If you follow my writing, then you will already know that the previous article was about the importance of building your online personal brand. If you haven’t been following, then please feel free to go back so you can catch up.
To continue from the previous article, there are several things you can do to build your brand.
Branding yourself is important because you want to be authentic and you want to stand out.
Here are several things you should consider doing if you want to start building you online brand identity:
1. Self development
Anything and everything that you post online is a reflection of who you are. It is important to sit back and reflect on the type of person you are, and the type of person who you want to be viewed as. Hopefully they are one in the same. Sometimes people tend to have different personalities such as a personal identity and a professional identity. Spend time reflecting and see if who you say you are online is the same as the person you are offline. It may take some work to be the person that you want to be, and that’s okay.
2. Start a blog
Having a blog is an excellent way to get yourself noticed. In the previous article, I mentioned how employers would Google your name to see what they can find about you. Well, that is true. So, give them something to find, only let it be something positive about yourself. Use your blog to really sell and promote yourself.
3. Create a LinkedIn profile
If you don’t have one already, get on LinkedIn. It is essentially the Facebook for jobs. A LinkedIn profile is a great way to build a professional presence. Often times, companies are asking for a link to your LinkedIn page instead of your resume. LinkedIn provides the options for you to add as much or as little information about your work history and education as you wish. This is also another great way to sell yourself. Plus, you can even find jobs on LinkedIn.
4. Clean it up
Okay, so maybe you have decided that you are ready to present yourself in a professional manner online and you actually care about your brand identity. But what about the drunk photos you posted of yourself 4 years ago when you were dancing on the bar? You should review all of your social media pages and photos and delete anything that may bring a negative light to you. If you have to question it, then more than likely it needs to be deleted. You should ask yourself if you would want your boss or a potential employer seeing it. And if the answer is no, then delete it.
5. Privacy
You can update your privacy settings and keep your pages private so that no one sees your posts except for your friends. In a perfect world, that is how it would work. However, anyone can take a screenshot and anyone can share your posts, so there really is no such thing as complete privacy because technology seems too advanced to allow for that. However, keeping your pages private will prevent people who aren’t your friends from commenting any type of negativity on your posts. For the ones that are your friends, you can update your privacy settings to require approval for any posts they make.
These are just a few suggestions to build your online identity. We have progressed so much into a digital society that it is almost impossible to avoid employers noticing your online activity. Take the appropriate steps to protect yourself.
