Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Are you overwhelmed by all of the new social media, networking, and blogging spaces available online?  Would you rather ignore the Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and other social media vehicles that are popping up everyday, rather than try to master them and use them to your advantage? I hear you!

I think there are a lot of us out there, nervous to take that step, hoping this online interaction is just a passing trend, one that your business can get by without acknowledging.

I don’t see any evidence, however, that that these online networking spaces are just a trend.  Some may fade as new ones pop up, but as a whole they are not going away.  They are transforming the ways we communicate today. In addition to face-to-face and on the phone, the conversation going on online is becoming another powerful way to manage and maintain our relationships. Even email hasn’t been around forever, but could you imagine doing your job without it? It appears that these new tools are here to stay even though we may not be exactly sure how or what the impact will be in the long run. 

Social media, innovative internet tools, and websites are not a fad that will soon be in the past. 

The key question then is – how do we manage what we may not know? 

Now, you may not want to manage your online reputation – but I think your business wants and needs it!

To get started, figure out where your online presence is right now.  What does your online presence look like?  Go ahead, Google yourself and you’ll know what I mean.   Besides your website, what else about you and your company comes up?  Your blog, your media coverage, your online community, your social media accounts, perhaps your online radio show (www.blogtalkradio.com), what others are saying about you online, and ultimately your most valuable business possession – your brand, are all elements that are crucial to a healthy online reputation.   This search can be the biggest insight into how you are perceived online.  

Once you are aware of where you are, now it’s time to determine where you want to go online. At Red Zone Marketing we just hired a new staff person to manage our Online Reputation. Yes, right now in this shaky economy. In fact, I also know of other businesses that are doing the same – firms of all sizes and in all different industries. It could just be the beginning of a trend of sorts. An Online Reputation Manager – someone that understands how to effectively communicate in the ever-changing online environment.  Consider them your voice online, someone to open up the conversation with your customers and prospects.

I could talk endlessly about the power of these online tools.  In the next week we at Red Zone Marketing will actually be setting up a site where people looking to reach out in the online world can give, connect, and share conversations about using social media in their businesses.  For those of you that are already making great headway it will be a place to voice your expertise, and for those that are just starting to get their feet wet, it will be a great learning resource.   

Are you interested in joining the conversation?