Online reputation is key!

Your crazy if you do not think, your customers, prospects, friends, family, prospects, employer, interviewer, car salesman, coffee shop owner, acquaintances, people you just met are searching you and your reputation on the internet.  This is a reality today.  If I was to say this years ago, you would think I am nuts.  I know my friends are saying you are already nuts.  :)  LOL.  But anyway, your online reputation takes many forms.  Try it on for size one day.  Search yourself on Google and see what comes up.  The content online could be from many places.  It could be from products you purchased, blogs you commented on, Facebook posts, LinkedIn, LinkedIn posts, contact databases like Spokeo, Spoke, Jigsaw, etc, jobs you applied to, documents you have written, articles written about you, presentations you have wrote or posted to say Slideshare, and the list goes on and on  and on.  The bottomline is you need to be aware that the info that is written tied to you is mostly searchable today somehow and some way.  Be aware of the fact that this information primarily is NOT erasable.  Unless it is your own profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn.  And even then, many of the things that are indexed and later erased are cached and still searchable.  If you are a professional and looking to maintain your professional status and grow career, watch what you post, comment and write about on lets say FACEBOOK.  Facebook and LinkedIn are the first two places employers browse to in order to FEEL out a new job candidate.  If you think I am FOS, than ask your boss or coworker or friend if they hire / fire people. They will tell you the same thing.  Now I have done a lot of talking about what to watch out for and not put out there which could be searchable.  Lets talk about what you SHOULD put out there.  Write as much as you can and publish it.  On a blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, wherever.  As long as it is pertinent to your LIFE or CAREER PATH and is valuable non threatening and biased info.  Put it out there.  Let people know how you think and what your idealogies are.  More and more of us should be doing this.  You are being searched for a reason and why not let the people searching find out the type of person you are.  This builds your online presence, character, vocablulary, reading and writing skills, keeps you alert, allows you to be creative and enhances your chances of being noticed for SOMETHING down the road.  Everyone's SOMETHING is different.  Put contact to be searchable on YOU.  Dont be afraid.  The first time you get a reply of "Hey that was an awesome article you wrote.  Thanks so much!" it WILL feel good.  Believe me!!

Shawn
SR@ShawnCReilly.com

Happy Selling!