When we hear the word “social media,” we think about the global, open, transparent, and endless interaction in digital platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and many more. As a definition, social media are a “media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques and web-based technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues.” It has now grown in different sizes and importance in recent years, especially for many companies and industries in every sector.
Our world is getting more and more connected with social media. It has reached the point where everything can be easily influenced by those who developed a strong personal brand through their online appearance. For example, Tom Dickson, founder and CEO of a small U.S. blender manufacturer called Blendtec, leaped faith in the world of YouTube in 2006. Its company is so well-known that its sales have increased sevenfold in the past three years (Thanks to its iPhone-blending video campaign with more than 9 million views). Raise a strong social media presence in today’s era is like an asset. So, why not giving a go at exploring the realms of the online sphere?
According to the Harvard Business Review, there are three reasons why we should try to use social media. First, social media provides a low-cost platform that can build your brand and communicate who you are personally and professionally. Second, social media allows you to engage quickly and simultaneously with the broader public in the same transparent and direct way in everyone's life. Third, social media will enable you to learn as much information instantly, with active participation that can lead you to advance in pursuit of your goals. You can use these reasons proactively as Tom Dickson did.
Formulating your personal social media strategy
To start “Finding the Right Presence,” you need to answer these three sets of questions:
Are your goals personal, professional, or both? Are there any conflicts between how you want to present yourself in the two spheres? If so, think back about the three reasons—branding, engagement, and learning—and prioritize what you hope to achieve in each of your goals. Ensure that your online profile doesn’t contradict your activity in the “real world” and that you keep your messages authentic.
Is your desired audience private (a limited set of friends, family, and colleagues) or public (your industry or even the world)? It’s no secret that your online activity will always be recorded on social media. And it may leave traces that others can easily have access to your online life. How big do you want that presence to be?
What resources do you have? Do your goals require your own time and money, or need the use of office time and tech-team support? Note that authenticity is key to promoting an honest brand and only providing those attributes and qualities.
An example of these questions can look like this,
Personal & Public Society (Your perceived online appearance)
Message
I am passionate about ideas and want to share them with you.
Sample social media tools
Blogs, YouTube, Twitter
Goals
Brand: Become known for your ideas.
Engage: Find new outlets for your passions.
Learn: Leverage others’ ideas and viewpoints.
Once you've built your brand online, it’s never a “there's no going back.” People, and you, will go through various career and self-changes from time to time, and doing so can lead to reinventing your personal brand. So, it's also essential to know how to manage such transitions. Just in case you're thinking of changing your personal goals to a professional one, perhaps. There are five key steps in personal rebranding,
Define your (again) destination and acquire the necessary skills, such as learning marketing if you’re into online business.
Craft a unique selling proposition and reconfigure your new marketplace.
Develop a narrative that describes your transition, focusing on the value your prior experience brings, not of your interests. Tell your story well.
Reintroduce yourself, using the powerful tool of digital media, and seizing opportunities to showcase your capabilities.
Prove you're worth by establishing and promoting your track record.
Like we’ve mentioned earlier, your social media activity will always be recorded, and traces of your old brand may still linger around in the online space. So, consider a careful strategy and improve your ability to create a unique value in changing your brand with the result that your new brand will take hold. Continuity and consistency are important in managing your online personal brand because the world can revolve around you on social media. Lastly, our tip in using the digital realms is to use it wisely and efficiently. Please note that your online presence is not your real life. Always, always differentiate what’s happening online and offline! And to find out more about other Beginner Guide in self-development and careers, stay tuned to our blog and also kindly follow our Instagram @baikgp and @ayureadypodcast