for interaction on blogs via comments, ratings, etc. I also consider blogs to be a form of social media.

2. What are some of your offline marketing tactics?

Offline my marketing variets greatly. Currently word of mouth is the majority of what I do offline, however, I also have a webaddress with a cartoon penguin on the back window of my car… It points to a blog. I hand out business cards while at events. I also sell a limited supply of hand made goods at a local retail art shop as well as get involved in various events where I can submit my art.

3. What social Media tools do you utilize in your marketing?

Currently I utilize a wide array of social media tools and sources. Twitters, Facebook, MySpace, blogs and various forums. Occiasionally I will use Ning, Digg, Stumbleupon, squidoo, youtube and small POD communities. My favorites are blogs, because I can pinpoint a design AND talk about it. For direct interaction I tend to use chat the most. I find that sites like Facebook and Myspace are going when there is limited info to discuss, but I feel like blasting out business related infos to all my friends and family is just not the type of promoting I’d like to do. Instead, I still utilize newsletters as a way to communicate business related topics…. These are tied into the posts from my blog.

4. Do you feel it important in market both on and off line? Why do you feel this way?

Yes I feel it is extremely important to have an active presence both on and offline. The reason for this view is because not every customer is going to be online. Local exposure is a great place to start as far as “spreading the word” about a new business or product. I believe people tend to have a stronger interest when something they like is “practically a neighbor”. It’s also nice to have support of the community and local businesses.

5. What are some of your favorite marketing efforts and why?

The accidentally marketing efforts are my favorite. I like to get involved in different projects that don’t necessarily have a marketing value attached to them. I tend to find I worry less and work harder towards the task at hand when it doesn’t feel like it’s marketing. Donating goods to a charity event or offering to help in whatever area I’ve been asked to help, often results in my meeting fantastic new people that genuinely support me and my work because they have had the opportunity to see the “face” behind the designs. I think it makes a difference in perspective of what the products are all about.

Thanks Jennifer!