Online Reputation Management (ORM) - Why you need it

Inevitably in the lifespan of a business there is bound to be an unhappy customer or two.  In the current age of social media, an angry customer has a more powerful voice.  In fact, one disgruntled person can reek havoc on your businesses reputation.  Perhaps they leave a negative remark on an online review site, or a comment on a blog.  Or worse, your business receives bad press that gets picked up by several media outlets.  Before you know it, you could find that negative reviews dominate the first page of google search results when potential customers or clients search on your company name.

What to do?

Online reputation management ideally should be implemented long before there ever is a problem. But realistically, in most cases that isn’t the case and your company is faced with some cleaning up to do.

In my experience here are some effective measures you can take and tools you can use to help resurrect your businesses reputation.

1. Google Adwords - If you aren’t bidding on your company name, do so.  This will help to push the negative listings down a ways on the search results.  Your first goal is to get the offending site ‘below the fold’ on the first page of results and ranking for your company name in paid search can achieve that.

2. Build Your Social Identity - Create social profiles for your company name on websites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  All of these sites have authoritative domains and it should be very easy for you to rank for your company name with a well optimized profile on any of the three.  Seek out lesser known social networking sites as well and genuinely participate and build your profile.  Share with the public who you are, what you offer and the positives about your business.  Be open and engage.

3. Press Releases - Have your PR firm send out regular positive press releases that are optimized for your company name.  Bookmark the reviews in social bookmarking sites, share them on twitter, build a buzz around what your company is doing that is good and draw public attention to that.

4. Consider a sub-domain - If there is a section of your website that could warrant a subdomain - consider implementing that.  For example you might have a careers section on your site where you post open positions.  Have the section be careers.yourdomain.com.  It’s possible that the sub-domain could secure a position in the search results and further push the negative site down in the listings.

5. Link Build to positive mentions - Build links to any page that is talking about your company in a positive light.  This will help that page to gain authority and could potentially move the positive site up higher in the search results.

6. Monitor your company on Wikipedia - Wikipedia generally ranks highly for company names which is wonderful.  However anyone can make changes to a wikipedia entry.  You should constantly monitor yours by using a service like Wiki Alarm which will email you when the entry has been modified.

7. Get a Good SEO who understands ORM - An SEO can work together with your PR firm to do the tasks above for you, monitor social media and website mentions of your company and work continually to promote positive press about your business.

These are just a few suggestions for implementing an online reputation management campaign.  The main goal is to interact with the public, share positive information about your company, and create positive news and buzz.  The more quality information that is on the web, and the more accessible and responsive you are to your customers — the easier it will be to dominate the first page of search results with beneficial listings that present your company in a positive light.

Social networking is fulfilling in so many ways. It’s wonderful to have the company of other women who also work from home to share life and business insights with.  Interacting on Twitter and commenting on blogs is also in turn a fabulous way to gather back links to our own website and promote our own products and services.

I have found women entrepreneurs to be a generous and helpful group.  They are savvy company to keep and we all can genuinely relate to each other which is precious because working from home can be isolating.

Here is a great list of women who both blog and are on Twitter that I have found to be approachable, particularly insightful or creative, or just plain fun to be around:

@MyMessyParadise - A Coffee-addicted SAHM to 2 girls shares her life to an avid following over at My Messy Paradise. Latest Post: 97 Years Young

@RootsandFlowers - Annica is a writer, mother, herbalist, gardener, and homeschooler who loves animals and growing & using herbs. Her blog, Roots & Flowers contains herbal articles, recipes and tips on growing and using herbs. Latest Post: Making Herbal Vinegars

@confidentmom - Susan describes herself as a coffee lovin’ runnin’ mom of 3 who loves GOD & Hubby,empowering Moms, strengthening families and reviving the Art of Home & Family Managment.  You can find her blogging at her website, The Confident Mom. Latest Post: Your Roll as “Keeper of the Home”

@mombizcoach - Lara is a mompreneur coach who helps moms create businesses they (& their families) truly love! Forbes included her in their list of the Top 30 Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter. Lara blogs on her website over at Mom Biz Coach. Latest Post: One of Those Mompreneur Days

@AllTheJonesMen - A mom blogger who aspires to be a photographer.  Her blog is And All The Jones Men where she journals about her life as a wife and mom of two boys. Latest Post: Do-Over

@PpcMom - Jennifer is a mother, entrepreneur, Internet Marketer, and blogger over at PPCMom where she writes about affiliate marketing, PPC, social media, seo and life.  Latest Post: Can You Learn Internet Marketing?

