Why Should You Care About Online Personal Branding?
While the level of your celebrity status online will probably not earn you as much compared to a typical Hollywood superstar, it can help you enjoy perks that millions can only dream of. If you have thousands of followers on Twitter, for instance, it’s only a matter of time before companies start offering free products, trips, VIP passes, and exclusive discounts.
But aside from those tangible gains, building a personal brand online can help with employment. According to an infographic released by Staff.com in 2013, 92% of companies use social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook for recruitment. Meaning, a company you’re considering employment with can go over your Facebook timeline to answer their questions related to your personality, past companies, and background.
Personal branding also helps promote your professional skills and attract opportunities. It helps market your business, provide a channel of communication between you and your target market, and give you fast access to consumer feedback.
Which Platform or Site Should You Use?
There are more than a hundred active social networking sites today. The good news is you don’t have to use ALL of these sites. In fact, this isn’t advisable. Doing this is not only ineffective, but it’s also time consuming and impractical.
Instead, pick a site that suits your needs. If you’re confused which one to pick, here’s a guideline.
- LinkedIn is a business-oriented social networking site. It’s ideal for business owners seeking to expand their network and get in touch with potential partners, and professionals who are seeking advancement in their career.
- Twitter is a place where you connect with like-minded people. It is ideal for individuals who love interacting with others using 140 characters or less.
- Because Pinterest relies on the power of images, this site is ideal for photographers, online marketers, fashion bloggers, and business owners offering products instead of services.
- Youtube is a great place to showcase your talents. It should be noted that some celebrities were once Youtube singing sensations (e.g., Justin Bieber and Charice).
- Facebook is Twitter, Pinterest, and Youtube combined. It’s a place where you share random videos, share links to your work, and post your images. It’s ideal for everyone who doesn’t mind sharing their personal life.
When done right, online personal branding can open opportunities for you. Here are some powerful tips to get started.
1. Stay true to your brand.
To successfully create a personal brand using social media, your first step is to decide what type of image or brand you want to be. How do you see yourself 5 or 10 years from now? How do you want others to see you? Having solid answers to these questions allows you to focus and work on that particular image you have in mind. It discourages you from sharing irrelevant and unimportant information, and it keeps your content tightly focused.
But just because you have a brand to protect doesn’t mean you can’t showcase your personality. When appropriate, share something about your hobbies and personal life. This creates a positive impact on you as a person, which is something that your audience will definitely appreciate.
2. Always publish content with your audience in mind.
One of the biggest mistakes of newbies is to post content that is either random or that their audience doesn’t find useful, entertaining, or informative.
To prevent this mistake, be selective of your posts. Don’t share or create anything that only a select few will find interesting.
3. Post regularly, but don’t overdo it.
On Pinterest, the life span of a pin is only a week. It’s therefore imperative to post regularly. Keep a schedule, and stick to it.
Remember, it’s best to share one or two posts at regular intervals instead of sharing a lot every once in a while. In addition, posting a lot not only annoys your followers. Your audience won’t have the chance to digest your content.
4. Interact with the community. Be active.
On Twitter, for instance, don’t just tweet links to a webpage. Also, never ever use a service that automatically tweets for you. Instead, add a personal touch and insightful comment. Encourage other people to share their ideas to keep the conversation going. Learn how to properly use hashtags. These increase your chances of being found.
5. Partner with others
If you want to expand your brand, forge strong partnerships with others who have the same cause, interest, and profession as you. Take advantage of a technique called guest posting in which you write and publish your content in high-traffic websites. In exchange for your content, the website owner links your content to your social media accounts.
