People are dicks these days. You can’t get big without someone trying to tear you down to boost their own follower number. Even Taylor Swift has sung about her big reputation and enemies that try and bring her down...

One bad-faith review or hit piece can wreak havoc on your reputation, making the troll famous - even if they’re lying.

You need to armor up against that kind of bullshit.

Keep reading to pick up some rock-solid steps you can take to protect your reputation online. Then, learn how to weaponize your digital persona should it come to that.

Building a Rock-Solid Online Persona

Your digital persona is more important than ever in building a personal brand. It can help you stand out from the pack and ensure you remain consistent across every platform. 

You can also use it to clap back at attacks against your reputation. This section will explain how.

Branding Techniques for Modern Personal Brands

It’s important to know your core brand values and shout them from the rooftops every time you speak online. Combine this with your unique brand voice to resonate with your target audience and get people to see the real you.

Use this persona to humanize your business, showing others that you are responsible for its success. Share the company’s journey in first-person, as well as your own, highlighting how you were central in solving all of the business’s challenges. 

This type of visibility makes you look like a relatable hero to fans of your business. It can win over doubters and sway those who question your strengths, including if, or when, your reputation takes a hit.

Strategic Content Creation to Protect Your Reputation Online

When someone trashes your reputation, double-down on creating high-quality valuable content. Doing this ensures that you receive the following benefits:

• It makes you look like the go-to expert in the field
• Builds a loyal following of fans who trust your opinion
• Dominates search results
• Pushes negative press straight into the trash
• It keeps coming back for more of your valuable insights

These are the central pillars of online reputation marketing. They ensure you earn the respect you deserve in your field. They also reduce the likelihood that people will believe anything written by haters and liars.

Using Analytics to Master Your Online Persona

Online reputation management involves using digital tools to see how people resonate with your Internet persona. Track likes, shares, comments, keywords, and clicks to discover how people resonate with the digital version of you. 

Use this data to refine and tweak how you interact online, giving people the most engaging version of you possible.

Using Good Press to Bury the Bad

Overshadow negative coverage by leveraging positive press. Use your created persona to lead the charge, creating a strong brand defense. This can boost your credibility and crush the effects of any reputational hit.

As you learn how to protect your brand online, remember to stockpile every piece of good press you get. This is all ammunition you can later use to prove that you are a positive force in the community, even after the shit hits the fan.

Hacking PR to Get Featured Faster

Your reputation management strategy needs to include pumping out as much content as possible that shines you in a good light. Make sure it is useful, though, or it will neither hit the limelight nor dismiss bad press.

So, when crafting press releases and pitches, make sure that you:

• Make yourself as kickass as possible
• Showcase what makes you unique in your field
• Network with journalists
• Contact influencers for their take
• Create personalized pitches for everyone you work with
• Put together badass press kits and send them out

Remember to follow up afterward. You can’t just toss stuff out. Push the idea that it’s useful or people will think you’re bullshitting.

Using Testimonials and Reviews to Boost Your Image

Alongside your press releases, get testimonials from people who have benefited from working with you before. These could be individuals who have worked with you or who have gained a benefit due to your business. Either way, interview them and get a positive review you can use later in outreach.

If they review you in a public space, respond. Show that that you’re human. If you do this professionally and promptly, it gives you the appearance of truly caring.

Sustaining the Momentum of Positive Press

Once you have positive feedback, continue that forward. Post regular updates, keeping the media and public in the loop about your latest wins.

Continue to share everything positive across all your platforms. With enough content, you create a solid wall of positive messaging that drowns out any negativity.

If you have strong analytics, use it to discover which of your information helps you more, too. This can push your outreach over the edge into something that constantly grows.

Switching from Reactive Reputation Management to Proactive

Don’t sit around waiting for problems. Instead of responding to issues as they occur, start your brand and reputation management process from day one. 

Using social media, PR releases, and more, you can ensure any later communication doesn’t feel out of character by doing it all the time. Then, instead of boosting your visibility, you maintain what you have already been doing.

If you lack the resources to start a reputation management campaign, you can always work with a team that can do it for you.

Talk to Someone Who Knows How to Build a Defensible Persona

A strong online reputation should begin from the first piece of information you put on the Internet, and then grow from there. Follow the steps in this article and shield yourself from the bullshit that your enemies might regurgitate online.

Not sure where to start or don’t have the time? Contact Don’t Be a Little Pitch. We’re experts in reputation management with a proven track record.

Let us know where everything messed up for you, and we’ll help you protect your reputation online today.