The first two posts in this series explored how you can begin creating your personal brand through having a few great brainstorm sessions, organizing your thoughts by creating a web, and then showed you how to create your own self-hosted blog with some great how-to videos.
This week’s post will explore how you can begin integrating your blog into your social networks, so you can begin to create some awareness for your personal brand and drive some traffic to your blog.
What social networks are the best to get started?
The key is to pick a few social networking sites and start to get comfortable with them. Most people usually find their comfort zone with Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter. While there is no rule stating that you should use a specific social network, the three mentioned above are so prevalent you will miss out on potential opportunities if you don’t use them. They’re great ways to help promote your personal brand!
Here are some social media quick tips for Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter.
Use Linkedin to promote your personal brand
Linkedin is great for connecting with colleagues and if you’re in sales or business development, for finding potential customers. No matter what your niche is, you can find people to connect with on Linkedin to promote your personal brand.
Linkedin Applications: enables you to add some sizzle to your Linkedin profile. You can choose from a few different applications that allow you to share your work and collaborate with your connections. My favorite is the WordPress application that enables you to sync your WordPress blog with your Linkedin profile, helping you to spread your content through your Linkedin connections and the web.
Use Facebook to promote your personal brand
Facebook has reached what best-selling author, Malcolm Gladwell, has termed “the tipping point”, with over 175 million active users. Here’s an interesting fact, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is not the college crowd, it’s the 26+ crowd. Everyone is getting on Facebook and its become a part of our culture. It’s a way millions of people connect, share and form communities online.
Facebook Status: enables you to share whatever you want with your friends on Facebook. You can share what you’ve been up to, links to content, photos, videos, etc. Your Facebook status now streams live, just like Twitter, and can be a great way to promote your personal brand as you connect with more like minded people. Start updating your status regularly with links to great content of others and your own.
Use Twitter to promote your personal brand
Twitter is probably the fastest growing social media network. It has over 6 million users, and you’ve probably been hearing about it everywhere. Twitter has gone mainstream and just like Facebook, it’s quickly becoming a part of our culture and an awesome way to promote your personal brand.
Twitter Search: enables you to easily search through the millions of tweets that pass through Twitter to find the information you want. You can search for keywords, people, and even subscribe to these keywords through your RSS reader. By using Twitter search you can connect with like-minded people and promote your personal brand at the same time.
With these simple tips and some persistence you will begin to see your personal brand gain traction and spread through web. By no means is this a comprehensive list for spreading your personal brand, but for those looking to get started, it’s a great place to take the first step to getting your personal brand out there using social media.
