The internet is now a crucial part of all our lives, regardless of whether this is from a personal or a professional perspective. We use it to stay in touch with our friends, see what our favourite celebrities are up to and to do our work and run our businesses. Of course, our activity online is not completely anonymous, as everything that we do ends up contributing towards our digital footprint.
What is a Digital Footprint?
Your digital footprint is the culmination of all your activity on the internet. Imagine every time you go online, whether this is to work or to quickly look something up, you end up leaving a trail of information behind you. Part of this trail is visible, for instance the things that you share online can be seen by all, whereas some of the trail is invisible, which includes your browser history and IP address.
You might not think too much about your digital footprint and may well believe it isn’t going to have any kind of impact over your future. You may think it won’t come into play if you apply for a job, start a business or begin friendships; however, you would be wrong in assuming this.
Why Does Your Digital Footprint Matter?
Reputation is important. This is the case regardless of whether you are an individual or a business, the reputation you have amongst the public, your customers and your employees is crucial when it comes to achieving your career goals.
When you use the internet, you are contributing towards the digital version of yourself which is being created. Everything that you post can be accessed by a wider community and this is going to impact the public perception of you. As such, you need to keep in mind that there is going to be a point where someone searches you online. This could be a recruiter carrying out checks, a school, the police or a parent, and they are going to be able to put together an image of you based on your digital footprint alone.
There are several different benefits that come with portraying a positive online image of yourself and these include but are not limited to:
- Boosting your opportunities within employment
- Assisting with achieving your goals
- Allowing you to create and maintain healthy and meaningful relationships
- Growing your audience
How Can Social Media Affect Someone’s Perception of You?
Due to the fact social media is now such a massive part of our lives, it is standard practice for different employers and prospective customers to look you up on social media. As such, it is very important that you pay attention to what you are posting on social media and as such, what kind of trail you are leaving behind when you post. This is because everything that you do on social media is going to be able to be seen by people who you would potentially like to work with or build a relationship with and if they see something they don’t like, this potential relationship could be stopped in its tracks.
A lot of recruitment checks are now done using AI and as such, there will be a lot of businesses that have certain keywords or phrases to look out for. If upon searching for you it turns out that these words and phrases come up, you could be immediately withdrawn from consideration.
You should look yourself up. Simply search for your name and see what comes up in the results. Are you happy with it? If not, then it could be time to delete some posts or start a new account so that it is a better reflection of you. You may also want to seek professional advice with how you can improve your online reputation so it more accurately reflects what you stand for and how you would like to be perceived.
What Are the Most Effective Ways You Can Protect Your Digital Footprint?
There are a few different ways that you can make it, so your digital footprint is a lot more positive. Some of the most efficient steps that you can take include the following:
- Try not to share too much personal information on different social media platforms
- Make sure that the settings on your account are private
- Be sure to keep a record of all the online accounts you have and then delete the ones that you don’t tend to use
- If you have any accounts that you think could harm your reputation, then delete them
- Search yourself online so that you can see how others might view you
- When you are creating an account on social media or on any other website make sure you are using a strong and unique password
- Be sure to frequently review your security settings and install a security solution on your devices so that you can protect yourself against malicious attacks
How Can Yoono Help to Maintain a Positive Footprint by Checking Your Online Reputation?
As can be seen above, everyone has a digital footprint, and it is important that you stay on top of yours so that your online reputation remains intact. Yoono can help with maintaining your digital footprint if you are struggling. Yoono is an online tool which can run either yours or your companies name through Google and then provide an automated report that clearly shows what your online reputation is. This will allow you to easily understand what your online reputation is like and whether you need to take action to change it.
If you would like any further information on the importance of your digital footprint or have any questions surrounding how Yoono can help with it, do not. hesitate to get in touch.
