How to Pivot Your Personal Brand on Social Media

by | Apr 16, 2020 | Careers, Change, Social Media

What do you do when the world changes (hello, Covid-19) and you need to quickly pivot your career direction?

How you show up on social media can help accelerate the shift. It starts with your personal brand and how you bring it to your social media profiles, content, and network.

This week I led a virtual event on this topic for fellow alums of the USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism.

KEY POINTS

Our world is being rapidly re-created with the Covid-19 pandemic. This is like nothing we’ve seen before. Yet if you’re healthy, you can solve any problem you set your mind to. There’s so much we can’t control right now. What you can control is how you show up in the world.

Adversity brings opportunity — and you can re-create yourself. Think about what products and services people will want post-Covid-19. What will people pay for? What are the products and services you want? Thriving industries include health and wellness, sustainability, non-contact grocery deliveries, meal prep services, online education, remote learning, remote work apps, and entertainment from streaming to gaming. The 2008 recession gave us many new companies founded in its aftermath, including WhatsApp, Venmo, Instagram, Uber, Pinterest, and Slack. What innovations will we see coming out of this crisis?

Pivot your personal brand. Ask yourself what you want to be known for. Everyone has a personal brand, or a reputation, whether actively cultivating one or not. Jeff Bezos of Amazon says a personal brand is, “what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” What do you want people to say about you? Now is the time to put together your personal brand statement. Who are the people or organizations you help to achieve what goals?

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE

Pick where to play on social media. LinkedIn is a must. Most recruiters use it to find candidates. Have a strong presence, focusing on your headline, summary, and job descriptions. Think about what keywords a recruiter would use to search for someone like you. Make sure those keywords are woven through your profile. In addition, consider one other platform for professional purposes, such as Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. If your Instagram is personal in nature for friends and family, you can make your account private, if it isn’t already.

Choose 2 or 3 content buckets. Pick areas you want to be known for. Create and curate content to support that. Think about what people in your network need. Identify what knowledge and experiences you have that are unique and could help others. As an example, Annenberg Dean Willow Bay recently shared the great work of her team in moving 274 spring classes online, as well as tips everyone can use for Zoom meetings. Her post combined recognition for her team with much-needed helpful information, positioning Annenberg as the leader it is in communication and journalism.

Build a vibrant and diverse network. Always be connecting, be helpful, and be fun to know. You need both bonding and bridging connections, in the view of researcher Robert Putman. That means people who are similar to you (bonding connections) and different from you (bridging connections). Your bridging connections bring more diversity and fresh ideas to your network, along with connections to other networks. Always send a personalized LinkedIn invitation, saying why you want to connect. Many people are more accessible now and open to connecting.

Lean into your alumni network. Help others where you can, whether it’s an introduction, a referral, a recommendation, or encouragement. Ask for help when you need it, whether it’s an introduction, a referral, some feedback, or advice. Randa Hinton is a great example. As a soon-to-be-grad, Randa messaged me recently and we chatted about ideas for her job search. Not only is she asking for help, she’s helping others by sharing her experiences in her LinkedIn articles.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Many of participant questions were universal in this collective challenge we all find ourselves navigating. Here they are, along with my responses.

I just graduated in December and I specialized in travel PR, which is a big problem right now. I would like to stay in the travel industry, but how do I pivot during this difficult time?

Congratulations on completing your degree! What an accomplishment. At the same time, this is a challenging time for new graduates. You could tap into your network and ask how people in various industries, including travel, are focusing or re-focusing their work. Perhaps there are adjacent fields with greater demand where you could start now and pivot later to travel PR. Here are some perspectives from the class of 2008 who started their careers during the great recession. With perseverance and resilience, they found work that led to mostly satisfying outcomes over time. You can achieve your goals and dreams one step at at time.

I’m 55 and changing careers. How do I change from my one brand to a new one?

Congratulations on your new focus and your courage to make a change. The process for pivoting your personal brand is the same at every age. Decide what you want to be known for. Choose two or three “content buckets” for the social media content you share, whether you create it yourself or curate it from others. In addition, a book worth checking out is Reinventing You by Dorie Clark.

