Pinterest has become popular with brides, who use the site to share photos of wedding dresses, party favors, and other items related to a couple’s big day. Fashionistas and amateur chefs also flock to the site to post their latest fashion finds and food creations. The bookmarking site also allows artists to post photos of their latest creations and interior designers to show off great decorating ideas.

Hudson Business Solutions suggests businesses take advantage of this opportunity to reach potential customers. Since Pinterest links all posted photos back to their original source, simply having a customer post a photo from your site can help bring customers to you, in addition to increasing brand recognition while improving your company’s online reputation.

For businesses wanting to get started, Hudson Business Solutions recommends first creating a profile. Since Pinterest is currently only accepting memberships by invite, you’ll have to register your e-mail address to request one. Once your account has been established, set up a page and start pinning.

Like any business-related social media account, it’s important that your business have an active, useful presence on the site, Hudson Business Solutions suggests. Post in a category that will catch the attention of potential customers, but be sure to post content that is relevant and interesting. On Pinterest, the goal is to have your content “repinned,” which is similar to a retweet on Twitter. By putting as much of your product on your profile as possible, you’ll be much more likely to have your content passed along.

After you’ve established a profile, participate. Comment on other profiles and repin items you find interesting. By proving that you are on Pinterest to be an active part of the community, you’ll immediately win over new customers, making them more likely to repin your photos.

In addition to spotlighting your products, Pinterest can also be used for networking. Share ideas and get feedback from your peers. Some companies even use Pinterest for marketing research. Hudson Business Solutions recommends pinning samples to your page to garner feedback. The site also allows businesses to provide ‘pin it’ buttons to customers to allow content to be passed along on other members’ pin boards.

Along those same lines, Pinterest can be used for product research. Browse pin boards and note the interests of users. If you’re a clothing retailer, for instance, check out the pictures of fashion lovers on the site. What are customers interested in buying? Can you tailor your business’ offerings to what others on Pinterest are searching for?

With Facebook and Twitter already well established, Pinterest seems poised to become the next big thing in social media. Savvy marketers are already learning as much as possible about this unique site and finding ways to best utilize it in fostering an online reputation.

In today’s social media world, however, businesses are turning to an even bigger platform for recognizing employee achievements. Since many of your employees are likely already hanging out on sites like Facebook and Twitter, recognizing employees on those sites is a great way to boost employee morale. Not only will the employee being recognized be excited, but other employees in your organization will likely see the recognition as motivation to work harder, Hudson Business Solutions says.

The great Zig Ziglar summed it up in one sentence. “Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company,” said the well-respected motivational speaker. Motivated employees equal better productivity, which equals an increase to your business’ bottom line.

Social media is the latest and greatest way to do just that. By making employee recognition an important part of your online presence, you’ll likely build a loyal following by giving employees a reason to follow your tweets or “like” your company’s Facebook page. Hudson Business Solutions suggests an old-fashioned “employee of the month” type of posting on your social media sites, complete with a picture of the honoree and an invitation for customers to post positive comments about him or her.

Or you could take it a step further and turn it into a fun game. A Chicago Best Western recently recognized an employee for his excellence by launching a Facebook campaign for him to receive a “Stars of the Industry” award from the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association. The Facebook campaign has received thousands of “likes” on the Best Western’s Facebook page and many people are choosing to share stories of good customer service they’ve received from the employee.

This type of interaction is what online reputation-building is all about, according to Hudson Business Solutions. Not only does it bring customers into the interaction, but it shows that your business cares about its employees, which makes customers want to do business with you.

However, be aware that not every employee will relish the kind of attention that comes from being so publicly spotlighted. “Be careful to reward people in any sort of public forum unless you’re absolutely certain that they would welcome that kind of attention,” Linda Pophal of Strategic Communications LLC was quoted as saying. Some people are private, so Hudson Business Solutions recommends getting permission before posting a person’s name and photo so publicly.

If you’re looking for a new, innovative way to acknowledge your employees’ talents, try your social media sites. Not only will you give your employees widespread attention, you’ll increase activity on those sites, which may keep visitors coming back from more.

