Perception is stronger than reality. You must have heard this statement somewhere
or may be you are hearing it for the first time. The truth is that your
reputation can go a long way to stop you from accessing most opportunities in
life especially your online reputation. Just Google your name and see what
comes out. Just like the trend of searching online before buying a product or
service is increasing, many employers, potential suitors etc. are searching
online before making decision about who you really are. Be careful what you say
online, mind the pictures you upload and the type of friends and parties you
attend if your personal branding matters to you.
Reputation management is one area Nigerians are yet to yet
to explore or even to know the dangers of a negative online image. A prominent lady
met me last time and said she runs an NGO and wanted me to be a volunteer to
help her raise funds overseas; when I Googled her name it was a disaster. As the
wife of a one time public official all that surrounded her name were money
laundery, fraud, police arrests at airports and such like. Unfortunately the
name of the NGO also happens to be this same name. I shook my head. No foreign
organization will donate to a “well known” fraudster.
That is why you need to hire the services of an online
reputation manager based in Nigeria. An online reputation management firm will
help you track the internet to know what people are saying about you and
provide feedback that will help your rebranding or public relations. Also when
a negative story or comment exist about you, it is the duty of the reputation
management company to push down those comments so they don’t stay on the first
page
But my best advice is to live a good life so that people
will have a less negative statement about you online because nothing under the
sun is hidden. A quote from the Bible says that a good name is better than
silver”
