Karen Freberg is a professor at the University of Louisville who specializes in social media, crisis communications, and public relations. She received her Ph.D. in Communications from the University of Tennessee. Freberg maintains active presences on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and has a blog. She believes that an individual's online reputation is important to manage, as the internet provides a permanent record and others may judge you based on what they find online through search engines. It is important to monitor your online presence across various platforms and engage professionally in order to control the narrative surrounding your personal brand.

1. Karen Freberg, Ph.D.

2. Introduction
Karen Freberg, Ph.D. – University of
Louisville
¨ Education:
¤ Ph.D., Communications (University of Tennessee)
¤ MA, Strategic Public Relations (University of
Southern California)
¤ BS, Public Relations (University of Florida)
¨ Interests:
¤ Social media, Crisis Communications, and PR
¨ Social Media:
¤ FB, LinkedIn, Twitter (@kfreberg), and
Pinterest
¨ Blog: www.karenfreberg.com/blog

3. Managing Online Presence &
Reputation

4. Something
to
think
about…
¨ “It
takes
many
good
deeds
to
build
a
good
reputation,
and
only
one
bad
one
to
lose
it.”
-­‐-­‐
Benjamin
Franklin

5. De1inition
of
a
reputation
“Reputation
is
a
collective
term
referring
to
all
stakeholders’
views
of
corporation
or
individual,
including
identity
and
image
based
on
experiences
and
expectations.”
-­‐Professor
Gary
Davies
Manchester
Business
School

6. Online reputation management
¨ People will have a voice – filtered or unfiltered – online and
with social media
¨ Social media is the personalized digital version of traditional
media – people sharing information, discussing important
issues, etc
¨ Communities will engage in conversation online – with you,
against you, and even about you
¨ Privacy online is really not there – people will judge you
based on the information presented online on Google, Bing,
Twitter, Facebook, or other sites – First impressions key!
"Google is not a search engine. It's a reputation management
system. Online your rep is quantifiable, findable and totally
unavoidable."
-- Wired magazine, April 2007

7. Reputations are….
¨ Evolving
¨ Fragile
¨ Needs to be constantly maintained
¨ Integrated perceptions of our various roles in life
¨ Not only in the local sphere – but are now global
¨ Influenced by word-of-mouth communications – not only what you
say to others, but what your “friends” say and present about you as
well.
¨ Are constructed through personal interactions online, ongoing
dialogue, and the personalized presentation of information in
multiple formats to showcase personality traits
¨ Formed over time
¨ Most valuable possession – part of individual, business, and
society

8. Risky Business White Paper (
Weber Shandwick PR)
¨ Some realities we all need to be aware for 2011
and beyond:
¤ Reputation threat is high
¤ Reputations online are revealed – but not completely
¤ Naiveté can lead to surprise
¤ Leaks gush dangerously online
¤ Emergence of “reputation assassins”

9. Why
do
you
need
to
manage
your
presence
/
reputation
online?
— More people are going online for news, information about
companies and jobs, and networking – and Google never
forgets!
— The internet is an important medium for PR professionals
to not only know, but also understand how it works.
— Employers today search online when they are interviewing
job candidates.
— You need to be aware of what is posted and shared on you
online
— By managing your brand with a personal web site, online
portfolio, social media resume, and blog, you will have a
little more control over what is posted online.
— Your reputation is your most priceless possession, once it is
lost, it is very hard to get it back!

10. Personality
Professional
Multimedia Content &
SNS
Discussions
Online Technology
Reputation
Social
Online
Network
Portfolio
Sites (SNS)
Consistent
Interactivity

11. What
NOT
to
do
or
say
on
social
media!

13. Online
Presence
Continuum
Too transparent Balanced Online Too closed
Presence

15. Social Networking Professionally:
¨ LinkedIn
¤ Professional social networking site launched in 2003
¤ Operates world’s largest professional network on the Internet with
more than 90 million members in over 200 countries and
territories
¤ As of January 2011, LinkedIn counts executives from all 2010
Fortune 500 companies as members; its hiring solutions were used
by 69 of the Fortune 100 companies as of December 31, 2010
¨ How to optimize LinkedIn
¤ Ask for meaningful recommendations
¤ Incorporate value-added applications to LinkedIn profile
(Slideshare, Prezi, WordPress, Twitter)
¤ Create and upload Resume / CV to LinkedIn

16. Best practices for online reputation
management
¨ Conduct environmental scan of professional and
personal reputation online and through social media
– track your online presence (web shadow)
¤ Understand your networks and environment, community,
audiences and followers
¤ Me & My Web Shadow – How to Manage your Online
Reputation
n http://meandmywebshadow.com/
¨ Monitor and listen to online discussion and
comments – monitor personal SEO
¨ Be actively present on various social media sites -
consistently
¨ Engage in dialogue with online community –
showcase personality traits professionally and through
consistent interactions
¨ Know when to respond / when not to respond / and
when to take action towards online reputation
threats
¨ Control the information you can – importance of
having online presence

17. How to manage reputation effectively?

18. ¨ Identify your own SWOT analysis for online
reputation
¨ Set up own personal social media policy
guidelines in managing own personal online
reputation
¨ Opportunity to share your story - connect
with others and create content
¨ Understand that whatever you post, share, comment,
discuss online – it is public and on record

19. ¨ Think before posting “Sticks and stones may break my
bones, but words will never hurt me”
¨ Having personal web site / blog / social networking site
¤ Social Networking Professional – LinkedIn
¤ Social Bookmarking Site (visuals / electronic portfolio) –
Pinterest
¤ Maintain a consistent presence across social media platforms
(FB, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc)
¨ Take control over your own story and image. Don’t let
others control it for you.
¨ Be your own best PR spokesperson

21. Final
Thoughts
¨ “Be
more
concerned
with
your
character
than
your
reputation,
because
your
character
is
what
you
really
are,
while
your
reputation
is
merely
what
others
think
you
are.”
-­‐-­‐
John
Wooden

22. Additional Resources
¨ Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross (Weber-Shandwick Chief
Reputation Strategist):
http://reputationxchange.com/
¨ Reputation Rx: http://www.reputationrx.com/
¨ Online reputation (Reputation Rx):
http://www.reputationrx.com/Default.aspx/
ONLINEREPUTATION
¨ Reputation Institute (Corporate):
http://www.reputationinstitute.com/