Since then Facebook, as well as other social networking sites, have exploded into titans of social media where you may even run into your grandmother within it’s 800 million users.

Hudson Business Solutions understands that an online reputation for a college student is important, and at such sometimes they may prefer social media sites that can help them further their studies or find a job. This week Hudson Business Solutions explores other social networking options for college students to help them establish a more professional online reputation.

Brazen Careerist

Brazen Careerist is geared toward young Gen Y professionals making their way into the working world. They mix social media with job hunting to create a unique social networking space where you can find a job, network with other professionals, get advice and even find an internship before graduating.

Think of your Brazen Careerist profile as an online version of in person networking – in other words, keep it professional! You wouldn’t go to a live networking event unprepared would you? Well, this is the exact same thing – list your skills and experience, know what you can bring to the table and be confident!

Cramster

If you need a little extra help with your assignments look no further than Cramster.  Whether you’re looking for help on a math problem, are stuck on a textbook question or need some extra resources for a paper, Cramster’s extensive community can surely help you.

You can also take it a step further and offer your expertise to others in the community. Maybe you’re really great at math and can offer some guidance – this will show others that you not only know where to find the answers, you also take initiative to help others with their own problems.

Zumeo

College will inevitably end, and when it does you’ll be happy to know that Zumeo has your back. Their unique interface helps you create an online, professional social networking profile, as well as a resume and a portfolio so you can land that coveted job after college. They even search your other social media sites to help you find connections that will get you that much closer to your dream job.

Make sure to use all the features in Zumeo to your advantage! Upload a professional headshot with your skills and upload your best specs to your portfolio. For example, if you are a writer or a photographer upload some samples; if you are a project coordinator upload your best project outlines. Also make sure to take advantage of connecting your other social media sites in order to network with connections you may already have – you never know which of them will help you get your foot in the door!

Box

Whether you are an individual who needs to keep track of their files or part of an organization looking for an easy way to share things, Box.net is a great social tool for organization!

Use it to organize group presentations, fraternity or sorority events, club meetings, and more. It will help you keep all your group projects and extra curricular activities in order while you go on with your studies. It will also show future employers that you know how to coordinate projects, manage others and get things done in an orderly and timely fashion.

Hudson Business Solutions knows that there are many levels to a college student’s social networking needs – from looking for that first job to homework help and file sharing – these websites are great online reputation tools no matter what semester you are in!

Navigation

One of Google’s last changes of 2011 was pretty huge. With little fanfare and even less advanced warning, the search giant rolled out a brand-new look toward the end of December to surprise millions of users. The toolbar along the top of the page vanished to be replaced by a drop-down menu users have to rollover to use. None of the options changed, but they did move, hinting that Google may have some new tweaks and changes yet in store for its familiar, iconic look. But even this big change is a mere drop in the bucket of Google’s big 2011 changes.

Google Breaks Into Social Media

Not to be outdone by the likes of Facebook (which managed to surpass Google as the number one U.S. site in 2011), Google unveiled its biggest change to date when it jumped into the social media fray. The site launched the Google+ button, similar to Facebook’s popular “like” feature, along with new online profiles for users who want to boost and maintain their online reputation. Hudson Business Solutions can help you make the most out of Google’s new (and ongoing) social media changes.

Neither the + button nor the profiles set the world on fire right away, but many sites have added the button to their pages and more users are signing up for their Google profiles every day. Google isn’t quite a big contender for Facebook’s audience yet, but the search giant has proved it isn’t afraid to get into the competition — and one suspects that more changes in 2012 are imminent.

Revenue-Gobbling Panda Goes to Work for Google

For many webmasters, Google’s most notable change of 2011 was the Panda update. The first in a series of updates was unleashed in February, and by March many websites had taken a very noticeable dive in page visits and ad revenue. New search algorithms, dubbed Panda, completely changed the way Google finds content for web searchers. Pages that barely saw the light of search results suddenly flew up to the top of the list, while other sites that enjoyed great traffic found their numbers dropping sharply.

