A Brand Called YOU!
With the New Year fast approaching and many of us evaluating new and old resolutions and goals, I thought it would be beneficial to help my candidates and followers with some tips on how to brand yourself with your digital footprint!
Before I get started I want you to take a second out to google yourself! What is the first thing that comes up? Is it your LinkedIn page or your PUBLIC Facebook or Myspace picture you posted years ago during spring break you wish would go away? This is an easy way to see what your digital footprint says about YOU!
Having a strong online reputation today is more important now than ever. Thanks to the explosion of social media, it is not just a checklist item but a priority for anyone to have a strong and well-maintained online personal brand.
You might be asking... what is a brand? “A brand is the ideas, the memories and the feelings evoked every time someone thinks of the brand.” YOU are your brand! YOU define yourself through your posts, likes, pictures, shares and profile on each platform. Your brand might fluctuate given your audience. Take me posting a picture of myself from a Halloween party on Facebook, but I would never post it on LinkedIn for example. I know I would post a job I am running on LinkedIn, but never on Instagram. This is where my brand changes. Really think about your brand and see how it can fluctuate given the platform. I see many people these days mix the two, and his/her brand becomes muddled...
It is very easy to blend your personal brand with your professional and company brand. In fact, it’s very common. If you think about how you wish to grow as an individual and how you want your professionalism to flourish, it is imperative to keep them separated. Now, you do want your company brand and personal brand to align. In fact, you want any company brand that you work with to align with your personal brand. What you don’t want to do is mix the two so that there is no distinction. Your company has a voice and purpose of its own. So aligning is fine, but draw that line so that you can keep your personal brand your own!
Now ask yourself what it is that you want to be known for. What you say and how you say it matters. So think ahead and develop a personal digital footprint that is authentic but serves you now and in the future!
People are able to search for your digital assets and will probably be able to find them decades from now. You want them to serve you well throughout your life! When you google yourself, what does it say about you? What might be associated with your name and reputation? Have you recently been deleted by a connections around election time because of your Political rants? At times, have you made others view you differently with something you shared on a social media platform in a negative manner? Does your LinkedIn picture come from a night out with the guys at your Bachelor party in Vegas or from a selfie in your car? Does your Twitter have spelling errors when your resume shows attention to detail and a Recruiter can use as an example of what not to do? I am telling you... this all matters! When evaluating what 2017 might look like, think about your digital footprint and how it might align! Take a look at this short video for additional tips and reach out directly if you have any questions!
Cheers to a beautiful year end and a nice Holiday break. Wishing you all a Happy Holidays. Stay tuned for next months write-up on How to Ace the Interview!
Your Biggest Fan & Cheerleader
Jessica Orozco Cleary
Executive Recruiter
415-944-5449
There is much more to business and life ...
8 年Great tip on keeping separate personal and business brand. I use social networking 99% for business, and not private use and it's visible: for example, same profile image on LI, FB, Twitter, etc.