The first two posts in this series explored how you can begin creating your personal brand through having a few great brainstorm sessions, organizing your thoughts by creating a web, and then showed you how to create your own self-hosted blog with some great how-to videos.
This week’s post will explore how you can begin integrating your blog into your social networks, so you can begin to create some awareness for your personal brand and drive some traffic to your blog.
What social networks are the best to get started?
The key is to pick a few social networking sites and start to get comfortable with them. Most people usually find their comfort zone with Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter. While there is no rule stating that you should use a specific social network, the three mentioned above are so prevalent you will miss out on potential opportunities if you don’t use them. They’re great ways to help promote your personal brand!
Here are some social media quick tips for Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter.
Use Linkedin to promote your personal brand
Linkedin is great for connecting with colleagues and if you’re in sales or business development, for finding potential customers. No matter what your niche is, you can find people to connect with on Linkedin to promote your personal brand.
Linkedin Applications: enables you to add some sizzle to your Linkedin profile. You can choose from a few different applications that allow you to share your work and collaborate with your connections. My favorite is the WordPress application that enables you to sync your WordPress blog with your Linkedin profile, helping you to spread your content through your Linkedin connections and the web.
Use Facebook to promote your personal brand
Facebook has reached what best-selling author, Malcolm Gladwell, has termed “the tipping point”, with over 175 million active users. Here’s an interesting fact, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is not the college crowd, it’s the 26+ crowd. Everyone is getting on Facebook and its become a part of our culture. It’s a way millions of people connect, share and form communities online.
Facebook Status: enables you to share whatever you want with your friends on Facebook. You can share what you’ve been up to, links to content, photos, videos, etc. Your Facebook status now streams live, just like Twitter, and can be a great way to promote your personal brand as you connect with more like minded people. Start updating your status regularly with links to great content of others and your own.
Use Twitter to promote your personal brand
Twitter is probably the fastest growing social media network. It has over 6 million users, and you’ve probably been hearing about it everywhere. Twitter has gone mainstream and just like Facebook, it’s quickly becoming a part of our culture and an awesome way to promote your personal brand.
Twitter Search: enables you to easily search through the millions of tweets that pass through Twitter to find the information you want. You can search for keywords, people, and even subscribe to these keywords through your RSS reader. By using Twitter search you can connect with like-minded people and promote your personal brand at the same time.
With these simple tips and some persistence you will begin to see your personal brand gain traction and spread through web. By no means is this a comprehensive list for spreading your personal brand, but for those looking to get started, it’s a great place to take the first step to getting your personal brand out there using social media.
Now, it’s your turn. If you have some tips to help promote your personal brand, please share them in the comments section below!
And, as always, have a great weekend!
Author:
Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog, which focuses on how Sales 2.0 & Social Media can help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business. Chad is also the featured Sales 2.0 blogger at SalesGravy.com, the number one web portal for sales pros, the professional athletes of the business world. Make sure to connect with him on Twitter @chadalevitt.
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Thanks Chad! These articles have gone a long way in confirming to me that using social media to build my PB is not a waist of time. And like you stated in this post, persistence is required to make a headway.
@Lolu- Personal branding is not a waste of time; it’s an efficient and productive way to reach your goals quicker that can bring you more opportunities. I’m glad my posts have helped you to understand how powerful personal branding is. Stay with it Lolu and if you have any questions please connect with me!
Social media evolution continues to grow. Social networking is vital to grow a personal brand and startup business. Nothing will be easy, but determination and a vision will eventually help you to reach your ultimate goals.
@Josh- Thanks for another one of your great comments! Social networking increases your reach, whether its your personal brand or business, because both of these have a specific set of customers. Creating a personal brand that can attract and influence your superiors, colleagues, customers, etc. can increase your chances of reaching your self-defined goals!
No one should have the excuse of time to play it big on the net. Even if one is so busy as the case may be- and I think everyone is. one creates time for wht is important in life. Using these three identified platform consistently will help in no small way. These three comfort zone are great platform.
@Yinka- Busy people always seem to have excuses, winners don’t, they find a way to make the time they need. And yes, we’re all very busy with the details of our own lives, but the things we find important always seem to get done.
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@chad, you are quite correct about your explanation. winners dont find excuse for what needs to be done.
For the last few months I have been getting more involved online- I have created numerous accounts across several social networking platforms and finally took the plunge into blogging a month ago. I was at a mentorship meeting and was informed of the importance of get connected online and making your information available to a like-minded public. But it is a lot of work and quite a challenge to refocus your attention on yourself, something I was not sure I would do successfully and may not be beneficial. However I have gladly been mistaken and yet again proven wrong! I know I am responding a couple months after this post, but I just located it (through twitter!) and am excited to read what I am doing is the step in the right direction- and probably one of the best investments of my time! Thanks Chad for making this info available, I have taken away some great advice and a much needed confirmation of my efforts! I look forward to future posts!
I also wanted to mention a site I was hesitant to get involved with at first has proven a great syndication point- Plaxo.com!
@Stephanie- Kudos to you for making the leap and getting more involved creating your personal brand!!!
It’s an odd thing to say, but I’m thrilled you proved yourself wrong and pushed the fear to the side — keep making great decisions like this and promoting your personal brand and you will see results!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Plaxo — it’s a very useful site.
Keep reading and I wish you all the best!
Chad, thank you for this series on personal branding. I am working on an independent study on Personal Branding for a course and trying to design my own. These entries have really helped!