How important is a blogger’s online reputation, you may ask (especially if you are a blogger). Well, the answer is easy – pretty darn important!
Readers want to trust the people they read. They want a kind of relationship.
It’s a lot easier to forge one when the blogger has a good online reputation, which can add to that trust factor.
Credibility
A blogger’s online reputation can add or take away from their credibility.
Credibility is one of the most valuable parts about blogging. If someone is credible, it can override other things. Maybe you’re not an expert, but you’re genuine and credible. You’ll pull readers in.
One of my favorite bloggers isn’t an expert; she has no degrees or certifications. But she is honest and real, and I can relate to her; there’s a connection. Maybe it’s her tone or the way she openly shares her stories, but I enjoy reading her style. I think if I found a lot of dirt on her reputation, I may have to think again about her, because part of her allure is the connection due to her credibility.
Readers want to believe and trust their bloggers, just like their news anchors and long ago newspaper columnists. If someone’s online reputation is discovered to be a mess, that believability can be much harder to garner.
Trustworthiness
Related to credibility is trustworthiness. When readers are investing their time on a blog on a regular basis, they begin to feel connected to the blogger. Maybe they’ll never contact the blogger or even add a comment to the site, but they are comfortable knowing they could if they wanted to; they feel safe in that venue with that particular blogger.
But if a reader comes upon a soiled online reputation, this trust may fade, if not completely disappear. A blogger’s online reputation can have a great impact on their trustworthiness and in turn, on their readership. Once something negative comes up about a blogger, it’s hard to regain that trust. That’s why it is so important to safeguard your online reputation.
Related Aspects
As a blogger, you may be looking for other outlets and opportunities. Maybe you don’t even want a writing job, but something else in your field, the one you blog about. A lot of bloggers do get noticed due to the success of their blogs, but if upon further investigation their reputation isn’t the best, this can interfere with any other job opportunities.
Again, people want to work with others they can trust.
Managing Online Reputations
Because anyone can write or post something about someone else online – true or not – anyone with an online presence should maintain close watch over his or her reputation. There are some ways to combat a bad online reputation, but it does take time and work. If the thought of managing this yourself seems too daunting, there are companies available that specialize in online reputation management.
The most important thing is to stay credible and trustworthy, and stay abreast of your online reputation just in case.