Brand Camp University | Personal Branding 2.0 - Hajj Flemings

This blog post is about being 100%. The first impression that most people will have about you will come from one of your online profile. Does your profile accurately communicate what you want employers, your community or potential strategic partners to know about you? It is the small that is the new big: completing profiles, correcting spelling errors, etc. that will communicate volumes about your personal brand. How important is it to be 100%? Your social network profile is apart of your digital marketing strategy. It is a strong indicator of your ability to finish and complete assignments. Completing your social network profiles is more about communicating a commitment to being a person of excellence.

Why your Profile Should be 100%

• Linkedin: 100% Complete Profiles – Recruiters expect Linkedin profiles to be 100% complete. This is one of the key characteristics that recruiters are looking for when identifying potential candidates. You also have a higher probability of coming up in Google searches due to the inclusion of key words that would be used in a complete profile. You should include your companies, education, references, recommendations, and avatars. Remember to link to sites where you have written content recently.

• Consistency Across all your Social Network URLs – When completing your social network profiles it is important that there is consistency. You should not be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Make sure you have done your due diligences and communicated a consistent message.

• Branding your Social Networks URLs – Owning your identity on rental digital real estate (Social Network URLs) is important. All social networks give you the ability to customize your URL so own it before someone else does. One of the ways to do this is to identify the availability of social network URLs and Knowem.com is one way to do that. At a glance you can determine if you want to establish a profile in a particular social network.

• Missed Opportunities – What opportunities will you miss out on because you have incomplete profiles? When someone follows me in Twitter if there is no website address in the profile I personally will not follow the person back. This could eliminate the opportunity for direct communication via DM. First it sends a message that there is something peculiar. Are you hiding something?

• Recruiters Viewpoint – What does your social network profile say about you if it is incomplete? Maybe that you don’t pay attention to detail? You don’t complete assignments? You are not through? The missing information could be the critical piece of information that the potential employer might need to select you over other potential prospects.

• Maintain your Profiles – A car runs better when the oil is changed regularly. It is important to have a routine to regularly review your social network profiles. How often is too often? Your personal and professional goals change and so you need to calibrate your profiles to be in sync. You have to identify the right rhythm for yourself at a minimum when there is a significant change that would impact your profile: change of employer, new position, new skill, or degree/certification.

Everything you do or don’t do communicates something about your brand. Don’t allow the perception of your brand to be tainted because you have incomplete social network profiles. Your social network profiles are living documents and should be a real-time snapshot of you and your personal brand.

Everything you do or don’t do communicates something about your brand. Don’t allow the perception of your brand to be tainted because you were not focused enough to have complete social network profiles.

Be 100%.