Who am I? Well, let me show you!

Branding is no longer about just developing your business but also about developing your personal brand. 

With the ever growing social media and internet, it is important to claim and your brand. There are now tons of resources available to help you build your person brand. NameChk.com will help you check to see if your name is available on all social media sites. When claiming your social space, it is best to use the same name across all social media sites. I for example always use “sarahmewer” as my social handle. I had already claimed my name on most spaces before I got married so after marriage I continued to use it. This makes it easier on me to log into social media sites and makes it easier to share my direct social media presence. I also bought my own domain URL. While I haven’t used it, I have it in case I need it. 

When establishing your own personal brand it is important to tell people who you are. This is your time to shine. This is your time to tell people who you are and what you do, or want to do. Some sites give you more information than others, for example Twitter only allows you to write a 140 character count bio whereas LinkedIn gives you unlimited space to write your bio. It is important to keep your information relevant and professional, but it is also ok to show some personality. These are a few key points to include when writing about yourself: 

    Who you are – are you a professional, student, job seeker, hobbyist

    What you’re involved with – talk about your profession, volunteer work, hobbies

    If you’re looking for something right now – are you job seeking, new volunteer group, clients

    How people can get in touch – professional email, other social media sites, phone number

When writing content for your brand, always make sure you are writing professional content that puts you in the brightest of light. Even if you are writing for personal sites, that you think are private, double think before posting it. Perfect example is the senator aid who blasted the Obama girls on her personal Facebook page. While she retracted the statement later, it had already gone viral and she was later removed from her position. While she said what some people were thinking, there are just certain topics that you must tiptoe around. Once you are more established in your career it is ok to open the thought process up a little more but if you professionally represent another brand or public figure you must be more cautious about what you say. When I recruited for Troy University, I had to be careful about the groups I associated with and where I represented TROY because it was such a blurred line between personal and professional. 

When publishing content, make sure that it is always relevant. You don’t want to write about science on a fashion blog or about a political issue on a music blog. Keep your content relevant to your audience. Knowing your target audience is always key. 

Also know which social media platform is appropriate for what content also. Twitter is great for connecting professionals together. It allows you to follow and gain information and tips from industry professionals. Twitter also helps keep things short and sweet and is also a great way to direct people to your blog or website. LinkedIn is great for building a network of contacts and finding industry professionals. LinkedIn is where other professionals go to talk business, congratulate each other on promotions and new positions, and to share industry news. Rarely will you find personal information on LinkedIn. Facebook is where you can share all of your personal information. If you are going to have a public Facebook, it is vastly important to ensure that you are not posting pictures of your heavily drinking, that you are not talking about your wild nights, and are keeping things under wraps. Facebook is for connecting with friends and family. Use Facebook cautiously when you are starting out as a young professional. Employers want to see responsible adults on Facebook not drunken college students. 

Be consistent with your brand. Use the same profile picture and same profile information when possible. Also use the same color scheme throughout your social media. As I found once I was married that there are multiple Sarah Butler’s in the world, including one indie actor. While this helps me personally hide from those who choose to Google me, it does not serve me well when I actually want people to find me. By keeping a consistent look and feel, it reinforces my brand and separates me from the other Sarah Butler’s of the world. 

Be consistent with your postings. If you know you are not disciplined enough to blog at least once a week, do not start and promote a blog. The last thing anyone wants to see is an outdated blog with irrelevant content, especially if they are looking for you to fill a job as a content writer or social media manager. If you are going to take a hiatus from maintaining your social media sites, please state that. Maybe it was for personal or professional reasons but it is ok to say you are stepping away. This takes the guess work out of your abandoned social media. I have seen several professional photographers step away from Facebook due to their limited timeline visibility. These photographers still have an active Facebook that drives their viewers to Instagram, which is more image focused with no restrictions on content within the newsfeed. These photographers have stated why they are moving away from Facebook and why Instagram has become their tool of choice. Now potential clients know that the photographer is in fact still in business and where to find their most recent work. 

By telling people who you are, keeping your brand consistent, and writing quality content you are sure to develop your own little space of real estate within the social media world. So get out there and start telling people who you are!