THE BLOG

You, my dear, are a brand.

And that is your personal brand! Personal branding is a way to optimize who you are and how you are presented to others online. The secret? I can’t say it better then brand strategist and author of “Shut Up and Tweet” Phil Pallen does; Keeping the online experience as close to the real world experience as possible. This is where your social media presence comes in!

Personal branding is the process of optimizing the way you are presented to others – and social media is key. Before we dive in, Google your name. Open an incognito browser and search for this:
1. Your name – first and last
2. Variations of your name
3. Your full name and any other names you go by
4. Spell your name wrong and search for that too

When I searched for my name, the first result that came up was my website! Quickly followed by my social networks – Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. This goes to show social media and content creation is the skeleton of your personal branding strategy.

Social media is a great way to build and establish your personal brand. When you think of marketing, you probably think of the business side of social media marketing. But imagine achieving social media success when the brand you’re focused on is your own! Personal branding on social media is a topic I’m super passionate about.

Steps to building your personal brand on social media:

1. Decide what your objective is

Just like when you’re marketing for a business, you should have goals. What do you want to achieve when people search your name? Some possible goals could be you want to sell more product or you want to differentiate yourself from competitors.

2. Start a blog and be part of the conversation

So I know this isn’t directly related to social media but having a website WITH a blog gives you the ability to be involved in the conversation and put yourself out there. Using your website and blog is great for social media content too!

3. Pick 3 platforms you’re ready to be a rock star on.

Social media is a full time job for a lot of people. Don’t think that just because you’re marketing YOU it will be easy (because trust me, it’ll be harder than you think). Its better to be a rock star on 3 platforms than mediocre on all of them. For me, I’ve chosen to focus on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for my business.

4. Set up the profiles

Once you’ve picked your 3 rockstar platforms, it’s time to set them up (or update them). Be sure to keep the name, description, imagery, and username the same across all your profiles. This makes it easy for anyone searching for you to find you.

*Bonus: If you’re using Instagram AND Twitter and someone on Instagram tags you (@iVictoriaHarris) and your username is the same on both channels, it’ll cross promote perfectly!)

5. Expertise

What will you post about? I recommend breaking everything down into categories. I even break things down further than that – for example, I schedule out 3 posts per day on Twitter, one self promotion, one industry news, and one question or engagement-driving post. Identify what you want to be known for. What makes you unique? Identify up to three areas of expertise. These should also be clearly defined on your profile in your bio.

6. Plan

Each platform should be different. Give your followers a reason to follow you in different places. For example, on Facebook I’ll post about my business but I also post personal stuff such as my travels and pictures of my dogs. On Twitter, I focus exclusively on my business by promoting myself, my industry, and asking questions. On Instagram, I post long captions that are a hybrid between personal and business – Instagram I share on Twitter and Facebook. While you don’t need to have a full content calendar, you should be planning your posts at least 2 weeks in advance at least until you get used to posting.

7. Design

In addition to planning your posts, you also need to design your feed. This should tie into your websites colors, tone, and style. For example, if you use pink and white on your website, you should be using pink and white on your social media platforms too.

The idea behind all of this is to make yourself memorable. Your personal brand is a time when you can position yourself however you want to. When it comes to personal branding on social media, make sure to use a consistent look and feel throughout. Make sure you’re leaving a positive impact within the community of your niche and always be active!