A large number of websites are still feeling the pain of the Panda updates, and Hudson Business Solutions can show you how to focus on building your online reputation to market your site in spite of Google’s best efforts. Strong marketing can help to offset a drop in search engine rankings.

More changes are on the way for Google and for all the big Internet sites, but Hudson Business Solutions will be there to track them — and help you figure out how to master them. So keep visiting our blog to stay current with these new updates.

Given the direction Google’s search engine moved towards in 2011, Hudson Business Solutions sees links and backlinks becoming a more important factor in search engine rankings. Due to concerns over people gaming Google with ridiculously saturated keyword filled content, the Internet giant began tweaking their search engine algorithms. Like Tech Crunch’s MG Siegler mentions in his piece, “Google Search Finally Going Fully Social with Shared Twitter Links and Even Quora Data,” search engine results will become more influenced by social factors.

Backlinks, links which lead to your business’s blog or website, provide a solid social indicator. As Entrepreneur’s AJ Kumar explains in his article, “Five Effecctive SEO Strategies to Optimize Your Business Blog,” a backlink serves as a “vote of confidence.” Now you hold some control over spreading confidence via placing appropriate backlinks around online. Mashable’s Leyl Master Black advises in her piece, “5 Content Marketing Strategies for Small Business,” to leave comments with a link back to your website on content similar to yours. However, Hudson Business Solutions wants to reemphasize Black’s warning ensuring your comment actually contributes to the interaction at hand. Otherwise you appear as spam, ultimately hurting your online reputation and Google search ranking.

The same principle holds true with posting backlinks on Youtube. Social media Examiner James Wedmore points out in his article, “3 Ways to Use Youtube to Drive Traffic to Your Website,” the great potential for posting backlinks on the popular website. When posting videos, you can incorporate backlinks to your business’ website and/or blog either within the actual video or the video’s description.

Beyond backlinks, linking to useful resources on your business’ website and/or blog will add a boost to your Google search ranking. Google instructs in their Webmaster Guidelines “create a useful, information-rich site.” Links to useful resources gives one way to do this. At the same time Google advises against linking to spam or other harmful sites. All in all, to rank high on Google search results you will need to focus on quality.

• Create a Facebook fan page or become more active with the fan page your business already has. Encourage customers to post on your page by actively participating in conversations and responding to comments posted. Offer freebies that are exclusive to your Facebook page and encourage your fans to “like” you. Those likes expose your brand to larger numbers of people who see them on their newsfeeds.
• Tweet regularly. While it may be tough to keep up both a Facebook and Twitter page, you will likely find that you have a completely different follower base on each site. Depending on which site you use the most, click here to learn how to share your posts to Twitter from Facebook or click here to learn how to share your posts to Facebook using Twitter. Dashboard services like HootSuite will let you manage multiple social media sites in one convenient location across a variety of platforms.
• Respond to negative comments. Even if you feel the customer was in the wrong, be gracious and generous, or offer discounts and even free items to the customer. “Most people just want to be heard,” Internet marketing manager Lisa Barone told The Wall Street Journal. “They just want to know you’re listening and you care, and that you’re going to try and fix it.”
• Give to others. This may seem time-consuming, but spend time on your social media sites, as well as on other forums and blogs around the Internet. According to Hudson Business Solutions, networking online works similarly to networking in the real world. Every comment, no matter how small, is building a relationship that increases others’ familiarity with you and your brand. Additionally, such comments will likely begin to show up in search results, vastly improving your online reputation.
• Integrity is important. No matter what happens online, never forget your core values. Your business’ reputation—online and otherwise—hinges on your customers being able to trust you. Stooping to dirty tactics to get higher search engine rankings and, even worse, hurt the reputation of your competition, will usually backfire on you in the end. Building an online reputation is important but it must be a positive one.

If 2012 is the year you want to get serious about your online reputation, Hudson Business Solutions believes by doing these few simple things, you can make 2012 the year your business begins successfully building its brand online.

