Steven W. Giovinco

Gathering new customers is one of the hardest parts of running a business (especially when starting out), but one way to gain clients is by having a strong online presence built on trust–not fake reviews or inflated followers.  Appearing authoritative in Google search results attracts prospective buyers who see positive links and articles as a sign of credibility, making reputation management a priority.  At its essence is trust. Personal Referrals and Reputation Management Initial business referrals could come from a variety of sources: a hearty personal endorsement from a friend or family member; through a strong business recommendation; via a convincing ad, email introduction, cold call, or networking event–or yes, even through a Google search.  Often, the next step for prospective clients is verifying your talents through an online review of your reputation where they assess and confirm your talents through Google searches.  Trust and Authenticity Prospects seek authenticity, trust, and believability, and if this is not found online, the best recommendation from a close friend could be negligible.  Substantially worse, however, is if nothing appears or if there is a negative link, which turns the potential client swiftly to move on to someone else. Before hiring you, prospective clients usually ask a bunch of questions–either out loud or to themselves before hiring or engaging a new business partnership: Your web presence should focus on answering these questions.  What Is Online Reputation Management Online reputation management is built around the premise that information found in searches is sometimes a primary- or certainly a secondary-consideration in deciding to hire someone. It is a place to confirm that you are the right person to work with, showing that you are professional, friendly, experienced, and truly helpful. Compelling online content is a central component to substantiate this. Articles, blogs, videos, presentations, social media platforms and your website need to drive this point home. The work here should always be focused on what the potential client wants, showing you as the definitive and dependable source that solves their problems.  When clients see your positive web presence, they feel more comfortable in choosing you to work with over a competitor. Don’t be afraid to give away information; in fact, I strongly encourage it, because this signals to clients that you are helpful, and thus, the right person to work with. Poor or Negative Online Reputation On the other hand, if there is no online appearance or a minimal one in Google search results, potential customers ask themselves, “Are they still in business?”, “Are they unprofessional?”,  “Do they even care?” or, “Is this the kind of firm I want to work with?” A poorly defined online reputation is seen as untrustworthy, so clients just move on. The most damaging case is if something negative appears in the few pages of Google searches. Competitors, “trolls”, ex-partners, disgruntled employees, and of course, unhappy buyers, can write negative posts, and even if it’s not truly condemning, new and existing clients will quickly move on to someone else without even investigating the problem.  So, to gain new clients, establish an accomplished online reputation. Reputation Building Strategy Develop a carefully considered reputation strategy. Before building a reputation, draft an initial strategy built around knowing who do you want to work with, where will you reach them, and how will you connect. It’s usually a work in progress requiring continual tweaking, but always create original content, share meaningful information and be helpful. To formulate this, start by asking some basic but crucial questions: Who are you trying to connect with? How will you build trust? What kind of content will you create? How and when will you share it? Each reputation strategy needs to be customized for the customer’s industry, their geographic location, company size, challenges and specific goals. As a result, no two solutions are probably alike. The key is creativity, excellent content, constant updates and ceaseless adjustments.  For example, building a reputation for a financial advisor differs substantially from that of a grad student; an entrepreneur who received initial funding investment needs a different service than an established CEO professional working at a large firm; a biomass firm in Brazil is different still from an international divorce lawyer in Paris. Not getting this right could mean failure. Define Clear Goals  Now that there is a basic framework, lay out specifically what you want. Clearly define outcomes and milestones before building your reputation; by the way, the same goes for working with someone new or connecting with a prospect too. Although it might seem obvious, it is important to get very specific with your online goals, such as: Each intention has a slightly different approach. Once you have a straightforward vision mapped out, define exactly how you will achieve each step with measurable, time-bound and specific tasks. Why does this matter to your reputation? Identifying key objectives keeps the process on track, and, importantly, prevents disappointed clients, which avoids potential tarnishing your own online reputation later. Set Your Online Persona Set your voice and online persona. Do you want to appear to be neutral but very informed, sound like an academic, casually breezy, or snarky/sarcastic? Since your online reputation reflects your identity, the easiest approach is to just be who you are in real life. This too is an on-going process that should be reviewed and revised frequently.  Part of the strategy includes systematically generating content on appropriate platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.These sites are also a place to post informative articles, videos and links made by other experts. Being active and engaging builds your web profile. This in turn, draws in prospective clients who see you as the trusted professional that solves their problem.   Understand Your Client’s Business Process Understand where your prospective clients are in their buying stage. Are they just starting out, still getting research? Are they comparison shopping to get more information after already receiving a proposal from a competitor? Or are they ready to sign-up now? Each phase has its own reputation process,