Personal Branding Online

Reputation matters, it’s why large organisations spend so much time and money to build, manage and maintain theirs and why the results can be so devastating for companies and individuals when the tide turns against them.

Once tarnished, a reputation can be incredibly difficult to rebuild.

Whilst it’s always been like that, the advent of social media has made it even more challenging.  The increase in potential contributors makes it much more difficult for people to “get away” with misdemeanours without their reputations taking a knock – and rightly so in the eyes of many.

If anything, 2011 taught us that even the might of the courts, wielding their well-honed Super Injunctions, was pretty toothless to protect reputations in the face of a Twitter storm.

And social media is a potential nightmare, not just for celebrities and companies, but for everyone – you and me alike.

Because what people say about you matters – and what people write or post matters even more…

Things said face-to-face can be forgotten (or forgiven) but things written or posted online can last forever and be viewed by people with no idea as to the original context at all.

That presentation you once gave, those pictures at the birthday party, your tweet about being hung over at work – they might feel fleeting at the time (as so much does online) but for anyone who wants to do some research in preparation for interviewing (or dating?) you it’s all there for them to see, as plain as day.

And, increasingly, recruiters are taking advantage of all of the tools available to them.

It may seem unfair to some but until they meet you, your personal brand online is all that someone who doesn’t know you has to make a decision about whether they want to meet you.  LinkedIn, conference delegate lists, online dating sites – to them it’s not part of who you are, it is who you are.

And in an age where so much rides on it, when there are few jobs and so many people clambering for them, like the major corporations, individuals have to learn to protect their online reputation at all costs.

The good news is that taking control of your personal brand online isn’t hard – it requires some discipline, and knowledge of the tools and rules – but anyone can do it as a new course, Secrets of Personal Branding Online shows.

The course isn’t about becoming famous or drawing more attention than you want, it’s about making sure that information that can be found about you online, everywhere from Amazon and Slideshare to Facebook and Foursquare creates the right impression – an impression that you think does you justice.

Your personal brand online may well be what people say about you when you’re not in the (chat)room – but that doesn’t mean you can’t take control over it, and your future.

Secrets of Personal Branding Online is a new, five part practical course featuring exercises and examples, as well as the theory you need to take responsibility for your personal brand online.