Fans and Haters: What do they say about you?

It's all about perception but you can't always judge a book by its cover right? Unfortunately, we are all programmed with bias so we do make snap judgments that aren't always correct. But, instead of assuming and going with your gut, it can help to do your research before working with someone via a google search. This is why it's so important to manage your online reputation or hire someone to manage it for you. What comes up when you search your name or your business? Savvy customers are doing their research before they consider hiring or working with you so your brand and online reputation are of the utmost importance. No presence at all and you might as well be a ghost. Here's a perfect example: Recently, I was hiring an attorney.

I looked up seven lawyers online that I had received by referral. Five of them did not have anything online, no website, no reviews...nada. So I decided to pass and eliminate those five off the bat. Two of them did have reviews and ratings. While a referral was important to me, I wanted to collect more data points to help me narrow the selection. The first lawyer had a ton of experience and came highly recommended from one of my closest family members. The first thing I read about this lawyer was a terrible comment about how unresponsive this lawyer was and the way he treated a client during their transaction...since I like to move quick...I didn't waste any more time researching this contact and so I moved on to the next. The other lawyer had an online presence which indicated he was new to his practice but had a high customer satisfaction rating on a reputable site used for hiring legal talent. He also had a couple glowing reviews from recent satisfied customers. Guess who I hired for both transactions? Warren Buffett said: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and only five minutes to ruin it." Even if you try your best to keep a positive reputation online, it only takes one dissatisfied customer tweet or one negative review to bring your business down. What do you do when that happens? You can take a proactive approach or spend a whole lot of time doing damage control. Leave it to me so you don't have to worry about social media management. This way you can focus on what you do best and let me keep up with the rest!