Let’s face it, your online and digital reputation has never been more impactful, and it’s destined to become more so in the coming years. So, what are you doing to manage it? Most organizations, especially the smaller ones, would say “nothing.” Well that’s a bit scary and may be costing you more than you realize.
Today’s donors, volunteers, prospective board members and employees rely heavily on the information they obtain from the digital sources. Think about the digital assets you possess and that influence the decisions of your supporters.
You control many of the assets – your website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., are all part of your social media presence. Unfortunately, there are many that emerge that are often out of your control. Your Google presence, (including reviews, map locations and more) Yelp reviews, Indeed comments and others.
Your first step in managing these is to list them all in a spreadsheet and track your last interactions and updates. Perhaps you will need to delegate some of the responsibility for each to different individuals. Ideally, one person is responsible for the overall brand and image.
You need to put a digital check-up on your calendar and conduct it on a regular basis. Make the necessary corrections, respond or take another action if appropriate. In some instances, you may be able to “subscribe” to a feed in case future changes are made, e.g. a review is added. This will provide you with a notification if something about the online presence changes.
It’s surprising how many issues you may find on Google maps for example. Check your address, add photos and be sure the contact information is correct. You’ll find that others may be posting items and images that portray a different image than you’d like. This may be your chance to offset some of those and provide some overwhelmingly positive visuals.
The checkup presents a prime time to consider your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts as well. Perhaps your website provider can provide a review or you can do so yourself depending on the vendor. Products change, offerings evolve, and you want to be certain you have the most accurate and impactful information possible.
Reputations, even those online take a long time to build, but can be damaged in a second. That's why it is so important to stay in touch with yours.
