Just as young children are taught when to use their inside
voices vs. their outside voices, adults need to learn to make the same
application while using social media. When
building a personal brand, it is imperative for people to learn what is and
what isn’t appropriate to say on social media – given the personal brand they are
trying to develop. What you might say
privately when only your closest friends and family are listening most likely
is not appropriate to be broadcast via the World Wide Web.
There are the obvious examples and the inevitable mistakes
that occurred when social media was new and its reach was still unknown. As Maya Angelou said, “When you know better,
you do better” (Winfrey, n.d.). At this
point, regardless of your profession (except for perhaps a slight few), if you
are a posting photos of yourself partying or in compromising positions on your Facebook
page then, well, you haven’t been listening or using common sense. It will catch up with you. That is a guarantee.
In Mark W. Schaefer’s {grow} podcast Episode 36 he defines
personal branding: “It’s an action. It’s an activity. Everything we do and everything we don’t do
in real life or on the social web.
Everything we say and everything we don’t say contributes to how people
create an image of us in their minds. It
kind of forms what we are about. What
our promise is.” Even if you are not
seeking to build a personal brand for professional reasons, we all have
one. If your personal brand extends only
to a social level, it still exists. It
is important to consider What you are known for and what you want to be known
for. A partyer? Quiet? Gossipy? Supportive?
Helpful? Considerate? Challenging?
Happy-go-lucky? Angry? Edgy?
Critical? Though we may have some inkling as to what our personal brand
may be, it is really the feedback from others that will give us the truest
insight. Be open to asking for
feedback. Look back at the posts you’ve
made and try to get a feel for what other people would ascertain from those
posts.
Take a look at this very brief but highly insightful video
by William Arruda “How NOT to Build Your Personal Brand:
In the video Arruda highlights the ten things NOT to do when
building your personal brand:
1.
Don’t be fake, be genuine. Personal branding is based in authenticity.
2.
Don’t be wishy-washy. Take a stand.
3.
Don’t act before thinking. Have a plan.
4.
Don’t go for quantity over quality.
5.
Avoid the quest for fame. It’s not about
everyone knowing you, focus on your target market.
6.
Don’t run out of steam. Have a slow, steady, and methodical approach to
building your brand.
7.
Don’t forget real-world relationships.
8.
Don’t go it alone. Have the best people behind you to produce a
high quality brand.
9.
Don’t make it all about you. It’s about giving value.
10.
Don’t forget to measure. Is it help you reach your goals?
Professionally speaking, whether your personal brand is for
your own company or that as a representative of the company you work for, it is
important to keep in mind that the perception of others is what will propel you
forward. What are the components of your
personal brand? Smart? Funny?
Serious? Inconsistent? Sarcastic? Insightful?
Difficult to deal with? Easy to
work with? Pleasant? Creative?
Punctual? Always late? Adds value?
A team player? Hard-working? In the end, as
much as we are taught not to worry about what other people think, personal branding
is exactly about crafting what other people think.
References
Arruda, W. (2010, January 24). How NOT to Build Your
Personal Brand. Retrieved March 4, 2015, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxMujquijD0
Schaefer, M. (2014, November 4). Connecting personal
branding, your online network, and business value. Retrieved March 4, 2015,
from http://www.businessesgrow.com/2014/11/04/personal-branding/
Winfrey, O. (n.d.). The Powerful Lesson Maya Angelou Taught
Oprah. Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/The-Powerful-Lesson-Maya-Angelou-Taught-Oprah-Video
Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteUdemy explains that “personal branding is the process by which we market ourselves to others. As a brand, we can leverage the same strategies that make celebrities or corporate brands appeal to others. We can build brand equity just like them. Just like businesses need to find their niche market so do you.”
Our culture today is a very competitive place, especially in terms of education and employment. And in a world where social status online has become more involved we are always looking for ways to stand out from others. With an overload of ability to access information on people we need to be sure that the personal information and image we are presenting is at the highest possible standards. Especially since we use so many Medias to broadcast this image, we need to maintain consistency across of these channels if we want to develop that personal brand that will be beneficial to us in work or social life.
You referenced common sense when using social media, and I agree that we all need to assign more of this to our approach in posting and sharing. However, I think this is easier said than done, and the common sense measurement is a spectrum among online users. But if we can at least be conscious of how open to interpretation words and images are, then we will hopefully stay within the professional and personal boundaries of the personal brand we are trying to achieve.
Kelly Apfel
References
Udemy, Learning to fly, confident steps to personal branding.
https://www.udemy.com/learning-to-fly-confident-steps-to-personal-branding/
Great comments, Kelly. While I do agree with you, that common sense is in the eye of the beholder, I personally feel that some politicians, public figures, and friends of mine don't consider common sense when engaging online (I'm sure that I have had my moments). Do you have any suggestions for social media users to consider, before they tarnish their personal brand?
