LinkedIn is not Facebook! Become a leader through personal branding.

Have you ever been doing the phone scroll on whichever social media platform and come across a post that makes me you immediately blurt out – “Oh buddy/hunny, what are you doing?” And the severity of empathy you feel increases the more professional the forum is? Perfect example of a branding blunder.

Branding blunders can make you stand out but not the way you want to be remembered the internet is forever…..and ever. Believe me I wouldn’t get vetted in as president when the digital dirt digging started but like most of us I learn the hard way and there was A LOT of time invested in cleaning/organizing my digital footprint up when it came time to address it. There was a point in my life I needed a breathalyzer for some of my social media posts, I’ll leave it at that.

Being a professional and a creative person I exist on multiple platforms for social media. Between my career, professional speaking/writing, stand-up comedy/comedy videos and music I find myself utilizing two channels on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook professional page and of course my personal page. When listed that way it seems like a tall order but doesn’t come to me as work when it’s driven from passion to put it out there. Most important aspect is to keep my content from spilling into the wrong channels……believe me when I say my comedy material and my motivational material wouldn’t blend well in the same arena but more importantly how I attach myself to each product I put out there is ‘branded’ differently. This ‘Ryan Kerr’ exists authentically here on LinkedIn and my personal Facebook page. All my other videos, rants and music channels are branded differently. Why? Because the audience and demographics I am trying to draw are vastly different with each channel, sure I might be able capture some crossover people and get a few more followers but the credibility of my next post would be lost in the masses and at what cost?

So, if you’ve read this far you know what ‘personal branding’ is and want to know if you’re aligned with what I am discussing or just want to hear what I have to say – thank you and here’s your literary high five. If not, put a helmet on this can be your crash course, let us begin shall we?

Let’s get this out of the way, here is Wikipedia’s definition of Personal Branding:

Personal branding is the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands.[1] 

Personal branding is essentially the ongoing process of establishing a prescribed image or impression in the mind of others about an individual, group, or organization.[4] Personal branding often involves the application of one's name to various products.

With that said here are the 5 guidelines I follow when it comes to managing my ‘Personal Brand(s)’:

1)   CHOSE THE RIGHT FORUM – Now everyone these days has a personal Facebook page and those with a professional career have a LinkedIn profile. There are some that feel these two worlds intermingle, they don’t. Well LinkedIn posts may work on Facebook but everyone may think you have a dial tone personality, however Facebook posts DO NOT work on LinkedIn nobody wants to see or hear about that “epic salad” you had for lunch in the professional world. Here’s the best metaphor that works for both worlds, pretend you’re meeting your significant other’s family for dinner “keep your clothes on and don’t discuss politics”. Future employers search both platforms to see who they are bringing into the fold, and for those already in a role be aware of your personal posts your ‘friended’ co-workers can see or they’ll have something to chat about when they see your post about how much “you hate your ex” for leaving you or the infamous blurry 2:45am Wednesday night post, we all have laundry to air but no need to use social media as a clothes line. Always be mindful.

2)   SPEAK UP TO STAND OUT –Advocate for what you are passionate about, it shows others in your organization that you are owning your role but also creates that sparkle recruiters and new employers/clients look for when seeking to fill a role. In a roundabout way you are allowing others to know who you are and what you have to offer, be confident in what you say and that can come organically when you are just sharing what you know.  Always be receptive and accepting on feedback (positive or criticism) it’s how you learn others insight but also gain adversaries, it helps adjust your aim with your next target. Promote yourself.

3)   BE AUTHENTIC – Be something you can live up to, sure there are some topics where you can fake it til you make it especially when trying to sector jump or completely professionally change course, so pull on those transferrable skills and bring the fresh eyes perspective. However, depending on how far you submerge yourself in a new tank, the last person to know you are the catfish in the tiger shark tank will be you. Someone who gives great foot rubs is not going to cut it as a foot specialist. You will find things you are passionate about or skills you’ve gained along the hard road will be the easiest to share and put on display, it will be a reflection of who you are and what you have to offer. Always speak your truth.

4)   BE CONSISTENT – Write, share and post on topics that are relative to your arena. It will draw in those you want to surround yourself with by increments, it is also a form of engaging not just your audience but your peers and fellow adversaries. Example - An engineer within an automotive company who shares thoughts and challenges through forums is displaying themselves in front of their peers within the organization but also fellow engineers across other industries (if they have properly built their professional network or utilize the proper forum). Knowledge is only gained through seeking it and sharing it. The other half of consistency is posting/writing regularly, it helps keep you aligned with the right people, it creates relevancy and engagement but most importantly momentum. Sure we would all love to make that big splash on our first article, post or video gone viral but not all of us are that lucky and there’s something more magical that comes when things happen as we tune and refine along the way. The only way to get noticed is to be seen……think about it.

5)   CONSTANTLY UPDATE YOUR INFO – Have you ever Googled yourself? What comes up? When you log into LinkedIn, does it say you have an All-Star profile? Does your resume and your profile align? I’ll share a true story, I once had a candidate come in for an interview for a mid-level role for my team. Their work history showed progression, they didn’t hop from job to job and was currently working, had the right stuff and I wanted him on my team. He had something listed on the resume that stood out to me that everyone else had missed and I waited until the end of the interview to reveal my finding and humour to both the candidate and the poor HR rep that missed it as well. 

“So when we would like to reach out to you for some references we can reach you at studthumper69@hotmail?” Obviously an oversight because he didn’t want use his current work email and hadn’t updated his personal email since high school. He told me afterwards that was also the moment he knew he wanted to work for me, but in some cases there may not have been a happy ending there. 

Remember, you all have something to offer and energy to put out there.

You all have things you are passionate about. Getting that passion in front of the right people, that’s where the “epic salad” is.