The fast climb of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and now Google+ has successfully made the case for social media not only for business, but also your personal brand. It would be negligent not to include a social strategy in one's personal and business start-up plan.
In a recent interview, I was asked a few questions about personal branding and how it relates to these social networks.
What social media are you currently active on?
The key here is to join the networks that you will most easily and be comfortable updating and being consistent in sharing relevant content on. Additionally, it is critical that whichever networks you choose, whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter, Google+ or even your business or personal website that you make sure there is synergy between them.
Case in point, when I check in on Foursquare from MPI next month in Orlando from my smart phone, it will be linked to not only my LinkedIn profile, but also to a widget on my website. This frees me for the stress of maintaining all of these areas of my network.
What is a personal brand - why is it important?
Your personal brand in my opinion is the new resume, it is who you are, what you believe in and who you are connected to. Just like Nike and Coke are focused on their image, we as business professionals must be very aware of how we appear online and on these social networks.
Do you have separate work/personal accounts?
Do you have a business website? Do you have a personal website or blog? Depending on where you are in your business, it may make sense to link your personal twitter or social profiles with your business.
I have done this with my business www.yourbrandvoice.com, but recently have considered removing the twitter link of my personal and replacing it with a new handle @BrandVoiceInc on twitter. There are obvious benefits from doing this (removing personal information from my business, which makes my business appear small, but there are also setbacks from doing this - it becomes more to manage.)
How do you manage your time on the different accounts?
Today in business, it is all about the internet and these social networks. The thing that I have found is the more you give the more you get. Whether it be fans, followers or website visitors. Most people when they commit to this business strategy of growing your digital footprint often fail to understand that it is not how much content you share, but how much relevant and interesting content you share. Case in point- in the early days of Twitter, people were so desperate to gain followers that they were getting just about anybody to follow their feeds. As you learn more about Twitter and how it can be a real tool for learning and sharing you realize quickly, that you would prefer a smaller more relevant network following you. The same goes with content you distribute.
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