On LinkedIn, how much do endorsements matter and how do you ask someone to endorse you for a skill or write about you on your profile?

Skill endorsements are less valuable than recommendations. That said, choose the top 3 skill endorsements that support your personal brand. You can then reorder your skills so those appear on top. You can also hide skill endorsements that aren’t relevant and don’t support your current personal brand.

What about recommendations? Do recruiters actually read them?

Recommendations are a powerful addition to your LinkedIn profile (although I can’t speak for recruiters on this!). Every few months, ask someone for a recommendation. To make it easy for them, you can provide a few bullet points or sentences they can use as a starting point. Who should you ask? Supervisors, clients, colleagues, professors — anyone who knows your work and thinks highly of you. Some may not be able to provide a recommendation due to their organization’s policy. That’s okay. Simply ask someone else. Pro tip: surprise people in your network by recommending them. Maybe you had a great boss or colleague. Sing their praises in a recommendation and make their day!

What kind of info should we put in our “About” section on LinkedIn besides the obvious information about ourselves? Should it be a summary of what we already have on our LinkedIn?

Tell your professional story and let your personality shine through. Share your personal brand statement in some way and go into detail on the narrative around it. What are your values? What have you learned? What have you accomplished? Who do you love to serve? Share the kinds of people and organizations you help through your work, answering the reader’s ever-present question, “What’s in it for me?” Write it in the first person, with “I” and “me.” Look at several “About” sections to see what resonates with you, and incorporate those features with your unique twist.

Will a recruiter or potential employer find it jarring or off-putting if you make a career pivot and your LinkedIn information suddenly shifts? Does this cause confusion? Does it make you look like you don’t know who you are or what type of job you want?

People make more frequent job changes, and the Covid-19 crisis will only accelerate that. Articulate your story about why you’re changing from one field to another. And don’t forget about your transferable skills that apply to any industry. Your LinkedIn “About” summary is an excellent place to share this narrative.

How do you effectively blend parts of your personality with your professional achievements? How do you walk the fine line between making yourself stand out without seeming too casual and framing your achievements in a creative, exciting way without seeming boring or generic?

AND

Where is the line between personal brand and private? I have a blog and I am not an influencer but someone who is a messenger for nonprofits. I have kept personal and blog social separate. Is there a good formula for balance?

Be you in the best way you can. Let your personality come through, in a way that’s appropriate for your industry and field of choice. Observe what others are doing on social media to showcase their professional achievements, and see what resonates. Adopt and tailor some of those strategies. We all have one personal brand, and it’s difficult to maintain a separate presence for each sphere of life. Fellow Annenberg alum Heather Rim says, “Your brand is one. You have one reputation to build and protect. When you’re on social, you can’t compartmentalize. While I’m a fan of using a mix of platforms to tell your story, it’s important to remember that it all ladders up to the brand that is you.” Lastly, strive for a social media trifecta in your posts. Weave in (1) what you did, (2) what your team or colleagues did, and (3) how your organization played a role. This recognizes others, which is the hallmark of a leader, and it makes you a good brand ambassador for your employer.

What are your thoughts on branding for multi-hyphenate roles? For example, I do photography, videography, editing and producing, and also would be interested in managing social media, copy writing, and strategizing digital content.

Creativity is a common thread running through your roles. In the “About” section of your LinkedIn profile, show how your multi-hyphenate roles inter-relate and reinforce each other. If you are applying for specific positions, such as managing social media, update your profile to emphasize those skill sets. View your profile through the lens of a person or an organization who wants to someone in the various roles and make your profile more compelling where you need to. For example, sprinkle samples of your work throughout your profile.

Any suggestions for an introvert? Social media seems so extroverted.

There are advantages to being an introvert on social media. You can take all the time you need to craft content. Or to finesse the ideal comment on someone else’s post. You can observe what content resonates with you and use that as a guiding light for your own content. If you haven’t read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain, I highly recommend it. Or check out her TED talk on the power of introverts.

I’m in the final stages of writing a novel and need to pivot my social media to be shared more as an author. Any recommendations?

