Managing your personal brand as a professor, professional, and even young professional entering the workplace now is not only essential, but expected. Not only are you expected to have a blog, presence on Twitter and LinkedIn, and be an active member of the social media community – you are expected to create, curate, cultivate, and communicate your insights, stories, and experiences that distinguish yourself from others around you.
Of course, we are seeing social media integrated into classes at all levels more than ever, and it does appear most professors have similar class exercises to propose for their students to complete for the course.
Writing a blog, creating content to be shared on Twitter, and engaging in group projects are just a few examples. However, creating a sustainable online persona and make the right first impression on social media is key. It’s important to share these same insights we give corporations and brands with our students as well as colleagues and fellow professionals. We have to formulate a strong communication strategy to engage and sustain our reputation online and offline.
CIO has some good ideas about how brands can utilize tools that can be used to monitor online reputations, however, why can’t these be applied on an individual level? The answer is of course yes. We can apply these best practices as well as tailor them for the audience, industry, and overall personality characteristics we want to highlight and promote online as well.
So, how do we go about in doing this exactly? Well, there are several best practices when it comes to doing this for 2014 and beyond that Fast Company highlights here.
What struck me about this article in particular were two things. First, we have to be confident in what we are doing on social media. Too many times we see people state that they are afraid to be present on social media because “it’s public and for the world to see.” Yes, social media is public and everyone can see what you post, tweet, snap, and comment on. However, if you know this, you have to integrate this as part of your daily interactions online with various community members. Second, it’s key to be more than a promoter and marketer when it comes to social media. Having the ability to showcase your story, experiences, and interests as a person is absolutely key.
I’d also add a third component here to consider when it comes to managing online reputation. We think we are dealing with brands and corporations as a social media professional at times, but essentially, we are dealing with people. Brian Kramer talks about this as H2H in his new book, and how it is essential to keep this mind in even when you are engaging with others online.
Again, we can tailor these practices to managing personal brands as well. Connecting the dots strategically is essential here for strong online reputations. So, if we are able to share these examples and best practices with students in and out of the classroom, they will be able to have the insights and tools necessary to not only proactively use these tools for business and communication practices, but they can also integrate these as well for their own personal brands.
Hope you all are having a great day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen