Personal branding is more important now than ever before. The economic downturn is not favorable to shrinking violets…you need to be front and center.
Twitter is everywhere
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter – these seem to be the favorite tools of job-seekers and personal branders. And this week, because of geo-political reasons in Iran, Twitter has taken center stage. In fact, the newcasters mentioned they were following Twitter to get their news. This indicates that Twitter is becoming more mainstream.
It’s everywhere – on every newscast, in USA Today, etc. What does this mean to you and your personal branding?
New focus
One thing for sure is that for anyone who hadn’t heard about Twitter before, has heard of Twitter now. Twitter is suddenly everywhere-and it’s not the silly comments made on late night TV. People are realizing that Twitter has the power to spread a message faster and farther and more immediate than anything we’ve ever seen. Clearly, the uses for disaster recovery and organizing are evident.
For those working on their personal branding, take advantage of this time and get your presence on Twitter ramped up. Everyone is paying attention to the platform and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to put yourself forward right now. The attention may be on world news today, but it will eventually shift back to business, interests, etc.
Remember:
- Make sure your bio reflects who you are and your picture is YOU. Social media is all about “find and be found”.
- Use the Twitter search feature to the right conversations to join and add value.
- Be an subject matter expert.
- Give to get. Offer to help, contribute, participate.
- Follow back, but DON’T send an auto-follow message, they are annoying.
Twitter has taken center stage, and you are who you associate with. If you’re already out there, refresh your Twitter branding strategy. If you’re a newbie, now is the perfect time to start Tweeting!
Author:
Beverly Macy is the Managing Partner of Y&M Partners and teaches a social media class at the UCLA Extension. She also co-hosts Gravity Summit events and provides personal branding coaching.