Congratulations on writing your novel! Consider who you readers will be. Where do they hang out on social media? It may be on Instagram or Facebook. You could start social media accounts for your book and for you as an author. You can also use your existing social media presence to alert your network about the novel-related accounts. In addition, check out book marketing expert Tim Grahl. He has a focused framework for how to effectively market a book.

Do you have any thoughts about the job market and when hiring might “unfreeze.”

Like everyone, I wish I had a crystal ball on this topic! During hiring freezes, you can establish contact and keep in touch with recruiters and potential hiring managers at your organizations of interest. If you create content or see content that might be helpful, share it with them as a way of keeping in touch. Comment on their social media content from time to time, so you stay on their radar. Related to this, approach people with a helpful spirit and with confidence. Here are ways of finding confidence in making asks.

How important is the profile picture on LinkedIn? What should it look like?

A great profile picture is a must. LinkedIn profiles with pictures can get up to 21 times more views. Get a current photo taken, whether by a professional or on your mobile device. Look directly into the camera. Closely crop the shot around your face. More tips are in my article about 12 ways to a great LinkedIn profile photo. In addition, add a background photo that tells your story.

Would you suggest a professional photo for our LinkedIn profiles? Is there a particular look we should lean towards?

If your budget can accommodate a professional photographer, that’s ideal. A shout out here for my favorite photographer, Jessica Sterling. She is amazing! If you’re on a tight budget right now, a photo on your mobile device can work. Dress professionally and look straight at the camera. Check out a variety of profile photos to see what resonates with you.

How effective is it to provide only a very high-level summary on LinkedIn and use a personal website for more details?

On LinkedIn, complete your profile until you see an All-Star profile strength rating. You can provide the link to your personal website in your contact information. If you have portfolio examples on your personal website, it’s advantageous to showcase them in your LinkedIn profile as well, to create a seamless experience for the viewer.

What are your thoughts on reaching out to recruiters directly over LinkedIn? I feel like it can be a great way to find out what an organization needs in its various departments, but am concerned about overwhelming HR when they have a lot going on with Covid-19.

Your care and concern for others comes through in your question, and you can bring that to your LinkedIn interactions. Definitely reach out. Ask how people are doing and be sensitive to the demands on their time. Conversely, in some industries, people have more time on their hands now. Be human, be caring, and be authentic. Some people may respond right away. Some may never respond. Don’t take it personally. Simply keep connecting and putting good vibes and helpful information out there.

As a soon-to-be graduate, I formed some connections, mostly on LinkedIn, pre-Covid-19 who said to reach out to them around my graduation in regards to a job. How do I do that in this climate while remaining sensitive to the fact that they may be ill or have ill family members and being cognizant of hiring freezes.

You can do it exactly as your question expressed. Mention your previous interaction. Give a nod to the current environment. Ask how it’s affecting them personally and their organizations, and express your caring and concern. Do some research about what their current challenges are. Try to relate that to what you could offer in an entry-level job. You have the latest knowledge, from a top university, so play to that strength.

LinkedIn allows you to upload pictures in many of the sections (e.g., summary, jobs, schools, etc.). What’s your opinion on visuals or the maximum number of pictures to include so that one’s profile is not too busy?

As in writing, visuals work well in groups of three. Look at other profiles to see what appeals to you and emulate that on your profile with your unique style. A few times a year, consider updating the pictures, videos, and links on your profile to keep it fresh and current.

I’m a freelancer who balances two professional realms (audio journalism and voice acting). I’m not seeking a full-time position but would like to make sure I’m represented in both those realms for jobs as they come along. What are your recommendations?

Your two professional realms could represent your two “content buckets,” or topics you consistently share content about on LinkedIn and other social media platforms. Make sure your social media profiles weave in both realms as keywords.

For building a website, I am a freelance copywriter and currently have my homepage (call to action, blog, email subscription), portfolio, about me, and contact information on there. Is there anything else you would recommend adding?

You have a robust website. Testimonials are something to consider adding. Every time you complete a job and have a happy client, ask if they would be willing to write a short testimonial. It could be a few sentences about the nature of your work together and how it impacted their business for the better. In addition, ask if they’d be willing to write you a LinkedIn recommendation.

