From Shark Tank and Dragons Den to The White House and Inc Magazine Patrick Ambron has been featured, honored and applauded by some of the biggest names in business. His company, BrandYourself.com, has helped hundreds of thousands of people clean up their online reputation and search results.
Can you imagine being mistaken for a criminal? That’s exactly what happened to Patrick’s cofounder Pete ten years ago. After applying for internship programs Pete kept getting looked over again and again. After wondering why he wasn’t even getting a call back he decided to google himself only to realize articles were coming up stating that he had committed a crime. Only he hadn’t it was just someone with the same name! Desperate to get this removed from his search results Pete couldn’t find any service that was remotely affordable. This sparked Pete and Patrick to create a company to help you manage your online reputation. BrandYourself.com was born and now we all get to reap the rewards of their efforts!
Great we know branding is important but where the heck do we even start?! Patrick gave us a step-by-step of which platforms to focus on, how we should be showing up and ultimately what we should be hoping to achieve.
Step 1: Build – Commit to building an online presence. Start with a personal website or a LinkedIn profile. Once you have that established start by updating or posting on it. This way the algorithms are consistently being “fed” new information about you.
Step 2: Audit – Audit your existing online presence. What have others tagged you in? What are people saying about you? Google yourself to see what is showing up. Remember that whatever you are seeing is also what will come up in any screening for work, school, immigration, etc.
No surprise but try to remove anything negative you find ASAP! If you can’t remove it, bury it by covering with nicer and more recent information to balance the story out. Also keep in mind that social media posts DO come up in the search results – especially Twitter. To help you stay on top of what is being seen BrandYourself.com has a FREE tool where you can do a quick screen and remove unwanted posts. Something that may have been cool to post 10 years ago could raise eyebrows now!
Note: If you’re dealing with online harassments you can escalate those claims to Google by filling out a removal request form.
Have you ever come across websites that seem to know way too much about you? They know your relatives, your birthday and sometimes even your home address?! If not, check out websites like Radaris.com or Peekyou.com to be fully creeped out!
The good news is Patrick is way ahead of us and wants these sites to be banished! Having this much of your personal information on the internet puts you at risk for identity theft. The good news is new laws have been put into place where websites have to honor your request for removal. If you scroll to the bottom of most of these sites there is an opt-out button. The problem? There are about 80 of them on the internet. The good news? If you don’t want to do it manually, BrandYourself.com has a tool for this! Use discount code “Relaunch” to save 50% on this service!
If you are not promoting yourselves online you are missing out on an opportunity. Those who get noticed, get rewarded. Patrick filled us in on this *crazy* stat that 60% of employers will not hire you if they can’t find you online. Whoa! That is a huge number but also makes total sense. What is the percentage of you committing to a date with someone if you couldn’t find any information about them online? Something tells me it’s less than 60%!
In order to create some “bread crumbs” online for yourself commit to posting once a month on your website, blog or LinkedIn. Whether it’s commenting on something going on in your industry or an interesting book you’ve read – something online is better than nothing at all!
Because I get asked about Shark Tank all the time I knew had to turn the tables on Patrick. Not surprising he, like me, has found the Shark Tank experience to be super valuable. Appearing on the show has led to great SEO for his business, credibility with others, exposure and sponsorship opportunities. He also gives great advice for someone who is considering a dip into the Tank…
Best app/program you’ve started using lately? Blinkist – The cliff notes of business books
What is the best gift you’ve given yourself or done for yourself in the last year? Adopting a dog
Favorite Podcast/Newsletter/Resource/person that you learn from? The Hustle, a bit tech bro-y but really well written articles.
What is one thing everyone should try THIS WEEK? Get a scan, for FREE, at BrandYourself.com
What’s one thing you want to get better at? Communicating beyond work with my team remotely. Not the task but the social aspect of it.
Where to Find Patrick: BrandYourself.com and Twitter.
Join us on September 2nd as we dive in with guest Luke Reissman from the PGA of America. From negotiations to securing six-figure partnerships we’re digging into all things sports and golf with Luke. RSVP and I’ll save you a seat!