@sharonmostyn - Sharon is a marketing management professional who blogs about internet and affiliate marketing and blogging about it all over at SharonMostyn.com. Latest Post: Putting the Social Back in Social Media

@HeathAll - Helping mom entrepreneurs build a business w/out breaking the bank or their spirit, Heather shares her inspiration over at MogulMom. Latest Post: 8 Ways To Work Smarter and Be Happier

@kellidaisy - Kelli is a Mom, blogger, home business owner, wife, and runner.  Kelli blogs with honesty over at the Yummy Mummy Club on pop culture. Latest Post: Grace under Pressure

@FireMom - A freelance writer & editor and part-time photographer.  She has a lively blog over at Stop, Drop and Blog where she writes candidly about her life.  Latest Post: Hope Yet. Maybe.

@CarlaYoung - Carla is a Mompreneur who founded MOMeoCommunity.com & is Publisher of MOMeo Magazine.com.  Latest Post: Weekend Warrior: Once in a Lifetime Olympic Experience

@kimreddington - Kim’s work involves teaching mothers to turn their skills and talents into a successful home-based service business. She blogs about running a business over at Blog Cereus Women. Latest Post: Business Baby Shower and Partnerships

@SimplifyHome - Selena is co-owner of Simplify Home Solutions, Silicon Valley home concierge. She is a mom of 2 interested in work-life balance, time management, outsourcing, organizing, and parenting.  Here Home and Lifestyle blog is over at Ready to Simplify.  Latest Post: Caring for Your Elderly Parents, What They Need from You

@nugglemama - Mom to 5, photographer and seamstress. This high tech Mama with old school values blogs her thoughts over at Nuggle Mama’s Handful. Latest Post: Rare Disease Day

@MomSpark - Amy is a blogger, social media maven & founder of MomSpark.net and MomMadeThat.com. Latest Post: A Great FREE Hosting Deal for Moms

@QuirkyMommaSite - Mom to three pre-schoolers, Rachel blogs on tips for moms and activities for kids at Quirky Momma.  Latest Post: Fantastic Friday: Babies, Time Capsules, Car seats & Slings

@techmama - Beth is a social media strategist and founder of Techmamas.com, where she discusses technology and gadgets for families.  Latest Post: A Disturbing New Term: CyberBlackmail

@onemomsworld - Jen is a Mom, Wife & Social Media Geek! She works for BabyCenter.com and blogs about life as a mom over at One Moms World.  Latest Post: Spring Looks and Giveaway from Children’s Place

I couldn’t possibly name all the wonderful women I’ve interacted with via social media, but you can find more on my twitter list of Mom Bloggers or Mompreneurs.

Have fun!

Thrilled to be writing this post — I was recently approached by a Fortune 100 client that had hired me to do some Online Reputation Mangement for them. They indicated that they appreciated the value I had brought to the table and wanted to work with me ongoing.  Fabulous!

My next step is to write a Retainer Proposal and I confess that I don’t have much experience with this.  Over the years I’ve written many business proposals and contracts (my very least favorite part of my job) and some loose retainer proposals — but this one is a more significant milestone in the span of my freelance career and I want to get it right.

I’ve been doing some research to uncover all the good advice on retainer proposals out there.  Here are the best resources I’ve found:

1. Retainers and Other Forms of Payment

Andrew Lam-Po-Tang shared some good thoughts on what a client might expect in terms of added value by retaining a contractor’s services.  He pointed out that many times, because they are pre-paying - they expect some type of discount on your rate.  I hadn’t considered this and in this instance don’t feel it applies.  But its good to know for future reference as I’d never thought of a retainer in this way from the client’s perspective.  Although I will say that I’ve always given more than my fair share to a client who pays me a retainer and know they get a good value.

2. Developing a Proposal to Close the Sale

A former About.com guide, Shannon Belew provides good information here on the specific components that belong in a proposal.  While not specific to a Retainer - I still found value in reviewing these to be sure I had all my bases covered.

3. Consulting Retainer Agreements for Ongoing Situational Access

The discussion here interested me as the consulting firm, Dynamic Innovations Squad, was drawing a line between a consulting retainer and having an actual project.  For this firm the two are totally separate fees.  I’m not approaching this project in that way but its interesting to me.  For myself, I’m being hired on a retainer for this firm to manage their online reputation.  The work will include all levels from research, consulting, social media, link building, potentially PPC - whatever else it takes to achieve the end result - a positive image in the first page results for their company name.  It’s a challenge to say the least because the company is so large and prevalent that there is constantly new negative press circulating.  I can’t view the job as I have other similar assignments where I was hired to remove a single derogatory review from the first page of search results.  This is an ongoing effort of monitoring SERPS, highlighting positive press and staying on top of the negative.

4. Examples of a Retainer Proposal

Here’s a very helpful example of a monthly retainer proposal.  Exactly what I was hoping to find.

