posted by Robin Tooms @ 8:45 AM
Have you ever wondered what other people see about you online? It’s actually practical to do a search engine query on your own name, or your company name, and see what comes up. This is not meant to be an exercise for your ego, but rather a prudent bit of research. There are three possibilities here:
- You find valuable links back to your online profiles and other areas of online content
- You find a mixture of information – content that may send a mixed message about you professionally
- You find almost nothing. It’s as if you don’t exist.
Back in February I gave a presentation to AMA San Antonio on using social networks to build your Personal Brand and thought maybe I should put a little follow-up information here (just in case you answered either two or three above).
Ready for tips on how to approach your personal brand strategically?
Think like a search engine
Are you an expert in a certain topic? Then make sure those keywords appear in your LinkedIn profile. You’ll be amazed at how high in the search engine results in Google LinkedIn profiles appear. It’s a missed opportunity to not put your keywords in here.
Share, share and share some more
All of these widgets on websites make it so easy now to share what you’ve found online. It’s just good karma to share. Don’t overdo it though. Sharing is more about dropping breadcrumbs on the way so that others can find where you’re going, but it shouldn”t be a constant stream. Just as people don’t want to know what you’re doing every minute of the day, they don’t want to know what you’re reading every minute either. Just post what you think is quality content.
What to talk about?
Anything that will start a conversation! On social networks, I often mention articles, videos or blogs that I find interesting. If you find them interesting too, then chances are, we have good reason to talk. The LAST thing to do is to talk about yourself. Networking, whether in person or online, is really about engaging others. This means that you need to give more than you get, and help others more than you ask for help yourself.
