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Social Media and Personal Branding
- 1. SOCIAL MEDIA A N D PERSONAL BRANDING B Y : T A Y L O R W I N S L O W
- 2. CONVENTIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA OUTLETS Facebook Twitter Instagram Status Updates Tweets Posts Video Sharing Retweets Hashtags Picture uploads Hashtags Likes Following
- 3. FACEBOOK Benefits Limitations Connection to Goals Allows for longer posts Showing my vulnerable side Variety of content Posting more content Conversation is directly on post Engaging with others Only reaches friends unless shared Reaching a wide audience Narrow searches Harder to reach someone unintentionally
- 4. INSTAGRAM Benefits Connection to Goals Searchable hashtags Easily states brand with hashtags: #Positive #Happy Mostly photo based Easy documentation without much explanation Limitations Connection to Goals Inability to group pictures I cannot create an album that showcases one aspect of brand No sharing function Hard for others to share my brand
- 5. TWITTER Benefits Limitations Connection to Goals Searchable hashtags Easy to state brand Tweets can easily reach beyond friends Reaching a wide audience Large number of users Reaching a wide audience 140 character limit Message is limited Limited number of direct messages and tweets per day Potentially limits that amount you can engage with others
- 6. BEST PRACTICES • Define values • Discover strengths • Point of difference
- 7. REFLECTION • Curated vs. Original Content • Increase frequency of posts • Engage more with others
- 8. REFERENCES • Martinuzzi, B. (2014, July 9). How to Build an Unforgettable Personal Brand. Open Forum.Retrieved from https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small- business/openforum/articles/how-to-build-an-unforgettable-personal-brand/ • PWC. (n.d.). Your Personal Brand. PWC. Retrieved from http://www.pwc.com/us/en/careers/campus/programs-events/personal- brand.html#get_started
Editor's Notes
- Facebook is a great start for reaching your target audience. Family members and friends are great about liking pictures and statuses and will even share it if asked. Messages have gone viral on Facebook through sharing. If going viral is not the end goal, it is still easy to establish a brand by maintaining a Facebook page. All of your content is stored in one easy to navigate page that will easily help portray the desire message if maintained properly. Said content can consists of status updates that range in length, original pictures, original videos, as well as curated videos and pictures that you wish to share. Twitter is a very simple form of social media. Users send out tweets that are 140 characters or less and can include hashtags. The hashtag is the easiest way to help establish a brand because you can tell people exactly what you want them to take away from your post. If you are family oriented, make that phrase a hashtag. If you are sarcastic, you can make that your hashtag as well. Including a hashtag will also help you reach your target audience because they can search hashtags. You can connect with people who have similar interests by searching the hashtags. Instagram is very similar to Twitter in that it too is very simple. It is mostly picture based although users can attach a descriptive comment. Hashtags are also used on Instagram and provide the same benefits for connecting with your target audience.
- One of my main goals is to connect more with others through social media. Before this class I hardly ever posted original content and would occasionally like the comments and pictures of others. The easiest people to engage with are family and friends and that is what Facebook helps you to do. Because of the various types of content that one can post, I have been able to show a more genuine and vulnerable side of myself. Since our discussion of the authentic self, I wanted to make sure that my social media accounts did not paint my life as perfect. I have also been able to share lots of different types of content without feeling like I was oversharing. I can post a status one day and share a photo with a description the next without any qualms. These are the benefits that I was able to take advantage of with Facebook. There are many limitations to Facebook as well including narrow searches and only reaching beyond your friends list if others are willing to engage with your content. Fortunately at this time I am not trying to reach a very wide audience. If I were however I would think that it is totally appropriate to ask friends and family to share the content to help it reach a wide audience. As for the narrow search results, one has to know what they are looking for in order to find a page. The best way to overcome this is to have a page that is easy to find through keeping the name and descriptions as simple and straightforward as possible.
- Another of my goals was the increase the frequency of my posts. Instagram made this particularly easy because it was incredibly simple to post a picture. Sometimes I included a description and something I did not. The fact that Instagram is mostly photo based is a benefit. Another benefit is that it has the searchable hashtag function. Including the hashtag will easily help establish brand identity. Unlike Facebook however, Instagram does not allow you to create albums to group your photos, instead they are listed in chronological order. This limitation can be overcome by posting regularly, but being wise about your posts. I have seen many a time where people have posted several similar pictures all one right after another. Instead of doing this, either choose one photo, or create a collage. Doing this will help others sort through your content more easily. Another limitation is that there is no sharing function. This is again where the hashtag comes to play. Although others cannot share your content, people looking for your content will be able to find it.
- Twitter also made it easy to increase the frequency of my posts. It is not uncommon for people to tweet multiple times a day, so sending out a tweet a couple of times a week did not feel like over sharing. The purpose of the platform is to send out short messages about whatever you want. Since I want to help contribute in a positive manner, I often times tweet out an encouraging quote or a happy thought. Including a hashtag that describes said post will help others find that post based on that topic. Overcoming the limitation of a limited number of characters was easily done by posting strategically. When you are limited in how much you can write, you write more succinctly and find words that more accurately express your meaning.
- My post on Twitter helps to define my values. So much of who I am is because of my Christian values. Part of that is being forgiving and loving, even others have hurt us. I also believe that happiness is within our control. I am a positive person and am looking to share light in a dark world. When thinking about what I want to post, either I share an original thought that fits in with the values I have set for myself, or I include curated content that also fits. I try to not post or share something if it does not actively contribute to my brand. If it is not helping my brand then it is hurting my brand by making it undefinable. One of my strengths is being able to connect with other people and also to let my guard down. My past on Facebook is an original post and it fits directly with that strength that I have. The best practices of “discovering your strengths and define your values” (PWC, para 4) comes from the webpage Your Personal Brand. Being vulnerable and open with others is also one of my points of difference that author Bruna Martinuzzi recommends in the article How to Build and Unforgettable Personal Brand. This Facebook post is not just original, it is authentic. I wanted to show who I really am and a fear I really have.
- I post more original and authentic content than I do curated content. If I am posting curated content however, I make sure that it is a trustworthy source and that it fits with my brand. I want people to know they can trust what they read on my page, so if I share an article, I make sure the source is reputable and accurate. If I am creating my own content, I try to follow the same guidelines. If I make a claim, I want to be able to back it up. I do not engage in Facebook wars. The biggest thing I have done to improve and maintain my brand online is increasing the amount I engage with others through social media. I have posted more original and authentic content, as well as shared some curate content to stimulate conversation. Not only have I increased the frequency of my posts, but I have also increased the platforms with which I engage. What I have learned is that it is impossible to have a brand online if you have not put any content online. Defining my values and establishing my points of difference has helped me determine the type of content I want to post. Doing so has helped me to begin to establish a brand online.