Public Speaking
Reputation Management Speaker
Online Reputation Management
We all know that success in modern life depends partly on a good reputation, yet defining reputation is difficult.
It involves our professional relationships and ability to earn the trust of others, as well as other intangible things like the perceptions of our peers, which are human and constantly changing.
It’s difficult to define, but we know reputation is important for both individuals and organizations, especially those trying to build a brand and a business. But in the Age of Information, reputation has also become harder to create, maintain and protect.
The rise of smartphones, social media and online information has resulted in every single person becoming a publisher, capable of posting content online from anywhere at any time. That’s a tremendous amount of power for anyone, and the consequences of this technology are quickly transforming our society, culture and legal system.
Matt Earle is a leading expert on social, legal and business trends in the area of online reputation management. He delivers compelling and thought-provoking speeches about the future of privacy and how individuals and companies must become more savvy about protecting their online reputation.
How We Search & Communicate
Modern success is nearly always defined by online metrics.
In other words: How well are you reaching your online audience? On any given day, the world conducts about 5.5 billion searches on the internet, from everything from restaurant searches to fact-checking your uncle to the seemingly endless NSFW category.
While we might joke about the 296 million results when we type a quick search for “peanut butter,” most of us will only look at the first 10. Research shows that 94 per cent of people never get past the first page of Google’s search results.
That means regardless of the reason why someone is searching — professional or personal, work or pleasure — they rarely get past the first page.
For every person, company, country and news item, the first 10 search results of Google have become the front page, resume, portfolio — as well as the repository of past mistakes, false perceptions and online attacks.
Digital Marketing
For nearly every industry, it’s crucial to present a positive public image. Consumers want to patronize companies that have a good online reputation. When done correctly, digital marketing can have enormously positive impacts on a company’s growth and profitability.
The ability to interact directly with consumers across an increasingly complex number of online platforms allows companies that excel at marketing to succeed like never before. Even individuals and small businesses can develop huge followings if they’re sufficiently sophisticated in their use of social media.
Online Accountability
But that power runs both ways.
The same platforms that elevate a person or brand can destroy them just as easily. Sometimes this occurs after a real and public mistake — and sometimes it’s just an inaccurate or malicious article that happens to exist on a popular website.
Because those first 10 search results on Google represent both resume and background check, a single negative result can have major repercussions. It can ruin the life of an individual, and it can cause even large companies to lose contracts, employees and the reputation that forms the backbone of any successful business.
Sites Posting Personal Content Without Permission
In some cases, a person’s personal information or images are spread on websites specifically aimed at promoting illegal or sensitive material.
This often offers a platform for online abuse of the person in the photos — many of which can simply be fake photos altered by whoever posted them, often in an attempt to attack or denigrate.
The Future of Reputation
So what is the future of reputation?
When Matt Earle speaks about reputation, he isn’t only interested in discussing its current state. He also wants to understand where it’s going — and how to prepare for it.
The first iPhone was released just 15 years ago, in 2007. Facebook was created in 2004. The Internet didn’t become available to large numbers of people until the 1990s.
We are just beginning to understand the depth of the social and cultural changes to reputation caused by these technological innovations.
What can we expect as social media, online reviews and Google’s search dominance mature in coming years?
It’s impossible to know for sure, but one thing seems certain: The fragility of online reputations will continue to require the aid and intervention of online reputation experts like Matt Earle and Reputation.ca.
To book Matt Earle to speak, please contact him here.
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