There are plenty of reasons to get help managing your reputation online.

Repumatic is one such company

that knows how brands are grown, rumors are started, and reputations are scrubbed clean online. Everybody has been embarrassed by something that has been said about them online, or disappointed by what pops up when you type your name or business into that Google search bar. But web reputation management may seem like the realm of pop stars and major personalities. It doesn’t seem as relevant to business-people whose work is more behind the scenes, so to speak. I’m here to argue that even if it doesn’t seem like you need online reputation management today, you’ll probably want it sooner or later. Here’s why.

1)   



Future Technologies Are Coming



.

The past decade has been one of interconnectivity. We used to operate like separate little islands, but today, every individual is accessible to every other individual through myriad social media points and web histories. People can find out who you are through a lot of different methods, some of which are probably eluding your memory right now. And it’s not all about what’s possible now. It’s about further changes that are coming. Internet privacy is a game of cat and mouse, and that’s not going to change any time soon. But the methods of the game will certainly change, and it’s important that you get involved with the way your personal or brand reputation is perceived online now, even if you don’t have a very public persona or you are not yet very developed.

2)   


A Good Reputation Builds Your Brand, Not the Other Way Around.

Internet businesses often have a pre-web idea about how businesses are built. In the old world, if you were a cobbler and you made great shoes every time, your shoes would find an audience. Good word would spread, and you would become a very successful cobbler. Today, the internet brings every cobbler in the world into one marketplace. Where you used to be the best cobbler in your small town, now you are one of 1000 very good cobblers who live all over the world. You’ve got to figure out a different way to distinguish yourself other than your great work. As a B2B, you’ve got to make sure that your

services and successes are visible to the people that matter

, those who will be building your business in the immediate future. This includes controlling keywords, phrases, brand sites, and

SEO

very intentionally. It’s likely that you can’t handle this project on your own, so you’ll want to take advantage of the services of professionals, people who can take your ideas and get them to the places and people that matter.

As you build your business, you will benefit from positive word of mouth, but it’s important to be even more proactive than that. You’ve got to start determining the words and ideas which you want to form the meat of your brand. And you’ve got to start now to whittle down your existing web presence to something that befits the brand reputation which will sustain your business for the rest of your life.