DeleteMy suggestion is no matter how private you think your account is, if its online then it isnt 100% private, or erasable. Always assume that someone will see it, and especially the people you may not want to. Post like your Mother and Boss are watching.
DeleteAgreed, Kelly and Catherine,
DeleteThis is something I've mentioned many times - if you wouldn't say it to your mom or grandma then don't put it in writing. It could be your future boss who has access to what you've said. I am continually amazed at how people conduct themselves online. I don't get the over-sharing, but that is just me...
Kim
In a 2013, article in the New York Times Christine Brown the executive director of K‐12 and college prep program at Kaplan Test Prep stated, “Students’ social media and digital footprint can sometimes play a role in the admissions process (Singer, 2013)" With the increasing popularity of social networking sites, there are always stories in the news about the repercussions of recklessly posting information but students and adults continue to do it.
DeleteI know in my line of work that all it takes is being tagged as part of a group in a photo with someone dancing on a bar to lose my client's respect or a contract.
While I was working on a program to engage teenagers in community service in the Gulf, a scandal swept the private schools. It started with what the kids called "red cup photos" at an after‐prom party. Pictures of expat students from the American School with alcohol were posted on Facebook. The drinking laws in country are extremely strict for non‐Muslim adults and the penalty for underage drinking is severe. When the principal saw the photos on his son's Facebook page, he had parents of the girls who organized the party fly them out of the country. They left immediately and missed their graduation. If they had stayed, the would be subject to a jail term under local law.
Singer, N., ( November 9, 2013) They loved your G.P.A. then they saw your tweets. New York Times. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/business/they‐loved‐your‐gpa‐then‐they‐saw‐your‐tweets.html?_r=1&
I really enjoyed your post, Kim. As you mentioned, I think it is very important to ask others what they perceive your brand to be. We all have a certain view of ourselves, but the real question is, how do others view you? Also, how can we enhance and/or adjust this view to conform with our personal feelings?
ReplyDeleteOften, I consider how others perceive me, based on my actions and/or social sites. I'm always surprised to hear friends, coworkers, or family's opinion of me. I wonder, how much control do I have over my persona brand? Recently, my colleague asked me, "what's one thing that your friends think about you, that you don't believe is true?" I chuckled and thought about how my brand is perceived online and what friends say about me. My answer: that I have it all together.
Based on my consistent, yet, some might say, aloof presence online, my friends believe that I am too occupied with school and work to engage with them online. The real answer, I'm lazy and prefer to not post personal opinions (or photographs) that could get me in trouble. Although, having this distant online presence could potentially hurt my personal brand as well.
As I know from previous discussions, we both tend to shy away from social media. How do you think we can do this, while still maintaining our personal brand? Any tips?
Great post!
Do you remember when this tool launched awhile ago?
Deletehttp://labs.five.com/
If you put in your Facebook page it tells you "about you", well about you according to your posts.
When it first launched I ran it and was shocked of how I appeared. It caused me to really revisit my privacy settings and think before posting.
I am happy to say that now I am only 68% neurotic (it was 85% last time).
Catherine,
ReplyDeleteThis may sound redundant - but I do believe aloof is the way to go! I think the way we both have conducted ourselves online is appropriate for our personal and professional desires. There may a time further down the road when sharing more information may be required, but even then it will be down with forethought for the ramifications. I think there are entire generations being raised to not fully understand what "forever online" actually means.
Thanks for your insightful comments!
Kim
Agreed. I sometimes wonder about younger generations (including my cousins), do they understand that deleting a post/comment/picture/etc. does not mean it is gone? There have been numerous examples of this in recent history, including SnapChat. Perhaps, as a society, we're at a tipping point, where individuals can choose to have "the right to be forgotten" online.
DeleteThere is a great upcoming debate in NYC surrounding this topic: http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/upcoming-debates/item/1252-the-u-s-should-adopt-the-right-to-be-forgotten-online
Great post Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteThe video you selected was very interesting specifically because it underscored many of the rules Kerpen supplied for social media brand building on a corporate —specifically, authenticity. We spent quite a bit of time discussing the need big brands to be open and honest in their social media usage.
When thinking of this aspect on a personal branding level, do you think that means not jumping on a hashtisvm bandwagon to attempt to increase your Klout score? I am thinking about last year's #icantbreathe "Nearly 300,000 Instagram and Twitter posts have featured #ICantBreathe within 24 hours, and so far there have been more than a million tweets about the Eric Garner case (BBC, 2014)." There were numerous celebrity accounts using the hashtag. While some were genuinely engaged in the conversation others seemed to just add it for the sake of adding it. Is this following the suggestions or by the viral nature of hashtivism is this actually helping since it is spreading the concept?
BBC. (2014). Eric Garner: Why #ICantBreathe is trending. BBC Newsbeat. Retrieved 8 March 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30326891
Forgot to add this http://www.verizonwireless.com/mobile-living/tech-smarts/10-things-you-should-never-post-on-facebook/
ReplyDeleteTips from the telcom giant on how NOT to use Facebook.