Jaw-Dropping Social Media Campaigns

Each new year is full of fresh opportunities, and everyone tries to cash in. A rare few succeed…and an even rarer few succeed so well that they become an online legend. Nevertheless, this year’s most surprising social media successes include a warlock, a movement, a direct Facebook challenge, a green frog and a holiday movie that wasn’t made in 3D. Look below to see Hudson Business Solutions list of the most surprising, yet successful, social media campaigns of 2011:

• ŸCharlie Sheen took his online reputation to the next level when he took to Twitter to publicly talk about his fallout with CBS in ways that no one could have predicted. Sheen’s tweets soon gained such massive media attention, he began making money for it — and in the end, had the last laugh while everyone laughed at him. Hudson Business Solutions has tools to help you create an effective Twitter profile of your own, but you’ll have to invent your own Sheenisms.
• ŸThe #Occupy movement took everyone by surprise. The movement itself began online, spilled out onto Wall Street and now it’s gone global, commanding attention from every major media outlet in the process. Apparently, the 99% are online — and they love social media. Twitter audiences love a catchy hashtag, and Hudson Business Solutions can show brands how to get in on the trending action.
• ŸGoogle didn’t take a break all year long. The search giant made a direct bid for Facebook’s traffic with its Google+ buttons and profile pages. Overnight, the +1 buttons appeared to allow users to share pages, remember the sites they like and enjoy a new social media experience. Google’s online reputation soared as it showed its willingness to jump on the social media bandwagon. Use Hudson Business Solutions to keep your brand competitive in the Google+ market, too.
• ŸNot every social media campaign is about effecting change, selling products, or thumbing a nose at Facebook — some help right wrongs. The UK riots instilled fear and worry into the world, but the subsequent #RiotCleanup campaign helped inspire warm fuzzies. The hashtag became number one in the UK overnight, and communities rallied to stand behind the message.
• ŸThe Muppets became the surprise movie stars of 2011, mostly because they’re hip enough to use social media. Adults would have been drawn to the new Muppets Movie for nostalgia’s sake, but a huge social media push put the flick’s online reputation right up there with much more “now” children’s characters. Kermit’s on Facebook, critics Statler and Waldorf offer their sarcastic remarks on Twitter, and you can even include the whole cast on your Google+ lists if you like. The big boost to the Muppets online reputation became a big boost at the box office, to Disney’s delight.

So whether you spent the year drinking tiger’s blood or singing about being green, you were probably highly entertained by social media. We know we were, and there’s much more to come in 2012. Use Hudson Business Solutions to start the new year with a strong online reputation, and maybe your brand will be at the top of next year’s list.

In order to avoid this type of interaction between potential customers and your webpage, it is crucial to have an attractive, easy-to-navigate website, and Hudson Business Solutions can help you design one to help you improve or create a strong, positive online reputation. In the meantime, check out these three tips below to start improving your current webpage and boost your online image today.

1. Attractive and clutter-free page

Your page should appear clean and eye-catching. Keep this in mind when choosing images, color and layout. As for text, limit the amount of text that appears on each page. Too much text can overwhelm visitors, leaving them frustrated with your site. This doesn’t mean make your pages bear. Include as much as you need to get your point across, and make sure you leave some white space.

2. Include easy navigation

Navigation is how visitors move around your site and see everything your company has to offer. If people cannot navigate your site, they will leave. Create a navigation system that is clearly visible throughout the site and appears in multiple places. Placing a navigation bar at the top and bottom of your webpage is a good start, as well as anchor links to link the various pages within your website.

3. Check spelling and grammar 

Proper spelling and grammar makes your site reliable. If you post sloppy articles filled with errors, your site will lose credibility and potential customers. Yes, spell check is a great tool to help you edit documents and catch some basic errors, but it is not the only tool you should be using. Always have a dictionary close by, and when proof reading materials for the page, try reading them out loud. This method allows you to hear errors and awkward phrasing.

If you want to improve your website and start building a good online reputation speak with a consultant at Hudson Business Solutions. Email evolve@hbsnyc.com to schedule a free consultation today.

