If you haven’t noticed, we are well into the digital age. If you ask someone the time, they will look at their smart phone instead of a watch. And speaking of phones, calling someone is secondary to texting or tweeting. If someone asks you to “Facebook me”, you will know exactly what they are talking about. Our iPods now talk to our cars, and our cars talk to satellites, and the satellites talk to just about everyone else.
At this point, it only makes sense that how we position ourselves to the world only becomes digital, too. And I’m not talking about just utilizing social media -- which is a crucial component -- but thinking about alternative avenues for the community to see exactly who you are. Now, I am by no means an expert on branding. In fact, this website is my attempt to help create my brand! However, I want to share some of the little “tid-bits” that I have picked up along the way that has helped me, and I’m sure that it will give you some guidance as well.
Do Your Research
In the previous paragraph I mentioned I was not an expert. Well, there are, in fact, plenty of experts in the world that will help you brand, or re-brand, yourself. And if you feel as if you want personal consultation, these professionals would be more than willing to sit and talk with you about different strategies. However, many of these same individuals have either written books, have websites, and even blog some of the same information that they make a good living charging people for. A very easy way to start your search is, you guessed it... Google! By typing in keywords such as “image branding” or “personal branding”, many options will come up that you can peruse through to find the information you need. Don’t be afraid to follow these people on Twitter, Facebook them, or even send emails - consultants feed off of answering questions for the inquiring public. As an example, two people whose work I follow very closely are Dan Schawbel and one my favorite people of all time, the University of Cincinnati’s own “Miss Manners” LisaMarie Luccioni. Check them out... I guarantee you will find something useful.
Take Social Networking Seriously.... Very Seriously
Anybody who is anybody today is utilizing social network. I mean, I am friends with my everyone from my mother to my pastor, to my wife’s 12-year-old nephew. These companies have, literally, revolutionized how we communicate and connect with each other. But here’s the rub - I cannot tell you how many times I have browsed through my Facebook friend’s pages and have seen the most obscene photos and status updates ever. Similarly, as I browse through my Twitter timeline, some of the things people say in public (and even if you have a privacy filter on your profile, it is still VERY PUBLIC) make me blush.
This is the honest-to-goodness truth: I was on a search committee for a position in non-profit administration, and it came down to two people. Both had similar backgrounds, experience and talents. But what set one candidate apart from the other was what we found on their Facebook pages. Please, please, please... be mindful that your page can be viewed quite easily, and do not take for granted that because you have a filter that what you say and post cannot get out. Make sure your profile picture and/or avatar represents who you really are. Make sure posts, status updates and tweets accurately portray the person you would want a potential employer to see. These are quick fixes that can make a big difference.
Stay Ahead of the “New Thing” Curve
Here is where I ran into a problem. I know Twitter has been in existence for a long time, but I just recently started using it within the past three months. And even if you do not want to always let your followers know what you are doing 24/7, take the opportunity to follow people and organizations that give you breaking news, new trends in business, stock tips - you name it! One such “new thing” is creating your own homepage or dashboard. The two leading companies are about.me and flavors.me. These platforms will allow you to have a simple, easily-edited homepage where you can post your profile and create widgets to your other modes of social media. Go ahead... give it a try!
Make Sure People Know About It
Now that you are on a roll and creating your own homepage, Twitter account, revamping your Facebook page, and even developing your own website - make sure people know about it! These are all means of contact directly to you, so that people will have more than one way to read your editorials, view your portfolio, or see video blogs. Once you have active links, be sure to tweet about it, post it to your Facebook page, blog about this new great thing you have discovered, and maybe add a few links to your email signature. If you have worked this hard to get these platforms up an running, do not skimp on putting in the time to make if readily available to the public.
Keep the Information Current
There might be nothing worse in the world to finally find the information you are looking for, only to see that it is out-of-date. Whether it is a phone number that is no longer in service, or that someone has changed their email address, or that a company has gone out of business. The important thing to remember is that YOU cannot be out-of-date. Make sure your contact information is, in fact, the best way to get in touch with you. Take time to give an accurate description of your current job. Make sure your profile picture or avatar is the you from “right now” as opposed to the college you. In our microwave society (meaning people want things right now, as opposed to waiting like using an oven), you do not want have people searching for the most accurate information about you - because I guarantee, at some point, they will end their search an move on to another.
No comments:
Post a Comment