As a young professional (a grad student), what can I do to start building a reputation? How do I overcome the nervousness of sharing content on LinkedIn?

Start sharing content regularly about your professional interests, what you’re learning and doing in your studies, and what information you’ve found that might be helpful to your network. Over time, you can evaluate which posts are most valuable to your network, based on the engagement with your post through likes, comments, and shares. Juliana Carbonaro is a great example of this. Juliana and I met this semester when I was a guest speaker in a Digital Social Media class at Annenberg. Recently Juliana has posted on LinkedIn about crisis communications tips, community donations to the LA mission, internship opportunities she’s spotted, and coronavirus webinars on various topics.

Any advice for someone living in one market (say, LA) who wants to make connections and build leads, relationships and awareness in another market (say, for example, Dallas)?

LinkedIn lets you network across the time zones. If you have a target list of companies in Dallas, for example, you can then search for people in relevant roles at those companies and connect with them. Tap into mutual connections, e.g., people in your network who are connected to people in your target city, for warm introductions. As Harvey Kaner noted in the event chat, you can change your geographic location on your profile to your target city. You’re more likely to show up in recruiter searches in that area.

I had an awkward moment in a final interview with a CEO for my ideal industry, food and beverage. But when he looked at my resume, all he saw were my previous industries, which were museums and art. He asked me, “So what is your thing? Art?” I felt like my brand completely fell through in that moment. How can I overcome this situation in the future?

Everything is a learning experience. What can you add to your resume and your social media presence that demonstrates your interest in and knowledge of the food and beverage industry? How can you relate your experience with museums and art to your ideal industry in food and beverage? What is your story and how do you want to tell it? Craft a narrative as if you had a do-over. Practice saying it until it feels natural.

This article, as social distancing timelines increase, working mothers are becoming collateral damage, covers the impact of the current crisis for parents’ careers, especially mothers. Do you have suggestions on how to stay relevant and not become invisible due to the numerous hats that mothers working from home with kids now have?

First, give yourself some slack. You have a lot on your plate. In an ideal world, you have a partner who can share the load with you. Keep your social media presence simple. Maybe it’s a short post or two each week about what you and your team are proud of accomplishing. Or maybe you’ve learned something about being decisive when you have too much on your plate. No need to write long-form articles. Simply share what you’re learning and experiencing that could be helpful to your network. Or maybe you want to advocate for societal change in this area. Consider what fits best with your personal brand and how you want to show up on social media. Above all, take care of yourself!

In closing, thank you to Leticia Lozoya, Jasmine Torres, and the Annenberg community for bringing this event to life.

We will get through this crisis together!

 

Look to Social Media for Your Year-End Performance Review

by | Oct 30, 2019 | Careers, Learning, Social Media

It’s almost the end of the year. Do you want an easy way to gather your accomplishments for a year-end performance review?

You may be preparing for a performance discussion with your manager in the corporate world. Or maybe you run your own company and want to identify how you did this year.

In either scenario, reflecting on this year’s highlights helps you clearly see what you did well and where you can improve. It’s an opportunity to pause and celebrate the accomplishments of you and year team. It’s a chance to elevate what’s working well and make changes to what’s not working well.

But in the rush of meeting year-end goals, how can you simplify the process?

Try looking to your social media feeds. If you’ve been sharing consistently what you, your team, and your company have been doing, you have a ready-made record. (Of course, this presumes you follow your organization’s social media policy and haven’t shared any confidential, private, or sensitive information.)

A former colleague (and now an author!), Angelica Kelly, has a year-end ritual that relies on LinkedIn. “At the end of every year, I take stock of the personal and professional. I consider what I’m grateful for and what I want to improve,” Kelly says.

“After this reflection process, I use LinkedIn like a notepad and do an annual update,” she says. “Everything professionally relevant goes into my LinkedIn profile. This includes accomplishments, interests, volunteering, and big projects that highlight transferable skills and new knowledge I’ve gained.”