Create a Water Cooler Atmosphere

Our first tip will help ensure your current fan base becomes loyal followers. This proves important because the more dedicated a fan becomes, the more likely he will spread your stardom through word of mouth. As Mashable writer Christina Warren points out in her piece “5 Major Trends That Changed Digital Entertainment in 2011” social media’s appeal involves the water cooler atmosphere. Interact with your followers to create this virtual setting. After all, what’s better than talking to the artist directly? Even huge stars follow this advice. For instance, on Monday, December 12^th Two and a Half Men star Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) tweeted “What do you like to do when you watch #twoandahalfmen? I’m retweeting the best responses.”

Know About Available Apps

Hudson Business Solutions encourages you to research and learn about available apps in your specific industry. For example, musicians should checkout Diane Johnson’s Dotted Music post “4 Tips on Social Media Marketing for Musicians.” One particular tip Johnson gives which we at Hudson Business Solutions want to highlight suggests looking into the Facebook ReverbNation MyBand app which enables you to stream music and create mailing lists amongst other things.

Look for Endorsements

Use social media to seek endorsements from more well-known entertainers. That’s a major reason WWE wrestler Zack Ryder went from barely seen on television to being the main event on Monday Night Raw and making PPV appearances. Ryder a great 2011 social media entertainment success story started his own Youtube show “Z! True Long Island Story” in an attempt to get noticed from his bosses.  The grappler recently did an interview with Carroll County Times where he notes mainstream stars like John Cena and CM Punk retweeting his Youtube videos really helped him grow his social media presence. The trick to winning the support of more well-known entertainers entails discovering a unique angle to pitch them.

Remain Patient

Finally, we want to emphasis patience. Social media success doesn’t come overnight. For example, Zack Ryder started his Youtube show “Z! True Long Island Story” in January but didn’t really enter the mainstream wrestling spotlight until the past two months. Staying patient will assist you in remaining focus and ultimately achieving success.

Rebuilding, Without Rebranding

Overcoming scandal and controversy can make some brand names stronger and more popular than ever — just ask Drew Barrymore and Britney Spears. Both had well-publicized problems with their home lives, and both suffered with substance abuse. But by making strides to carry on in their chosen careers, they managed to re-emerge into the spotlight as media and public darlings despite their sullied pasts.

When sued for false advertising, Taco Bell boldly took out an ad to thank its detractors and even poked fun at itself. People immediately re-embraced the fast food chain, and eventually the customer who started the brief reputation crisis dropped her suit. It is possible to overcome scandal and rebuild an online reputation without rebranding or making major changes, and Hudson Business Solutions has tools in place that will help throughout the process. Sometimes, making an effort is enough to recapture public affection. Twibbon is an easy, effective way to begin making that effort.

Twibbon Awareness

Twibbon is used with Twitter. It works like an online bumper sticker, placing a new image on top of the account’s existing avatar. Twibbons (a portmanteau of Twitter Ribbons) are used primarily to call attention to events and causes, but they may also be used to market for specific personalities and brands. Twibbon can be used by brands to tout a cause and raise awareness, which has instant appeal to many consumers. A brand that stands behind a cause is a brand that cares, something that can make a big difference to many members of the public. Hudson Business Solutions will help you create online profiles at Twitter and other social media sites, so you may advertise your own Twibbons.

But Twibbons have another use as well: brand advertising. A Twibbon can be used as a logo, serving as a virtual sticker for Twitter pages. Fans of the brand may choose to stick the Twibbon on their own profiles to tout products and brands they like. It’s strong free advertising that will raise brand awareness and boost online reputation among social media users. Use tools from Hudson Business Solutions to learn how to make the most out of social media and develop strong online profiles that others will want to advertise.

The beauty of Twibbon is that it can be used in almost any way imaginable. Brands may create a special Twibbon to advertise charitable donations they are making to support certain causes, for instance. A brand that gives to charity is a brand that cares, and incidentally giving is a great way to boost online reputation. Even without altruistic motives at play, Twibbon is a great tool to start boosting and/or rebuilding your brand.