online reputation

Online Reputation Management

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One hundred percent (100%) of Chief Financial Officers 

and Senior Finance Executives have an online reputation to manage 

Not everyone loves statistics, but I do. There is something about having a factual basis for acting that resonates with my brain and propels me forward. So of course, as my Online ID re-certification course began, the stats had me saying WOW! My clients definitely need to know – from a facts and figures perspective – how critically important it is to manage your online reputation. Because whether or not you are proactively managing it, you do have one … even if that reputation is MIA.

Here are some of the stats that jumped out at me …

— … an executive can increase the amount of his or her compensation by increasing one statistic; the number of CEOs and decision-makers in a sector that are aware of the executive’s accomplishments. Howard Nestler, CEO of Executive Options

— 79% of US hiring managers and recruiters reviewed online information about job applicants. 70% rejected candidates based on what they found, with poor communication skills, lying, and sharing confidential company information among the reasons cited for rejection.

— Conversely, 18% of companies found social networking profiles as a positive influence because they offered a good feel for culture fit and added credibility to the candidates’ resumes / interview. I believe this number is only going to continue to grow.

— 76% of executives expect to be Googled yet 22% have never Googled their own name to see what companies and recruiters will find. 

— While there are no measurements on the influence of a CFO’s reputation, 87% of respondents to a Hill & Knowlton survey believe the CEO’s reputation is key to the company. I would venture to say the CFO’s reputation is equal or greater to that of the CEO, particularly during tough times.

— According to a Career Builder study last year, the top industries most likely to screen job candidates using social networking sites and search engines include those who handle sensitive information. 

Bottom Line: If you want to be among the hunted, you have to be able to be found.

(Sources: Reach Online ID Certification 2010, Microsoft 2009, Career Builder 2009, Execunet 2007)

Win Visibility and Positioning in 2010

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One of my readers asked for some tips on winning visibility and positioning in anticipation of a recovering 2010. Josie, this post was written with you in mind.

If you read my post from last week, The Competition is Heating Up, you know that competition for every job is going to be even more fierce in 2010. The competition for opportunities though, can be far less. Amazingly, companies are still complaining about finding top talent. That means, it’s time to move out of the war zone (posted position game) and into a smaller battle field (online and offline networking) in order to out-maneuver the competition!

—Visibility … With today’s Web 2.0 technology, there is just no excuse for any CFO to not have a strong digital footprint. Create an integrated strategy with all of your social networking sites, using hash tags to push a post or tweet to your other sites. For example, use a Twitter account to gain visibility among recruiters AND build credibility around your digital footprint. Push selected tweets to your Facebook account and Linked In status update bar merely by using hash tags. 

You are who Google says you are … particularly to people you want to know about you. Set up Google alerts on your name so you can see what’s being said about you and by whom. Google your name, in quotes (i.e., “cindy kraft”), at least weekly to monitor your digital footprint. It’s not enough to have “stuff” in Google, a credible online reputation delivers clarity and consistency around your value proposition.  

—Positioning … Boring, dull, commodity — being like everyone else — is out. Well, lost in the masses for sure. In high school we all wanted to be “like” the cool kids. As senior-level finance executives, the goal is to stand alone so you can be noticed. Identify what you have that a company is willing to pay (big bucks) to get, and then shout it to your target market … clearly, consistently, and constantly.

I was asked in Monday’s Netshare Ask-a-Coach call about the marketability of a subject matter expert vs. a generalist. My belief is that knowing a lot about a little trumps knowing a little about a lot … and, that everyone is an expert about something, they just might not realize it or know how to unearth it. 

Win solid positioning by understanding what it is that you do well and love doing and who needs it, and then build your communication strategy around that message.