Can Social Media Affect Your Credit History? | Social Media Today

Whether you run a small business or have been hunting for a job or loan recently, you may come to find out that your credit past is still following you around.

As many individuals discover over time, their credit history impacts their lives more than they may have ever realized. With a negative credit background, it can be hard to get a small business loan to open or keep a company running, along with getting the job you so desired.

In order to break away from a less-than-stellar credit past, keep in mind that social media can play both a positive and negative role going forward.

On the negative side:

* Keep the noise down - As more and more job applicants are discovering these days, many employers are turning to social media in order to get a better feel for the candidates applying for jobs with them. In the event you have a negative credit history, don?t go promoting on Twitter, Facebook or other social venues that you are spending money like it is going out of style. While it may seem innocent to you, some prospective employer may take those comments as an example of reckless behavior, not to mention bad decision making;

* The ship is going down - If you run a small business, don?t use social media to alert the world that you?re borrowing and borrowing has not paid off. If you should want a loan from a financial institution, they could come across such information by doing a search of your name online. When they see that you?ve had problems with money, they?re less inclined to offer you that loan that may determine whether your company sinks or swims. You may just be looking for a small infusion of money to revamp how you do business in the first place, meaning you will now accept credit cards online in order to open an Internet store, expand your business to larger digs in order to comfortably add more employees, or branch out in advertising your business beyond the local area. As in the other example, keep a lid on bad financial times. If word does get out and you are confronted over it, be honest about making some bad business moves, noting you have learned from such mistakes.

On the positive side:

* Seeking help - While some financial institutions will in fact turn you down for a small business loan with a checkered credit history, there are some companies that will assist you. By doing a simple Google search with a term like ?get small business loan with bad credit,? you can find countless providers looking to help you out. It is important to remember that some such companies will be looking out for themselves only, so make sure you read the fine print of what they may be offering you. Also keep in mind that you will pay more money for such a loan due to your background. Visit the company?s social media sites that you?re interested in to get a feel for how they deal with consumers, especially in answering their questions and solving their problems in a timely manner;

* Know who you hire - Finally, the shoe may be on the other foot if you are the business owner hiring individuals to come work with you. You can use social media to get a feel for how they have handled money over time, especially if they will be working in a financial capacity for you. If you discover through tweets, shares, or pins that someone has a problem handling money, paying their bills on time, etc. you may pass on them for the next candidate.

With all that social media can afford you, make sure you use it wisely, especially when you have a skeleton or two in your financial past.

Source: http://socialmediatoday.com/thomasd/1198781/social-media-and-your-credit-history

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