On March 25, Blue Fountain Media CEO Gabriel Shaoolian was a featured speaker at the Business Development Institute’s Seminar: Social Reputation Management, Protecting & Strengthening Your Brand Across The Social Web.

Other keynote and case study presenters included:

• Chris Preuss, the CEO of OnStar and former VP, Global Communications at General Motors
• Bill Cox, Senior Director Communications, Microsoft
• Aneta Hall, Social Media Strategist, Pitney Bowes
• Jim Issokson, Senior Business Leader, MasterCard
• Ed Nicholson, Director of Community and Public Relations, Tyson Foods

In his speech, How to Build a Bulletproof Online Reputation: Using SEO and SMM to Create, Bolster or Repair Your Online Reputation, Shaoolian provided a practical, step-by-step guide to online reputation management.

In the presentation, Shaoolian quoted Ben Franklin, who said, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”

“Anyone doing business with you or even thinking about doing business with you will go to Google or another major search engine and research you and your company,” Shaoolian said. “What they find in the search results will determine whether you have a new client/customer or whether someone has been driven away by negative comments and an overall negative perception of you, your company and your executives.”

Shaoolian explained that online reputation management requires the same basic skills as other search engine optimization. The goal is to produce sufficient positive content about a client as to overwhelm any negative online content.

“Companies and individuals shouldn’t wait until there’s an issue before thinking about their online reputations,” Shaoolian said. “The best defense is a good offense. Make sure you have an informative company website, a blog to humanize you, and full participation in social media.”

Following the speech, Shaoolian and Blue Fountain Media Director of Marketing Alhan Keser each presented a series of round table discussions. Shaoolian’s topic was: How to Build Online Brand Loyalty, while Keser’s was: Seducing the Search Engines…The Art and Science of SEO.

Speaking to the audience, Business Development Institute’s CEO Steve Etzler had this to say about his visit to Blue Fountain Media.

“Within the first few minutes of being in (BFM’s) offices you could tell this was a place with a purpose,” Etzler said. “(I can see why) they are one of they are one of the fastest growing web design companies in the country.”

The Blue Fountain Media team would be happy to discuss your online reputation management needs or any of your online business concerns. Please give us a call at 212.260.1978.

Listen to Shaoolian’s speech:

Download the MP3 (right click on the link and select “Save link as…”)

The Dangers of Not Having A Website

Not having a website is like voluntarily wearing a muzzle.

Clients regularly come to Blue Fountain Media looking for help with their online reputation. These clients fall into two categories: a) Those who want to build their online presence in general; and b) Those who want to build an online presence in response to specific events.

Problems inevitably occur in business, and it’s important to be prepared. Having a web presence means you have a forum to communicate with the outside world. If When something happens, people will turn to your website and blog for information.

Here’s an example of a big company neglecting their online presence and (probably) regretting it:

An Example: AT&T Has Trouble Communicating

iPhone sales have been halted in New York City and AT&T has given no explanation.

Over 500 news articles about the New York iPhone debacle

Last night The Consumerist & CNET reported that AT&T had stopped selling the iPhone in the greater New York area. News immediately spread though the internet and the story was almost quickly picked up by the main stream media (e.g. New York Times, CNN). With no direct channel for finding out information about AT&T, the media ended up quoting numerous conflicting sources.

Here are some of the justifications that were reported:

Sales were suspended due to “increased fraudulent activity in that area when ordering the iPhone” –AT&T Support Representative

“We periodically modify our promotions and distribution channels.” –AT&T Spoksman

“New York is not ready for the iPhone. You don’t have enough towers to handle the phone.” –AT&T Support Representative

How could a company not know the reason behind suspending sales of its flagship product to their largest market for that product? And more significantly, how could a communications company do such a poor job communicating?

A search for "ATT Blog" turns up no official AT&T blog

As the web buzzed about the halting of iPhone sales and the potential cause, I tried to look for an official response or statement from AT&T. A Google search for “ATT blog” returned a bunch of results on other websites–mostly blogs talking about the iPhone sales halting. Other searches also resulted in simalar dead ends. I just couldn’t find an AT&T blog. Either they don’t have a blog or it’s just impossible to find.

This means that when I do a Google search about the problem, instead of an official explanation or at least a note that they’re looking into the problem, I was forced to find out news from third-party sources.

What We Can Learn

If AT&T Wireless did have a blog (and they actually used it), it would have been virtually guaranteed to be the top result of any iPhone-related searches today. AT&T could have posted their official response and the entire blogosphere would have linked to it. Instead, they kept everyone guessing with vague responses and no clear official spokesperson for the company.

The Internet is one big conversation. Having a strong web presence means that if you ever need to insert yourself into the conversation, you can. Without a web presence, you give up control of your message and your brand.

Don’t Let This Happen To You

Give your web presence a kick start. Blue Fountain Media can help you plan your website, blog, or social media presence. To speak to us about our Online Reputation Management services, request a quote or contact us on 212-260-1978.

This will be the fourth time that some company has stolen our design, and we don’t understand how some of these design firms justify stealing a website design. What does that say about that firm and their morals, or even their pride as a web design firm to be original? Blue Fountain Media prides itself on innovation and creating custom websites for clients that are unique yet functional. We are well known for not offering template websites, CMS’s, or marketing campaigns, because every client is different and each campaign has different requirements.

this case study looks familiar:

Many online marketing companies, web development firms, and SEO’s alike will constantly reinforce how important your online presence is to the success of your company or business. They talk about specific branding methods, logos, fonts, colors, web layouts, and how all of these things must remain consistent throughout the online world so that there is always the same consistent message of your company on the internet.

But how many of these companies even take a look into your offline presence?

Often when you walk into a new clothing store, restaurant, or other service business place you automatically take note of the colors, look, and ‘feel’ of the place. When you go home or want to know more about the business you’ll look up their website and find that occasionally there is a stark difference between a businesses offline and online branding models.

The problem with this is that for customers who have been to your offline store they might automatically leave your website by mistaking it as a completely different site. This works vice versa in that people who have seen your business online, when they go to your store and find a different logo and color scheme might think they have gone to the wrong place and would mistakenly avoid it. Below are three simple tips to help you brand your business online.

1. One company, one logo.
Your company logo is exactly that, it’s your graphical icon that serves to identify you and your business both online and offline. Having a different logo in either places causes a mental disconnect for prospective clients and could lose you valuable business.

2. One consistent style guide.
Style guides don’t just apply to your online materials. Make sure to have a consistent style guide that covers every aspect of your business. Take a look at TD Bank; their website, print collateral, and even their interior design all have a consistent style guide so no matter whether the client is banking online or meeting a teller in person, it’s the same comfortable feeling.

3. Consistent services.
This happens a lot with online clothing and product stores. A person will go into a store at a mall, find something they like but want to order it later. They then go online to order the product but the business does not offer that product in their online store, causing the client distress. It is not always possible to sync up online and offline inventories but if it is feasible, it is definitely a must.