Personal Branding and Social Media

Imagine walking around with a little swing tag on your hip that describes who you are.

Is it plain white on expensive linen cardboard with a single classy statement? Is it something a little rough at the edges and colourful, or is it cheap and nasty and something that is just not quite “right”.

I came to realise how I portray myself on social media is my private little swing tag after a particularly brilliant workshop where the light going on above my head was not only very bright, but also very loud! My personal brand was in need of a revamp - that’s not to say I was a cheap and nasty swing tag, but I knew that there were some “finishing touches” to be done.

My social media networks are all public illuminated billboards of who I am so I want to make sure I am showing myself in the best way possible.

My first task was to write down how I wanted to be perceived and how I thought people saw me, then match up reality with fact.

I asked someone in my workshop to write a review on me from a ‘strangers” point of view and I asked him to be brutally honest. I needed to know for my own good what kind of a message I was sending out of myself. The purpose of this exercise was to gauge what a potential employer might see in me as well.

A few days later he came back with a comprehensive assessment from a corporate executive position. Some of it was hard to read but bravely I did, and I am thankful for it.

He noted that my LinkedIn and Facebook were very different, and we both agreed this was a good thing. Facebook to me is my “downtime” while LinkedIn is a professional profile about my history, experiences and skills with the purpose of landing me my next full time career.

From Facebook he said:

“Lisa, you drink a lot of coffee, go to a lot of cocktail bars, and seem to love socialising. I don’t think you have time for work!”

I changed my "check in" regularity. 

Despite my profile set to “extremely private”, who’s to know if there is a technically clever hiring manager on the other side checking out my social life. He also noted that I have a strong family focus and a love of travel and also regarded my comments and statements as positive and upbeat. He acknowledged that I am one of the few who do not post offensive language, I don’t “Facebook” when drunk, and I never make political, religious, racial or gender remarks. Agreed.

From a review of my LinkedIn profile he said:

“Great profile, you have everything listed except your personality. You may like to add a little bit about your interests so a hiring manager knows you’re not a robot”

I agreed, my LinkedIn profile was very serious so I changed the profile photo to make me look less severe and added some more “about me” info to ensure I came across as human!

On both Facebook and LinkedIn I have very private settings and I like to think I have control about who sees me and who doesn’t. A favourite past time is looking at my LinkedIn stats to see who has been “checking out” my profile and interestingly enough, there are quite a few ex-colleagues who still find me interesting enough to look up weekly.

Twitter is another social tool I use to connect with people, but here I have absolutely no control of my audience. They could be anyone, from friends and family to potential employers and maybe even a few lunatics. I am a conservative tweeter and still have not really found my comfort levels with it.

My blogs (of which I have a few) are written from the heart; honest accounts of my experiences in life. Like most things when thrown out into the www space, I have very little control of who is reading my thoughts and I choose to post them regardless. I remain honest, but cautious.  

In all forums I am extremely aware of the statements I make, and regard each post as permanent. These comments are indelible; they will never wash off, once posted those comments live forever.

My swing tag may not be pristine white linen - but at least it is unique and eye catching!