Get Guardian on GoogleFounder and Creative Lead of Sodus Media, Saidat Sododo, has urged professionals and business owners to strengthen their digital presence, saying incomplete or outdated online information could affect how prospective clients and employers assess them.
Sododo, in a statement on personal and business branding, said individuals and businesses needed to make their experience, services and achievements easier to find and verify.
She noted that potential clients, employers, partners and investors could search Google, visit websites, check reviews or consult artificial intelligence tools before deciding whom to engage.
According to her, the information available during those searches could influence whether a person makes an enquiry or considers another provider.
“When information is missing, inconsistent, outdated, or unclear, it becomes difficult to form a complete picture,” the statement read.
“A professional may have extensive experience but little online evidence of it. A business may provide excellent services but fail to communicate its offerings, credibility, or unique value.”
Sododo explained that a professional’s digital identity could include a LinkedIn profile, personal website, portfolio, published articles and records of achievements.
For businesses, she said, websites, Google Business Profiles, customer reviews and service descriptions could help prospective customers understand their operations.
She urged professionals to support their online profiles with evidence of their work, including completed projects, qualifications and publications.
On personal branding, the statement said: “A strong personal brand goes beyond a photograph or social media profile. It combines a clear professional story, relevant experience, demonstrated expertise, achievements, and a consistent online presence.”
Sododo said entrepreneurs also needed to pay attention to the information customers required to assess their services, alongside logos, colours and marketing materials.
She explained that customers should be able to establish what a business offered, where it operated, whom it served and how to contact it.
She said consistent messaging across relevant platforms could help customers understand a business and its services.
This was particularly relevant to small businesses and startups, she said, because a customer’s first contact with them could happen online before a telephone conversation or physical visit.
Sododo also urged businesses to consider their visibility in AI-powered search.
She said these systems could summarise information, compare options and reference sources, making clear service descriptions and credible supporting information useful to digital discovery.
However, she cautioned against promises of guaranteed recommendations or citations by AI platforms.
“AI visibility is not simply a matter of adding keywords or repeating a business name. It depends on useful information, a clear identity, and credible supporting sources. No strategy can guarantee that an AI system will recommend or cite a particular individual or business,” the statement read.
She advised professionals and business owners to create websites or portfolios that clearly explained their work and provided accurate contact details.
She also recommended publishing content that answered common customer questions, keeping business information consistent across platforms and using verifiable testimonials to support claims about services.
Sododo said Sodus Media’s work combined digital branding, website development, user experience research and digital storytelling to help individuals and organisations communicate their expertise.
She urged professionals and entrepreneurs to review their online presence regularly, correct outdated details and address gaps in the information available about their work.
“The goal is to make accurate information easier to find, understand, and verify,” the statement added.
