A digital footprint includes all of the elements online that make up the brand you. Today I want to examine your online presence from the outside looking in, with a focus on social media.
Nearly everything we do can be done online. Your social media footprint tells a lot about you and can be a very useful tool when you know how to use it to your advantage.
Having your brand on display in such a public way is a risk. You have to find a balance between facts and opinions and the personal and professional. It’s easy for the lines to blur.
Some of the pros to establishing your brand on social media include:
- Connect with people and brands across the globe.
- Share projects and accomplishments with specific links and images.
- Search for opportunities with LinkedIn jobs.
- Use Facebook to share a peek into your personal life.
- Create original content, using social as a podium to speak on the topics most important to you.
To audit your existing digital footprint, I want to focus on just three of the existing social platforms: Linked In, Twitter and Facebook.
There are many more platforms available and I’m not saying one is more important than another. Or that Instagram is not part of your personal brand.
I am choosing to start with these three as a starting point. You can determine which platforms you prefer or are the most beneficial for you.
Define the Purpose
Put yourself in the shoes of a business connection that wants to offer you an awesome opportunity. You are going to critique your online presence to see how your personality shines through if your tone matches your personality and that everything is tied together in a way that welcomes in those great opportunities.
Each of these special platforms serves a different purpose so you need to view them objectively with that in mind. A simple formula to help is that Linked in equals resume. Twitter equals credibility and Facebook equals personality.
LinkedIn For People, Not Jobs
Once you join LinkedIn, each connection made introduces you to an average of 400 new people.
When a potential connection looks at your LinkedIn profile, they will do a quick scan from top to bottom. You want a clear and professional headshot and a personalized cover photo.
Now more important than your photo is the headline. It should capture the readers attention. You have 120 words to define your expertise in a way that makes someone want to learn more. Its a starting point and then you should use the about section to elaborate with specifics and supporting details.
One of the most underrated areas of the profile on LinkedIn is the education section. A major benefits that is unique to Linkedin is that when you connect any and all education, the platform automatically connects you to those institutions. Now you and anyone visiting your profile page will see shared connections through your alma mater.
A major mistake professionals make on LinkedIn is oversimplifying the experience section. It doesn’t have to include every job you’ve ever had since you were 16 but it should be more detailed than a copy and paste from your written resume. Connections want to see your areas of expertise in a few sentences or bullet points. Highlight specific accomplishments and don’t be shy about them.
When you look at your existing Linkedin profile objectively, do you see keywords that make you want to keep reading? Does your profile represent a professional snapshot of you?
Creating a compelling LinkedIn profile is work but the format makes it easy to break into small chunks to work through one section at a time.
The Power of Twitter
More than 92% of the US population is familiar with Twitter even if they don’t use it daily. Twitter is key for those whose jobs involve thinking, creating, and connecting.
When a prospective collaborator views your feed, they are looking for more than the basics. Anyone can fill a feed with re-tweets but that’s not going to build credibility for your personal brand. You need to ensure that what you share is thoughtful and adds value to a conversation.
Something unique to the Twitter platform is anyone and everyone can view who you follow and who is following you. Following influencers allows you to add your insights into the most relevant conversations.
Always jump in on an ongoing conversation or track topics using the relevant hashtags.
When you view your Twitter profile you want to ensure that your feed includes your own thoughts. Use the characters to share a tweet but personalize it with your opinion on the data or add insights that bring extra value to the conversation.
Facebook Like its 2009
Where LinedIn and Twitter highlight professional accolades I think facebook provides that extra view behind the curtain and into your personality.
Facebook has experienced many changes over the years. Where it was once the only thing that made up the term social media, now its one of many. Those of us that were early adopters are now older with kids and established careers. We find it to be most useful for tracking on former classmates and sharing pictures of kids and pets for our friends and family who haven’t yet mastered instagram.
88% of Facebook users are on the platform to stay connected to friends and family. But you absolutely can leverage your Facebook profile as a part of your personal brand. And you should because your profile still gives insights into brand you, it just likely shows some of your softer skills and the details that make up your brand story.
The informal nature of facebook helps with the brand building. Interactions are tracked differently with facebook so shared connections, groups and events pop up frequently.
Facebook serves content based on what, who, and how you interact online. Depending on how your profile is configured, someone from the outside can easily scroll through your online history and create their own brand story for you based on what they can see.
Since Facebook has been around longer, the network that you have built are the people who are engaged and invested in who you are and what you are doing. Don’t be afraid to share more than a few pet videos.
Let your high school friends see what you are up to and how much of an expert you truly are so they can like, comment and share, and expand the reach of your brand for you.
Audit for Success
Its time to apply some of this knowledge in the form of a social media audit. Using some of the tips shared on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook you can take a critical eye to your profile pages on each. It may seem like a large undertaking but it’s really not when you work from the top down and break each profile into pieces.
Social media is all about connections, every single platform. If the goal is to build a standout personal brand then find those key brands, influencers, and groups that are going to help you get there.
Gone are the days of handing out a business card and waiting for the phone to ring. A complete digital brand should tie you to those that you can serve best and who can serve you best.
Your social media footprint is a big part of your brand story. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook should work for you with minimal effort.
With a quick audit or check-in, ensure you are building a cohesive and strategic digital footprint that attracts the right opportunities. That opportunity might be a brand ambassador role, a paid speaking engagement, attracting new clients, this is your permission to keep showing off brand you.
