Everyone has a personal brand. With today’s social networking tools, such as Twitter, conveying your brand and getting in touch with your audience is easier than ever before. Having a good personal brand is not all about how many followers you have, but more about the content you share and relationships you build.
Powering up the bird
These five tweeple know how to leverage Twitter to build and maintain their brand. Learn a little something from each of them:
1. Scott Gerber. Scott writes about topics of interest to young entrepreneurs – and regularly tweets related content. He interacts with followers and has a background image that matches his website design and displays his latest book.
2. Scott Stratten. Visit Scott’s Twitter page, and you can instantly see that he practices what he preaches: “Stop Marketing, Start Engaging.” Part of building a great personal brand is engaging with contacts and followers, as he does frequently on Twitter. Visit his website and you’ll see that his brand follows through on there as well, offering marketing tips on his blog.
3. Kevin Rose. Similar to other great personal brands on Twitter, Kevin tweets about his field (entrepreneurship and technology). He also includes personal tweets and thoughts, which is both interesting to followers and establishes him as a thought leader.
4. Chris Brogan. As a social media advisor, Chris realizes the importance of branding himself on Twitter. With a personalized background and several links in his bio, he is a great example of using Twitter to further your brand.
5. Scott Monty. As the head of social media at Ford Motor Company, Scott interacts with Ford’s audience and tweets about related social media content and Ford news. He also shares his thoughts in his blog.
With so many tweeple displaying excellent personal branding techniques, this list could go on to include several dozen more profiles.
Let’s instead analyze a few key takeaways from these profiles:
- Include your expertise and key links in your biography
- Keep your tweets consistent and professional—but don’t be afraid to share personal tweets once in a while
- Don’t just use Twitter for self-promotion, instead use it for interaction and building relationships
- Utilize customizable features (such as your background image) to display images consistent with your brand, such as products, services, or a headshot
