Anyone, anywhere on the internet can write about your business. They might say good things or they might not say good things. The internet is a true democracy in this regard. Thomas Jefferson described democracy as, “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” How does a small business person manage their reputation in this environment?

Last Thursday night six local business people learned how to manage their online business reputation. The session was hosted by Eric Wettstein of Kudzu Digital Consulting.

These business learned how to put their best foot forward on the internet and how to monitor the internet to learn what others are saying. By knowing what you want your reputation to be and by architecting your website to match, you set the tone of your online reputation. Your email also plays a big part in your online reputation. It can make you look big or small on the web. 

They also learned how to claim their business and personal online identities. Taking charge of the information that exists about them on the internet is crucial. Engaging your good customers to speak up for you is critical to preventing the mob rule of the internet.