How to Manage Your Online Presence?

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Social media platforms have been growing stronger throughout the past years and still keep on thriving. A recent study says that over 3.6 billion people are using social media. It is changing the way we see the world. It just proves that these digital platforms are remarkable for building brand reputation and establishing your online presence.

How to Manage Your Online Presence?

However, managing your online presence is not an easy task.

Businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities social media can bring to them. Social media platforms can help you build a professional online presence for your brand, promote your company, sell your products and reach different audiences. It plays a vital role for marketers to know the likes, dislikes, and interests of their target shoppers so they can create a better marketing strategy.

But, with social media, persuading the public and influencing users' opinions have become more achievable and more uncontrollable at the same time. If you’re not careful, what you post and share can be used against your brand. Remember, there is no delete button on the internet. Negative comments, getting mentioned on social media platforms, or bad reviews are just some of the things that can affect your online presence.

So, how can you clean up, protect and create a professional reputation online? Discover how to manage your online presence effectively with these seven best practices:

  1. Monitor your social footprint.

    One way to control your online reputation is to monitor your social media footprint. Always check your brand and products on each platform that you are using. That way, you’ll be able to respond to the problems right away and gain valuable insights into customers' ideas about your brand. Monitoring your brand or products can help you scan your social media posts so you can filter the new and older posts that you think could affect your online reputation.

  2. Track and remove spam.

    Spammy links can hurt your ranking as well as your online reputation. You need to be aware of hackers and detractors intentionally trying to bring down your search engine rankings. They sometimes create lots of poor-quality links to your website.

    Some tools can help you check low-quality backlinks so you can review them. Or, you can report directly to Google that you don’t want specific links to your website. Also, automation and human content moderation can help you monitor spammy links, detect posts with inappropriate content, as well as accept and reject user comments.

  3. Ask for reviews.

    Customer reviews are powerful tools in the online world. When a potential customer wants to purchase something from your product, the first thing they do is check the reviews. Customer’s words become social proof to shape the online perceptions of your company.

    You should not fear negative reviews. Instead, you should use it to improve your marketing strategy and to take a proactive approach to online reviews. When a customer is happy with your products or services, take this opportunity to ask them to leave feedback. Encourage every customer to leave a comment and welcome negative reactions, so that you’ll know whether your online presence is in a good state or not.

  4. Know your audience.

    Knowing your target audience is critical to managing your digital presence. It helps you figure out what content and messages people need. These will give you an idea of what to say, and use a more appropriate tone and voice. That way, you will be better equipped to understand your social media presence. Also, you can avoid posting or sharing content that you think your audience wouldn’t want to see. Improving your online brand reputation will help you boost your revenue, so it's important to get it right.

  5. Respond to customers promptly.

    If you want to maintain a solid social media presence, you have to be sociable. You need to be online every day, reaching out to listen to your customers' concerns and posting fresh content. When your customers reach out to you, comment on your social media post, or leave a review, they expect you to answer their queries quickly. If you can’t resolve it immediately, then at least inform them. Always take time to post or respond to your customer, especially now that most users are online.

  6. Build brand advocacy.

    You can use social media to cultivate strong brand advocacy. By adding new content to your social media accounts in the form of blogs, articles, or messages on forums, you can elevate the identity of your professional brand. Encourage target audience to share their ideas in any form of user-generated content that they prefer. Give them a reason to follow and engage with you by sharing suggestions, and opinions on the content they want to see. Discussing these ideas with them in detail. It will help you to produce new content that is far more relevant than old content or posts. You can build brand advocacy internally too. A set of social media instructions for your staff should detail the nature of your brand openly and concisely.

  7. Set goals.

    The goals you set for your online media presence should drive your marketing campaigns. Businesses generally have a primary goal, and that is to either raise awareness of their brand or increase sales. Though it overarches purpose, your actions should be more specific.

    Say, you want to increase your sales by 25% through one of your social media accounts, then your objectives should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely). If you want to manage your online presence in the right way, the first thing you should think about carefully are the results you want to achieve by being on any online platform.

Conclusion

Eventually, managing your online reputation is essential to your business. Your digital presence on social networks plays a significant role in how customers view your business. Even a small amount of complaints can practically make or break your brand, so you’d better be sure that they are spreading more positive things about your product.

With so much time people spend on social media, it is very important to know how to check online presence. There are several companies offering services tailored to help manage your online presence. Take some time to check the best company that provides services that are aligned with your strategies for preserving your online reputation.

Check the comment section below for additional information, share what you know, or ask a question about this article by leaving a comment below. And, to quickly find answers to your questions, use our search Search engine.

Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.

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Online Threat Alerts Security Tips

Pay the safest way

Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.

Guard your personal information

In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.

Be careful of the information you share

Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with

Know who you’re dealing with

Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.

Check your accounts

Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.

Don’t believe promises of easy money

If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.

Do not open email from people you don’t know

If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.

Think before you click

If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.

Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond

If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.

Be careful with links and new website addresses

Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.

Secure your personal information

Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.

Stay informed on the latest cyber threats

Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.

Use Strong Passwords

Strong passwords are critical to online security.

Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs

Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.

Update the operating systems on your electronic devices

Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.

What if You Got Scammed?

Stop Contact With The Scammer

Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.

Secure Your Finances

  • Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
  • Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:

Check Your Computer

If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.

Change Your Account Passwords

Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.

Report The Scam

Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.

Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:

  • Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
  • Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
  • Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.

How To Recognize a Phishing Scam

Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.

Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:

Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might

  • say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
  • claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
  • say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
  • include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
  • want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
  • say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
  • offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real

About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.

By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.

With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.

Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.

Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).

How to Manage Your Online Presence?