Personal Branding: A Social Media Makeover
Your online reputation is your reputation. Taking these steps will give you control of your social media brand. Companies want personal brands that run parallel to their own, not brands that compete with their social media reputation.
What does Google know?
1-After you complete the searches below, write down what have you discovered (generally) and what are you going to do about it.
The first thing a prospective employer may do is Google you. So let’s find out who Google thinks you are.
Open an incognito browser window (so that your Google search is free from any personal customizations or saved search elements) and search for:
Your name, first and last (or the name of your business)
Variations of your name
·Your full name, nickname, middle name, etc.
Any misspellings of your name
· If your name is common, add other elements that might help define you like your occupation, your employer, your school, etc.
Are there inappropriate photos, rants, politically divisive or offensive items that do not fit with the brand you want to offer to the public and particularly to potential employers, clients or customers? This includes negative opinions about a company you’re about to interview with.
Tools to help you clean up your act: SimpleWash, Reppler
Your niche
2- List one to three areas of expertise you could claim. If you cannot think of three, include an area in which you are on your way to being an expert.
Set yourself apart
What sets you apart from others? Here are some ways to get to an answer:
· What is the “one thing” that everyone says you rock at?
· What are your passions and interests?
· What do you read about most often online?
· Will you still be interested in this particular area six months or a year from now?
3- Write a paragraph on what sets you apart.
Your Headline
4- Write a headline that can be used in places like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Keep it to 160 characters so it will fit into your Twitter bio. For examples of what not to do (because some descriptions have been overused), check out the canned (and funny) TwitterBioGenerator.
Think of it as a headline that would go on an ad for “Brand You.” But remember: People want to connect with people, not a brand.
It might be catchy and unique. Some examples:
Consider loading it with keywords. Example:
Innovative CMO, Extensive retail experience from start-ups to major global brands. Fluent English, French, Mandarin
It might be a power statement that defines your personal brand. Example:
Helping Companies Find Breakout Ideas and Transforming
Them Into Global Technology Brands
5- Write a paragraph bio (or several paragraphs) to go with your headline. This might be your Linkedin About Me blurb or you might want to start over.
The best profiles tell a story, a career story or a personal story. Something that ties all the pieces of your journey together in a narrative.
If you are focused on job hunting, take a look at job descriptions of the positions you’re after. Look for keywords and treat them like your resume.
Aim at somewhere between 450 and 650 characters.
Walk the reader through your work passions, key skills, uniqueness. Include the skills you want to be known for.
Consider including:
One professional description (your bio should be accurate)
One word that is not boring (your bio should be exciting)
One niche descriptor (your bio should be targeted)
One accomplishment (your bio should be flattering)
One hobby (your bio should be humanizing)
One interesting fact or feature about yourself (your bio should be intriguing)
Your company or another social profile (your bio should be connected)
Avoid:
Insider jargon
Clichés
Overused buzzwords (such as creative, driven, innovative, hardworking etc.)
General statements (Be specific. When possible, include numbers and case studies that prove success)
Write as if you are having a conversation with someone. Inject your personality.
6 - What multimedia elements could you use to make your bio more robust?
Slides, videos, infographics, photos--photos you have taken or photos of you doing things?
If you’re in a creative field, there’s no better way to flaunt your personality, design aesthetic, and vision than through a personal social media profile.
Ask yourself this: Based on what I post, do I look like I’d be awesome to work with?
Claim your name
7 - Have you reserved your name or some variation of your name on all relevant (to your career) social channels?
Use Knowem for a quick check (if you like)
Are there any accounts you are not using that need closing?
Aim at using a consistent name across your networks.
8 - How do you plan to monitor mentions of your name?
Options include Google alerts, TalkWalker alert, Mention
More options at Goforth Tech Tools
Privacy settings
Do you want the public to see your Facebook posts? Just your friends?
Some people prefer to keep most of their profiles/posts restricted to friends and family. However, employers and customers will search for you on there to learn more about you, so you should have some information to show that you’re a normal, real person. Therefore, you might want to keep your main photo public--along with your employment and educational info.
9 - Write a paragraph explaining your privacy-setting decisions.
Photo Strategy
Are you using the same profile photo across all channels?
Do you have a headshot reflecting the image you are aiming to suggest—professional or social?
Some professionals suggest using a photo that shows yourself in action—that is, doing the sort of thing you want your readers to associate with you.
The profile picture of any social media profile is the most visible image across the platform. It shows up in followers’ feeds, in platform search results, in comments made – the list goes on. The profile picture is your brand’s primary visual identity on any platform and as such should be designed with care. Your picture lives in many different places on any given platform so it should work well standing alone and should be simple enough to adjust to any size without compromising the design.
