The art of presenting yourself positively and professionally on social media is called personal branding. Personal branding is simply marketing yourself and letting your personal online connections and communities get to know you and like you. When promoting your personal brand you need to remember the four basics: authenticity, consistency, activity, and “go get ’em…ity”.
What is important when creating your personal brand on social media?
Authenticity and just being yourself is the most basic and perhaps most important aspect of building a personal brand. Your personal brand is about YOU, so just be you. But remember to remain professional and positive across not only your social media profiles, but also the posts and what other content and links you like, share or re-tweet. Sometimes you can inadvertently share or like a piece of content that could be deemed inappropriate by a future recruiter or employer. If in doubt, lock down your social media account and make it limited to only friends or family.
How can I improve my personal branding on social media?
One simple way is to regularly add content or share relevant content related to your profession and interests around your profession. Share and like content that tells people you are interested in the latest news, trends and developments in your professional sphere.
Secondly, you could also create new content – for example start a professional blog or post to existing forums and communities. Creating content, adding thoughts and opinions that are insightful and interesting will help build your online brand and build your network and community. LinkedIn groups, for example, is a great way of doing this. Just be sure to contribute to groups that are well managed and not groups that are places where too much spam is posted.
How do I attract the right kinds of people with my personal brand?
Appeal to their interests, their likes and also what’s new. Yes, you can take the lead and post and share great content and news stories that you think other fellow professionals will enjoy reading. Try searching for Google+ groups, hash tags on Twitter, relevant Facebook fan pages or even keywords that fit your personal brand, then simply get involved. If you want to be “followed” by someone – try saying hello or share/tag their content to show you’re interested.
In summary, if you are looking to promote your personal brand you should actively seek new “connections” and keep your them interested and entertained through regular shares, updates and content. Ensure you keep you any content timely, relevant and of interest to your network or groups – in order to promote your brand effectively. Most importantly – be yourself and shine.
