If a potential client Googled you or your company, what would they find? Your web presence has a tremendous impact on your overall reputation in the industry. Getting new prospects, finding hot deals, and moving up in the world can be hindered simply because of a bad online first impression. Creating and maintaining a robust, reoccurring, and informative online presence could be the difference between a last impression and a lasting impression. With the following 5 tips, you can get it right and make sure that anytime someone Googles you or your firm, you are making a first impression that will last:
#1: Add More Experiences and Certifications to Your Profile
If you don’t have a professional LinkedIn page, you should. It’s the best social media site for professional networking, but the main point to remember about LinkedIn is it shouldn’t be static. You should be providing content, participating in discussions, and sharing your experiences as frequently as possible.
Most prospects are going to Google you first and check out your webpage. Make sure you’ve updated your LinkedIn profile to reflect your experience as well as all of your certifications, memberships, and affiliations.
#2: Update Your Website Info Regularly (Including Your Headshot)
It may not sound like much and if you are in love with your best headshot ever, you may never want to change it. Research shows, however, that when you update your website info or your headshot online, people in your network get an alert which will lead some to clicking on your page to see what’s new. This is also the perfect opportunity to update your sales numbers and awards.
#3: Look for Guest Blogging Opportunities
While many agents have taken the important step of keeping their own blog to share knowledge and expertise, another way to help beef up an online first impression is to be mentioned in other places where many potential clients may see it.
Look for opportunities to guest blog with an industry organization or a top industry magazine to increase positive name hits in searches. Remember to pen these pieces under your name so that search engines will ping it in results.
#4: Use Online Survey Tools to Add Testimonials to Your Social Media Sites
Testimonials and reviews are better than word-of-mouth now. You’ve probably been told to add testimonials to your website, but how? It’s actually pretty easy. You can go to various online survey tools, such as SurveyMonkey® , to create a survey and email to your contacts asking about their experiences with you. You can use their responses as testimonials and add them to both your social media sites as well as your website.
#5: Focus On Being Informative
Rather than simply promoting yourself and your achievements, your online impression should be geared toward providing online searchers information that leads them to you. If the language you use and the way that you present yourself sounds too "pitchy," it can turn searchers off from continuing to research you. Fill your pages with information that those searching online are looking for and say it in a way that is straightforward and inviting.