Well, I sez they’re a must. I’m sure others would agree. Google Alerts is a free service that takes about 15 minutes to set up. The service delivers to your mailbox notice of and links to any search terms you set up. For example, I set up a Google Alert on my name, “Jessie Newburn.” I don’t set it on Jessie Newburn (without quotes) because that would get me any website with both the words Jessie and Newburn in it. And that ain’t be what I’m lookin’ for. I have Google Alerts on JessieX and a few other key terms in and around areas of interest. They’re pretty simple and basic, and look something like this when they come in.
When I was managing the brand in the social media space for an international company, I had Google Alerts set to the company name and product names. Every day, I would review the email notices that came in and respond, track or forward information to other relevant parties.
For example, I needed to know who was blogging about the product. So, as I found what seemed to be more than just a casual product mention, I logged into the delicious.com account and tagged the blog with “blogger.” I’d look around on the blog to see what other touch-points I might have with this writer. Often I would tag the same content with the industry or product about which they were writing. Or if they were located in another country, I’d note that, too. Perhaps they were a thought leader in an area of interest and concern to the company’s customers, I created tags to track those subjects, too.
Here’s a link to the tool and a quick visual of how I used it.
It was invaluable in my role of pr and communications to be aware of what the public was saying about the brand. Equally, for individuals who care about their personal brand, it’s important to know what is being said about them.
And, as much as we’re all unique in our own way, we’re not always unique in our names. (Man, was I ever surprised to discover how many Jessie Newburns have accounts in Facebook.) Perhaps the same-namers as you are nice, do-gooders. Perhaps they’re criminals, or turds. It’s a good strategy for people wanting to manage their personal brand is to know the landscape of one’s name and how it shows up in Google.
Google Alerts, are a really sweet way to be pro-active about your personal — and or corporate — brand. Here’s a not-so-short video on Google Alerts:
2 Comments
January 4, 2010 at 7:26 am
Great information. Never knew this existed. Thanks for enlightening us. Great session last night.
January 8, 2010 at 9:28 am
A brand without google alert today needs to think again about its online reputation. Thanks