Last week, I was almost finished getting ready to go out with friends when I had a moment of pure horror. Not the kind from scary movies, the kind of horror that only occurs when you look in the mirror 10 minutes before a friend is supposed to pick you up and realize your hair is purple.
Earlier that day, I’d had a brilliant idea in the shower and dashed out (with purple conditioner in hair) to write it down before rinsing. That (apparently) was a BAD idea.
So, with a friend due to arrive at any moment, I sprinted back to the shower and desperately tried to undo the catastrophe on my head. I only made one stop on the way: to send out a quick tweet about it.
Why did I do that? Not because I document every second of my life on Twitter (I don’t). I did it because accidentally dying my hair purple is pretty darn ridiculous and I thought someone would probably get a kick out of it. (And they did!)
Be real – be you
So many people out there try to be so perfect online. They keep their online profiles clean of any potentially-incriminating details and go over everything 500 times before they hit publish. They airbrush their online persona and keep up the professional veneer at all times.I can understand that. With so much potentially at stake, you want your online presence to be as travel-brochure-perfect as possible. No dirty pools or cloudy skies, right?
Except no one actually is perfect. We all have bad hair days and failures. We all say the wrong thing at times, and create chaos. Everyone knows that perfection is a myth.
Now, I’m not telling you to go wild and hang your dirty laundry all over your website or Facebook profile. We don’t need to see the picture of you chugging beer at a college frat party without your clothes on. And it’s not a good idea to completely eliminate the censure from your writings. You still do have to have respect for your personal brand.
But you should admit you’re human online. Don’t be afraid to put up pictures of yourself out with friends or drenched in sweat after finishing your 1st (or 43rd) triathlon. Talk about your disappointments and celebrate your successes. And definitely laugh at yourself when you do something incredibly ridiculous – such as accidentally coloring your hair purple.
Sharing more is authentic
This won’t destroy your personal brand. In my experiences, sharing more of yourself will actually help it!
From all I post online, I get the best responses when I let people in. They laugh when I accidentally dye my hair, or get confused ordering pizza in a strange land and end up with hot peppers instead of pepperoni. They cheer with me when something great happens, and lend support when I’m having a hard time.
People like what I write… but they love my stories and the glimpses I give them into my life. It’s those personal touches that really draw them into my blog, and get to remember me. And from what I’ve seen with other bloggers who incorporate their lives into their professional blogging, it works for them too.
When you let people in, you don’t necessarily have to share the stupid things you do. Especially if you don’t invoke Murphy’s Law as much as I do. But do share what makes you human. Give your blog some elements of your personality, let people see some more casual photos and let them know that you’re human.
Do this because when people actually hire, they don’t work with your finely-airbrushed resume. They work with you.
So let them know what they can expect.
Author:
Katie Konrath writes about creativity, innovation and “ideas so fresh… they should be slapped!” at www.getFreshMinds.com.
