The other day I spoke with a colleague who asked me about my social media secrets. I really don't think they are secrets, just a consistent habit of investing time to create a strong social media presence and online reputation. I proceeded to asked him a few questions:
- Do you have a social media presence?
- What do you do to build your personal brand and online reputation?
- Have you ever Googled yourself and what did you find?
If you want to build a strong social presence and online reputation, invest time in the following:
1. Linkedin.com: Complete your profile. Don't half ass it unless you want people to think you are a half ass person who does just enough to stay under the radar. Don't be that person who does just enough. Go the extra mile on your profile and people will think you go the extra mile in everything else. Be social on Linkedin.com, meaning post Updates and "Like" other people's posts. If you're engaging and interactive, you'll grow your social media influence and presence. Do a 1-click endorsement on someone's skills/expertise or write a recommendation for someone who has always helped you out. (My Linkedin.com profile: www.linkedin.com/in/davidchao)
2. Twitter: It's one of the simplest and most mindless social media applications out there. You'll find yourself saying, "What the hell is this? How does this work? How is thing going to help my social media presence again?" Get started by just Retweeting other people's tweets. If you come across an interesting article, just click on the Twitter icon at the top of the article and you're done. Once you are comfortable with this, start to Tweet your own content. The rest will come with experimentation. (My Twitter: @davidchao)
3. Google+: Similar to Facebook but a Google App that I'm sure Google search engines prefer over Facebook. Google rules Search so it only makes sense to build a Google+ social profile that leverages the #1 search engine. When it comes to increasing your social media presence, visibility and search-ability, it's got to be Google. Build out your Google+ profile and you'll be more relevant in Google searches. (My Google+ profile: https://plus.google.com/+DavidChaoJr)
4. Naymz: Reminds me of Linkedin.com where you create a profile, add your employment and get recommendations from your peers. It than takes your peers' recommendations, your social influence across Linkedin.com, Twitter, and Facebook to create a Reputation Score. The higher the RepScore the better. A score between 40-70 is Established, 70-80 is Top Member and 80+ is Elite Member. An average Naymz RepScore is around 35. (My Naymz profile: http://www.naymz.com/davidchao1683553)
5. Klout: This an interesting site that tracks your social influence across Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+, Foursquare, YouTube and a few others. Though it's heavily-weighted on Facebook activity, it still provides insight on your social media influence and presence. If you are not happy with your score, go back and work on 1-4 listed above. (My Klout profile: https://klout.com/#/davidchao)
Bonus: If you are passionate about something, blog about it. It just so happens I'm passionate about technology, start-up companies, and web conferencing. I've been blogging since 2006 and started blogging to gain a competitive edge over my competition by providing unique technology perspectives and helping my customers avoid potential land mines. I wanted to educate my customers, showcase my expertise in understanding their business and ultimately reduce their technology risk and financial risk. (The Web Conferencing Blog: http://davidchao.typepad.com)
It takes time to build a social media presence and online reputation but with consistent effort you'll get to the point where the person you have a conference call with, who you have already Googled, decides to do the same thing to you and BOOM...you are everywhere on the internet with a credible online reputation.
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