One way to get feedback on how you are being perceived in your profile photos is to use a site like PhotoFeeler to. Add a photo in one of three categories – Business, Social or Dating. Vote on photos of other people to get credits or purchase credits with real money. Each credit allows one person to vote on your photo.
10 - Write a couple of sentences explaining your personal photo strategy.
Design Thinking
Think about how you want your portfolio website to look. What design elements
do you think would look good? Color, style, etc.
11- Write a paragraph about your plans for your design.
Your font
Try to keep your number of fonts you use to no more than two when designing a website, newsletter, etc.
A Bloomberg Business study found these fonts worked best in a resume:
12 - Which font (or two) has your name written on it?
(not just the ones above but perhaps one or two you find yourself going back to often)
13 - Will you manage separate profiles for work and personal accounts and why?
Ways to manage your posts
What is the one place you will set up and schedule everything? You could go to each one separately but this will get old quickly and odds are good you won’t keep it up. That’s why several well-designed tools have been created to make it easier to keep your social media flowing regularly. Possibilities include:
See details about the pros and cons of each—and more options at Goforth Tech Tools.
14- List your most valued social profiles that fit your branding plans.
Frequency
One of the most significant factors for growth is posting consistently.
Research into the ideal frequency of posting to social media suggests:
· Facebook – 2 times per day
· Twitter – 5 times per day
· LinkedIn – 1 time per day
· Pinterest – 5 times per day
· Instagram – 1.5 times per day
A three months study of Facebook content from major brands by Social Bakers found that top brands average one post per day:
Another Social Bakers study found three tweets per day is the point where brands start seeing the most engagement--but engagement decreased after the third tweet.
Moz’s Peter Bray ran the numbers and found the 18-minute mark to be the time it takes for half of a tweet’s retweets to occur. In other words, once a tweet has been live for 18 minutes, it has reached the peak of its engagement. Other studies suggest the life of a tweet may be longer, but the bottom line is this: The first couple hours are the most important time for your tweet. There is a point of diminishing returns.
When is your network active? It may be in off hours—early in the morning, late at night, or weekends. Tools like FollowerWonk can show you when your followers are online so you can plan accordingly.
If you decide to set up your own posting schedule, don’t forget to consider time zone differences. And that 4 out of 5 people lives in the Eastern or Central time zone.
Always be testing and experimenting because your tribe will have its own unique idiosyncrasies.
15- When you leave school behind and are career focused, how often you plan to post to each social media network you listed in the previous question?
Your Audience
You need to be very intentional about creating a brand that resonates with your audience, otherwise, other people will create it for you.
Who are your readers and what are their needs?
How can you help? What will they get from investing their time in your content?
Create a succinct and simple answer. Be prepared to revise it from time to time.
16 - Write a paragraph that defines your audience.
Your Brand Reputation
Get a sense of your brand reputation by crowdsourcing the key attributes that people associate with your brand. What do they see as your brand value? What do they get out of being associated with it? Is there a gap between how you see your personal brand (or your company sees its brand) and how associates (consumers) see it—or are you on the same page? What are you known to stand for?
It's worth taking some time to think about who you are and what you stand for. Have a think about the 'one thing' that sets you apart from your competitors.
The personal brand you adopt forms the essence of your communication and the voice of your strategy across every platform. For example, Disney = magic, Apple = innovation and Richard Branson = entrepreneurship. Perhaps it is inspiration, and it forms the core of your business.
17 - Profile your brand reputation in a memo.
Posting Strategy
18 - Google “Social Media Planning Calendar.” What do you find?
Buffer founder Joel Gascoigne suggests a 4:1 sharing system where you select a main type of update (image, link, quote, re-share, status update) and then for every four staple updates, you share a different type of post for variety. So that, over a week or a month you have a ratio of four to one.
Your strategy could be based on education vs entertainment. The 411 Rule refers to the goal of making 4 educational/entertainment posts for every promotional post. This could be 4 pieces of relevant, original content from others to every one retweet or self-serving update.
This could be based on where the content originates.
The 5-3-2 Rule suggests making five with content from others, three with content from you, and two personal status updates.
The Rule of Thirds recommends making one-third of your updates about you and your content, one-third about sharing content from others, and one-third based on personal interactions that build your brand.
19- Define your posting strategy.
Link Shortener
Bit.ly or another link shortener will let you track clicks and give you more space on platforms like Twitter. You can even customize your link to something that relates to your blog topic or some other aspect of your branding.
20- Create a shortened link to one of your social media accounts and paste it here.
A final Suggestion:
Create a personal website that serves as a central hub where you can collect and display your various web presences.
This allows a hiring manager to find all your profiles you want them to see.
Tools to help: Word Press, Square Space, Wix, Weebly.
More options here: Goforth Tech Tools: Publishing Platforms
