Are You Among the Digitally Dissed?

If a tree falls in the forest and it's not indexed on Google, does it make a noise? The next time you plug your company name (or your own name, for that matter) into a search engine and come up blank, you may want to re-think that sigh of relief.

Sure, you can be delighted that there's no damaging misinformation floating around cyberspace for you to refute. But consider this: it's just as bad (maybe even worse) to be completely absent from the online forum other than your own website.

Right or wrong, many prospects and potential business partners gauge your "worthiness" based on how many independent references they find online. Think of it as the grown-up version of your MySpace friends total.

So, how do you go about developing a compelling online presence? Try these three easy ways to get started:

Author, author! Post an article you've written. Many websites aggregate content that ezine publishers can use for free as long as they keep your byline intact. Others feature niche-specific articles that allow you to showcase your expertise in a broad array of categories. Try sites like authorconnection.com, sideroad.com, or ideamarketers.com to get started.

Read it and reap. Why write a book when you can review someone else's? Write a thoughtful review of a new book in your area of expertise, then post it on bookseller sites like amazon.com and bn.com. You can also send the review to your local trade magazine or association newsletter. Hint: it helps to actually read the book in question.

Post comments online. Think the role of commentator's only for ex-jocks? Think again. Use a blog search tool like technorati.com to uncover blogs that are relevant to your industry or area of expertise, then post insightful comments to the entries on a regular basis.

About the Author
NJ copywriter Lisa Fahoury, a Certified Business Communicator and principal at Fahoury Ink in West Orange, is the editor of Creative Compost: Where Great Marketing Ideas Grow, a marketing newsletter focusing on offbeat promotion strategies. She is also the creator of the Think Like a Fish seminar series on creative thinking. Reach her at 973-324-2100 or info@fahouryink.com. ©1998-2009 Fahoury Ink LLC. All rights reserved.