Spring Cleaning! Refresh Your Personal Brand

Spring is here and nothing puts a little pep in your step more than a makeover! It's time to dust off that profile pic and freshen up your social media profiles to refresh your personal brand.

Think you don't have a brand? Are you on the internet? Have you ever created a profile on a social networking site? Guess what? You do, and it probably needs some polishing.

I recently refreshed all my social networking profiles, so I will guide you through it with examples. It is a little time consuming, but the investment in YOU is well worth it.

Refresh Your Personal Brand

1. Assess your digital footprint. What sites and social networks do you have a profile on? List them all. Remember to check your phone for apps you may have downloaded that are also social networks: GetGlue, Vine, Viddy, FourSquare, etc.

2. Say cheese! You're going to need some current pics. Dogs, cats, children, and even your significant other are cute but they don't belong in your profile pictures...especially on LinkedIn. 

Time to shine like a star with a photo shoot. Pick a location that will give you several interesting background angles. I chose Nashville's downtown buildings as my background.


Take lots of photos so you have enough to vary them on all your profiles. I kept the same outfit on for consistency. Be sure to get several head shots, since most social profile pics are small and that's about all you can fit into the viewable area.

#SF Social Media Visitors Guide

The social media savvy way to travel, connect, and save in San Francisco!
I wanted to get as much leisure and sight seeing in as possible on my recent work related trip to San Francisco, CA. Once my hotel was booked, I took to the web and Tweets to plan and navigate my way around the city's famous attractions.

First, I started with the hotel's website for a list of all the complementary perks (there were quite a few! My favs: complementary bicycles, daily complimentary happy hours, and a companion goldfish for my stay). I connected Hotel Palomar SF on Twitter.  They were very welcoming and social, tweeting with me during my stay.

I also checked out a travel blogger's review via a RT find from Kimpton San Francisco's Twitter account. This gave me a real perspective of what the hotel is like as well as a few tips that were handy in my stay.

Lessons from a LinkedIn FAIL

Today I received the following message from someone requesting to connect with me on the social network, LinkedIn. (NOTE: Actual names and numbers have been changed for the purposes of this demonstration).

I will dissect the email and point out why this is a FAILED attempt at networking, and then I will show examples of how to send a LinkedIn request that has proven to be successful in my experience.

A True Twitter Story

Here’s a true story to demonstrate how Twitter works as a networking tool:

I posted a link to my company's blog on Twitter, using a hashtag (means search-able keyword on Twitter) with the initials of an industry association conference that one of our corporate leaders is attending.   A Hashtag looks like this: #ABC.

I did a search on Twitter for #ABC to see who was tweeting from the conference and noticed that one of my social media Twitter friends from Nashville was Tweeting using that hashtag, too. She and I got into a Twitter conversation, and as it turns out-she is at the conference and works for a supplier to my company's industry.

She Tweeted to everyone at the conference (using the hashtag #ABC), mentioning my company and how we’re doing a good job using social media! This is great recognition and awareness for our brand AT the conference---and I'm not even there!

She and I plan to connect when she gets back to Nashville. I realize I may be speaking “geek”, but trust me…this is really cool to make these kinds of connections online and take them offline via networking! Gotta love Twitter!

Connect Four! My Unofficial Explanation of @Foursquare

A Facebook friend asked me what Foursquare is and my reply was so long and detailed that I thought it would make for a good blog post. So...here it is...my unofficial explanation: 

Foursquare is a location-based social media platform that connects your friends with your busy life. You can "check in" on the mobile version of foursquare anywhere you go. Foursquare has the capability of updating your Facebook and Twitter at the same time. Just sign up, add friends, and tell it where you are.

Foursquare is also a game: It works off of a point system. As you "check in" to more and more places, Foursquare will unlock "badges"- kinda like game tokens for using the service. If you are competitive at all- you may enjoy FourSquare's Mayorships- Whoever has "checked in" at a particular location the most times is the "mayor" of that place.

The Anti-Social Truth

Staying active on social networking sites can be exhausting! There are so many places to network online, and they all require time and attention. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Ning, Foursquare, Flickr, and more are popping up every day. I have found it difficult to be everywhere at once.

