Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Safeguarding your reputation means listening not only to the “word on the street,” but to what’s being said online. Have you googled yourself lately?

A few tips for listening:

Set up Google alerts for, minimally, your name and your organization’s name. You can also add names of other prominent people in your organization (CEO, Executive Director, members of your Board of Directors).

Advanced Google alerts might include topics or issues that your organization is connected to. For example, a nonprofit organization that provides health care for low-income residents or those without insurance might include search terms like “universal health care” or “health insurance coverage.” This will allow you to track news, blogs and even video on these issues and keep up with the media.

Learn more about Google alerts here.

Other free options for monitoring include Technorati, Blogpulse and the download BuzzMonitor (which is from the World Bank, oddly enough).

There are also paid options, of course. And plenty of experts to help you navigate the options.

Photo: Corbis