1 7 Steps for Building and Managing an Executive Reputation Updated September 20, 2009

Quotable “Your personal image is a part of the company’s overall reputation if you are an owner, director, CEO or any customer facing employee.” –Andy Beal and Judy Strauss, Radical Transparency 2

3 Executive Reputation Management Process 1.Take a Hard Look at Your Online Presence 2.Address Your Beliefs, Fears and Hesitations 3.Get Clear About Your Brand Trajectory 4.Build a Consistent and Strategic Platform for Your Online Presence 5.Create and Distribute Compelling Multimedia Content 6.Engage With and React to Your Community 7.Monitor Your Online Reputation

1. Take a Hard Look at Your Online Presence

Assess Your Reputation Does your online presence accurately reflect your skills, experience and strengths? Does it boost your credibility and position you as a valuable asset to your organization? Do photos, videos, podcast and other multimedia content appear in search engine results for your name? Have you established an presence online that could withstand a negative incident? “The real question is: How is brand You doing?” –Tom Peters, The Brand Called You

2. Address Your Beliefs, Fears and Hesitations I am not a brand My personal life is nobody’s business I don’t have time for social media They won’t Google me

Drink The Kool-Aid Do you feel threatened by social media? Do you embrace authenticity and transparency in your communications? Why haven’t you started a blog or done guest blogging? How can you position your hobbies and personal interests to bolster your professional reputation? Are there any personal affiliations/beliefs you have that you might want to downplay in your online persona? “CEOs are woefully stuck at the Web 1.0 level and need to embrace Web 2.0 social media tools to spread their company’s merits far and wide.” –Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross, ReputationXchange Blog

3. Get Clear About Your Brand Trajectory Authentic Personal Branding Model © Hubert Rampersad, Used with permission.

Know Yourself and Your Stakeholders What do you stand for? What remarkable, measurable and distinctive value do you offer? What is your mission, vision and desired career legacy? Who are your stakeholders and what do they expect from you? How will you put your values, strengths and gifts into a personal brand statement? “Authentic Personal Branding is a journey towards a happier and more successful life.” –Dr. Hubert Rampersad, Authentic Personal Branding

4. Build a Consistent Strategic Platform for Your Online Presence

Establish Your Presence Which social networking sites do your peers and stakeholders use? Which social sites will you be able to maintain regularly? What is your Twitter strategy? Will you start your own blog or offer to write guest blogs for other professional sites? What is your strategy to promote your social networking sites? “Personal branding is about unearthing what is true and unique about you and letting everyone know about it.” –Dan Schawbel, Me 2.0

Create a Facebook Fan Page

Establish Your LinkedIn Profile 13

Find Your Blogging Voice

Start a Wikipedia Profile

5. Create and Distribute Compelling Multimedia Content

Populate the Web How many podcasts, videos, slides and photos about you are posted online? How will you create online content? Have you built a Twitter following? “Visibility has a funny way of multiplying; the hardest part is getting started.” –Tom Peters

Create Timely YouTube Videos

Share Your (Short) Ideas on Twitter

6. Engage With and React To Your Community

Listen To and Engage Your Community Are you active on influential forums, user groups and message boards? How frequently do you comment on other professional blogs? What is your strategy to identify opportunities to get involved and grow your authority with your community? What is your strategy to react to negative mentions of your name? “Joining the conversation will give you an opportunity to tell your side of the story and repair any damage to your good name.” –Andy Beal and Judy Strauss, Radically Transparent

7. Monitor Your Online Reputation

Track Your Mentions What are the best tools to track mentions of your name? Have you set up Google and Yahoo alerts for your name? Does your monitoring tool search videos, blogs and other multimedia content? Have you set up and optimized an RSS Reader to help you monitor? “It is not enough to be the best…you need a proper strategy to create a credible and desired reputation, and the action plan to lift it into the minds of your target audience.” –Rob Brown, How to Build Your Reputation

Benefits of Personal Branding People trust you more You have a much higher perceived value You are differentiated from the competition You are always 100% authentic You are the “go-to” person in your area of expertise for your specific audience You are known as an expert in your field You attract ideal opportunities Source: Pete Kistler, Brand-Yourself.com 24

Recommended Reading Radically Transparent by Andy Beal and Dr. Judy Strauss Radically Transparent Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation by Leslie Gaines-Ross Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation Me 2.0 by Dan Schwabel Me 2.0 Authentic Personal Branding by Hubert Rampersad Authentic Personal Branding Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand by William Arruda Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand 25

About Ron Schmidt

27 Contact Ron Schmidt Managing Director, Rosswood Communications, Inc Office