Some people become obsessed with updating statuses and checking responses. (Yes, I admit I am guilty of this!) Most people are connected to at least one social networking site on their mobile phones. We tend to always want to be seen and heard by the masses of followers that we have collected.

There are tools that are helpful in managing multiple social sites, and most of them connect to each other in one form or another. Personally, I am a fan of HootSuite, where I can check and update Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook all in one place.

The New A,B,C’s

Imagine you are in pre-school in 2010. What would you relate the A,B,C’s to? They certainly have changed since I was a kid. Here’s my idea of the new A,B,C’s:

A is for Apple (as in the computer most graphic artists, website developers, and techie people use)

B is for Blog (where anyone can share their thoughts about anything with anyone anywhere)
 
C is for Content (what every information sharing thing needs to survive)
 
D is for Digg (where fascinating, funny, informative, etc. articles, videos, pics, etc. are shared)
 
E is for ebay (where you can sell/bid on/buy anything form anyone, anywhere)
 
F is for Facebook (our own personalized, digital scrapbook that can be shared with your own personally selected group of friends)
 
G is for Google (the search engine and internet tools mecca)

Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive: My 2009 Highlights

I’ve been reflecting upon the positive things that happened to me this year, despite being in the job market twice this year due to the economic times and nature of the advertising industry. I’ve managed to be pretty productive, even between jobs. I am thankful for the successes I’ve had and the friendships I’ve made through networking in 2009. Here’s a recap of my year:

- Received American Advertising Federation (AAF) Nashville’s President’s award for my contribution in rebranding the ad club’s website, email newsletter, and creating social networking sites for the organization. I’ve had my eye on that trophy for a couple of years…so it was a personal victory to have my name etched on it!

- Co-Founded Social Media Club Nashville with Jessica Murray, who I met at Dave Delaney’s Geek Breakfast. We had several successful, well attended meetings of SMC Nashville, including topics on Social Media’s use for non-profits, healthcare, and Nashville Predators. I’ve met so many people with the same interest in social media and marketing!

Be the Robin Hood of your Social Network

Robin Hood took from the rich and gave to the poor. You can do this as well, with your networking contacts.

I view the quantity and quality of my connections on social networking sites as pieces of gold. The more connections I have, the more personal brand wealth I have and the more people want to connect with me.  The secret to successful networking is to spread the "wealth" and put some "gold" into the pockets of your contacts. 

I am fortunate enough to have met some great people while attending professional events, mixers, and conferences.  Here are just a few of the things that I have found to be successful through networking online and offline:  

When you meet someone at a business event: 

• Always get a business card and immediately follow up with an email within 48 hours.
• Connect on social networks- search their name on Facebook and LinkedIn and send them a request to connect. They almost always will accept.  

Know when to kill the Beast

Social networking can become overwhelming with all the different social sites available. I personally have profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blip.fm, Flickr, AAF Nashville’s ning, Digital Nashville’s ning, and a few more that I have signed up for in the past. That’s a lot of socializing to keep up with! I try to remain active on all of them. The frequency varies- some multiple times a day, some once a day, some weekly or monthly.

Have you ever played The Sims video game? The Sims are characters that you control through the game, but in order to keep them “alive” you have to feed them, make them talk to friends and neighbors, you even have to make them go to the bathroom- or they will “die”. There is usually a prompt in the game that tells you what they are lacking and allows you to manage their “health”. Unfortunately, our social networking profiles do not have prompts to let us know when our social networking skills are dying.

Interaction and frequent activity are essential to building your successful online networking community, no matter what social networking platform you choose. You must feed the monster that you created, or it will die.

things to ponder... I tweet, therefore I am or I am what I tweet?

Yes, it’s true- I get a little “high” from the flattering retweets and likes on Facebook. It makes me smile to see comments from my friends and followers when I have posted something I think is hilarious. I even feel encouraged when I make a status update about something I am pondering and want a second opinion about. So, does this mean that I am addicted to generating a response? Children act out to get attention. Could social media be the platform for adults to get the same effect? Everyone has a human desire to be liked and accepted. How much is too much, though? There is a fine line between too much information and social networking for amusement.