Managing your brand’s online reputation has been a hot topic for a while. Simple steps such as Google alerts and social media monitoring software quickly became best practices.

A different opportunity recently presented itself to me; something so simple and obvious – and unexpected: Your own personal network.

Here’s a simple recap of what happened. I received an email from Charles Broersma, a local friend whose relationship developed via our social media network. Being a part of this network and having similar best practice philosophies created an “unspoken awareness” for each of our businesses.

His email described the unhappy comments of a local customer from Auction Direct. Something I obviously don’t want to happen. The result? After a quick email exchange, I’m meeting with our customer to try our best to listen and resolve her situation. The key thing here is that Charles isn’t a customer. He simply made a nice gesture. Thanks Charles!

What a great opportunity for you as well. Leverage your relationships like this and you’re sure to improve two key items:

1. Create a new offline “lookout” channel for your brand’s online reputation.
2. Strengthen the relationships within your network.

Doing anything similar? Share your best practices…