Every online action you perform leaves a trace. That goes for social media updates to forum comments, all of which add to your digital footprint. If you’re a professional, an entrepreneur, or even a private individual, these tracks can either strengthen your available opportunities or put up serious obstacles.
As you may have guessed, managing your digital footprint requires a lot of foresight and discipline. Share some information today, and it may just influence other people’s decisions about you tomorrow.
At NetReputation.com, our work has consistently shown how digital footprints can shape personal and professional outcomes. Drawing from over a decade as one of the best reputation management companies in the industry, I want to highlight several best practices that can help you take control of your online presence.
1. Understand What Makes Up a Digital Footprint
Managing your digital footprint requires many steps, the first of which is recognizing its scope. What people don’t realize is that this footprint isn’t limited to social media posts. Search engine results, online reviews, and tagged photos are all basically public records. Even your old blog comments could influence how other people perceive you online.
It’s a common mistake to underestimate the permanence of this information. Even long-deleted posts may have been archived or shared. They’re also likely to be stored in a cache. That’s why effective footprint management should begin with a clear understanding of where these traces exist and how they can be accessed.
2. Audit Your Online Presence Regularly
Regular self-audits give you a good opportunity to see yourself through the eyes of others. Do this: search for your own name in Google and review photos you’re tagged in. Chances are you’ll come across both positive and negative content.
It’s also helpful to set alerts for your name. This lets you know when new information comes up. You can then correct inaccuracies and remove unwanted content before it harms your reputation.
3. Practice Careful Content Sharing
All your posts, photos, and comments shape your online reputation, so think carefully about what you share and what you keep private. That’s always a good rule of thumb when managing a digital footprint.
To be sure, I don’t advise avoiding all online activity. But do be aware of your tone and actions and always weigh their potential long-term impact.
What I recommend is sharing content that reflects your values. Focus on highlighting your expertise or contributing to discussions meaningfully. This will do more to strengthen your digital identity than impulsive or poorly considered posts.
4. Control Privacy Settings but Don’t Rely on Them Alone
Social media and other online content platforms have privacy tools that give you some degree of control. But they aren’t foolproof. Settings often change without you knowing, and of course, screenshots can pretty much bypass privacy restrictions.
Sure, you can use these features to limit visibility. Even so, treat every online action as potentially public. Never assume that any content won’t be seen by a wider audience than you intended.
5. Separate Professional and Personal Identities
Blurring the line between personal and professional activity is a lot like walking a tightrope. Maintaining boundaries often requires creating different accounts or paying closer attention to audience differences.
One way to deal with this is to use your LinkedIn and Twitter accounts for industry engagement. For personal interactions, try sticking to more private networks. Separating your online presence this way keeps your personal opinions and casual content from spilling over where professionalism is expected.
6. Address Negative or Inaccurate Content Strategically
When targeted by negative information, the worst thing you could do is to act impulsively. Instead, employ a strategic response. You could contact a website administrator to remove the offending content, for example. Or sway the narrative in your favor by posting more positive content.
My advice is to partner with an experienced reputation management firm like NetReputation. As one of the best reputation management companies in the business, we have the tools and expertise you need to replace damaging content and build a more favorable online identity.
7. Build a Positive Online Presence Proactively
If you’re really eager to defend yourself against negative information, strive to establish a positive presence that reflects who you are today. You can do this by publishing interesting and relevant articles and contributing to industry discussions.
Sharing accomplishments and engaging with professional communities will also help you build a narrative that pushes negative content aside. Do these things consistently, and you’ll soon establish authority and credibility.
Maintaining Control in a Connected World
There’s no two ways about it: achieving complete anonymity these days is a daunting task. But there are still many ways to control how you’re perceived online.
Start by auditing your online activity. Then work on building a strong and authentic presence. Even these simple steps can shape the way the online community perceives you.
In many ways, managing a personal digital footprint is an ongoing responsibility. As one of the best reputation management companies around, NetReputation has a vast arsenal of tools and methods for protecting and refining digital identities. Even so, I’d be the first to say that adopting a consistent and thoughtful approach is still the most effective way to improve your digital footprint.
