Social Media and Personal Branding - Some Initial Thoughts

A couple of months ago, my employer(Aptera) hosted a discussion on social media, presented by TQM Network.  The main discussion points were around use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter within the context of business. A couple of specific points really stuck with me, and have guided my use of social media since then.

First, if you use social media, and also happen to work for a company that someone else owns (that's most of us, yes?), then whether you like it or not, everything you do or say on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, or any other social media network represents not only you, but the company you work for.  There is vast truth in the idea that every employee of every company is a salesperson, for better or worse.  How you represent yourself, both in person and in cyberspace can and does give people an impression of what kind of company it is that you work for.  Potential customers make conscious and unconscious decisions about whether or not to do business with your company based on more than just what the salesman says.  And since most of us would prefer to keep our job, it makes a lot of sense to do our part to help our respective employers put their best foot forward.  The bottom line here is that we need to always remember that everything we post on the internet can and does contribute to the impression that the world has regarding the company we work for.

The second topic that I walked away with was that of "personal branding".  Just as everything a company does collectively establishes their corporate brand, so it is with individuals.  Everything you post on the internet collectively adds up and establishes your personal brand.  Once you realize that, you then have some decisions to make about what you want that brand to look like.  For example, do you want your personal brand to say that you are a trustworthy, professional person?  Or, would you rather let everyone know that you spend most of your free time hungover?  It's an individual decision, but let there be no doubt that whether you actively make that choice or not, you are building your personal brand, one way or another.

While there is no single "right answer" on how best to build a brand, there is one word that I try to keep in mind: consistency.  You should use common profile and background images across all of the social media networks that you use, including IM clients.  For example, I have the exact same profile image on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Talk, and Windows Live, as well as this blog.  I also am currently using that same background image on my laptop, so that as people see it, they will recognize that same image online.

I've really just scratched the surface here on the topic of how people represent both themselves and their employer in social media.  I am certainly not an expert, I just wanted to get some of my initial thoughts out here with the hope that I can start a discussion on the topic.  I welcome any thoughts you may have on the topic, so feel free to comment here or drop me an email at shannonneumann@live.com.