Another example of a marketing retainer proposal.  Really nice approach with the competitive analysis included.  I might incorporate this in the future for an SEO bid, but for this project it isn’t necessary.

Here’s an innovative approach to a retainer proposal.  Interesting that they give tiered options based on hours work and have a 6 month committment.  Personally I’m not planning to put a time limit on my proposal - I’d like to see the work go on for quite a long time and wouldn’t want to purposefully set an end date.  On the same token I’m not wanting to imply that they are even considering using my services for less than 6 months.

6. Discussion - How to Evaluate Agency Proposals

I always appreciate MarketingProfs (twitter: @marketingprofs) - the experts there are fabulous and real thinkers in the industry hang out there so I was pleased to find this conversation.  Although taking place from the angle of hiring a firm - the insight here gave me things to take into consideration while crafting a proposal.

7. The Small Business Start-Up Kit

Excerpt from The Small Business Start-Up Kit by Peri Pakroo - Interesting and solid information on billing options, bidding and creating proposals, retainer arrangements and more.  Looks like a great book!

So those are some of the resources I came up with.  I’m off to write the proposal now and take great comfort in knowing that all of this fuss is simply a formality.  The lead was already a warm one with a terrific referral who has been their PR firm for almost a decade and they have already seen the value of my work!

Still - everything we present represents our business and our professionalism and I want to get it right!  I hope this is helpful to some of you — please feel free to share your own related resources as well!

If you’re wondering whether you should host your own wordpress blog or use the free service at wordpress.com, then you’ll find this diagram really helpful!

It was created by WPBeginner which is a fabulous website for learning about the basics of Wordpress.

As a fellow Mompreneur - I’m sure you understand just how very tricky it can be to keep everything moving along smoothly. For myself, I find that I work very late into the night after I have the children in bed and then get up at about 6 a.m. to start the morning ritual of getting the kids (3 of them) all ready for school.

One of the things that causes me the most stress I have discovered is telling the kids every gosh darn step they need to do to get ready. “Go get your teeth brushed. Did you put on underwear? Those socks don’t match. You still need to brush your hair. Did you pack your homework?” You know the drill.

Now that my daughter is going to preschool I have not just one extra person to get ready, but two - because I actually have to get out of the car and walk into the school. Yikes!

So this Monday morning I became determined was going to mark the last stressful morning I had. One thing that I have learned over the years is that it isn’t enough to have an idea, however good, unless you implement it! So I needed to take some action steps. Hopefully some of these ideas will help you too!

1. I decided the kids needed a list. Why wouldn’t they? I know I need lists! So I did a quick Google search and found these great little chore charts. I brought them into photoshop and edited them a bit because what I wanted was a list that broke down responsibilities in the morning, after school, and before bed.

2. I vowed to myself that I would get back into the habit of laying out the children’s clothes before going to bed.  I did in fact follow up on that last night and cannot tell you how much I loved myself for having done it this morning!

3. Where else does a Mom turn when she needs help but to other Moms? So I sent out a quick twitter to my list and waited with bated breath for their advice.  Happily it came!

4. @MyGOMOM to the rescue! MyGOMOM founder Molly Gold was kind enough to let me know about this absolutely fabulous website she’s been working for 10 years now to help Moms that were in just my particular state of mind!  The website, GOMOMinc, is filled with organizational tips, free checklists to download and the website features what looks to be a lovely little DIY (Do it yourself) planner.

5. @JenPowter advised Moms to plan their meals ahead! Jen shared that she plans her meal menu for the week on Saturday night and does her grocery shopping Sunday morning.  Not for long mind you because she’s going to be getting her groceries delievered!  Imagine the time that will save!  Jen also prepares her meals in the morning and cooks what she can then before her busy day takes off.  Really smart tips - I’m at least going to try the menu planning this weekend.

6. Pack Lunch Ahead of Time! @Thien-Kim of I’m Not The Nanny shared that her sanity saving tip which was to have the kids lunches packed and ready to go the night before.  That way the kids can just ‘Grab and Go’ in the morning.  Another terrific tip!

When the kids came home from school and discovered their ‘Responsibility Charts’ hung on our freshly decluttered fridge they were really excited.  I’ve never seen the family room get cleaned up so quickly with so little resistance!  Homework was done (and packed into their backpacks) before any games could be played and  bed time was a pleasure as we all joined forces to put 10 minutes into cleaning their bedrooms.

They loved checking the items off their list - especially the ‘Hug Mom and Dad’ item :-)

This morning was also a breeze as they referred to their list instead of me chasing them around with a multitude of orders.  We actually had 10 minutes to spare!

I’m all about systems that work in 2010 and replacing old habits that don’t serve us with new ones that bring some ease to our very busy lives.  So PLEASE - feel welcome to share your sanity saving tips in the comments below!