In addition to Angelica’s approach, if you posted content to LinkedIn or other social networks throughout the year, you can scroll through your posts to identify the highlights. You can capture instances where you and your team:

  • Launched a successful new product
  • Completed an important project
  • Won an award for your accomplishments
  • Spoke at a company or industry event
  • Attended a conference and applied new knowledge
  • Championed company news as a brand ambassador

After that, here are a few things to consider …

1. Link your achievements to the goals you set at the beginning of the year, as well as your bigger department and company goals. Does your social media content show how you made a difference for your company? Did you contribute to some of your company’s key goals and share about those (to the extent you could) on social media?

2. Quantify how others responded to your accomplishments. See what data you can cite from your social media posts. Did your content reach a large number of people? Generate multiple comments and a dialogue on an important work topic? Get shared in a way that helped build your organization’s reputation as an industry leader or a great place to work? Use numbers to quantify the impact of your social sharing.

3. Identify where you got feedback. Perhaps some of your posts served as mini feedback moments on some of your work. Did people make suggestions for improvements that you ended up using? Did people ask for more information so they could apply your learning to their own work? Social media can serve as an online focus group. See if that was the case for you this year.

As you reflect on this year, it’s also a great time to lay the foundation for the coming year. Are there new and different ways you could share successes and learnings on social media? Would you use social media activity to seek feedback and help solve problems? How could you hit what I call the social media trifecta — sharing equally about you, your team, and your organization?

With the year — and the decade! — coming to a close, I hope you reflect on and celebrate the accomplishments you and your team achieved this year. And if you have rituals you use to make the most of your performance review preparation, please share!

 

 

The Social Media Question People Ask the Most

by | Oct 16, 2019 | Careers, Learning, Social Media

photo by istock.com/akinbostanci

 

What question do people ask the most about social media?

This is a busy speaking month for me, and I’ve been reflecting on themes in questions. I’ve been talking about personal brands and building careers and companies through social media.

What am I hearing across a diverse group of audiences? What do people ask in the Q&A following my talks? What do they want to know in one-on-one chats?

This month includes talks with CEOs affiliated with the Community Associations Institute, and community members at an author’s panel. It includes employees at Ericsson North America, and employees and guests at Otter Media‘s We Gather women’s leadership event. At the end of the month, I’ll speak with students at the USC Rotaract Club.

What people often ask is a form of this question: what’s the best way to share professional updates on social media without sounding too self-promotional?

Said another way: what’s a good approach to being active on social media professionally without coming across as arrogant and turning people off?

We’ve all probably seen people in our social media feeds — whether it’s LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter — who make it all about themselves. Sometimes it can be tempting to tap the “mute” button and make those posts go away.

Yet, if we don’t share about our professional accomplishments, there are downsides. We run the risk of being underestimated in our abilities. We may be overlooked for future opportunities. We may not be able to make the impact that we want in our work.

The happy medium: a social media trifecta

So what’s the solution? It lies in a formula I call the social media trifecta. In every post you share about your work, strive to balance three elements of your content.

  • First, share what you did and why you’re excited about it.
  • Second, share how your team and your colleagues contributed.
  • And third, share what’s special about your organization that enabled your contribution.

With this approach, you highlight your own accomplishments in an engaging way. You also showcase the work of others — something good leaders do frequently. And you’re a good brand ambassador for your organization, in an authentic way for you.

In addition, offer something of value to your network. What insight or idea could you include that would help them in their work?

Here’s an example. Laura Ramirez and her colleagues at Ericsson created a fabulous Career Learning Day. Workshops, activities, and employee groups engaged colleagues in career development. My keynote speech included 3 questions to help people create a personal brand statement and 4 steps to build a personal brand. Afterwards, I posted pictures about the event and the great people at Ericsson. My post included bullets for the questions and the steps in my post. People who weren’t there could also benefit from the key concepts.

Who does this well? Here are a few …

Who do you know who does this well? Please share and tag people in the comments. And maybe it’s you!

 

 

What to Do When Social Media Gets You Down

by | May 31, 2019 | Social Media

Photo of Cynthia Dillard, Kathie Frasquillo and Mallika Siegel by Jessica Sterling

Social media is in the headlines a lot these days. And not always in a good way.

As I shared in my TEDx talk this spring about lifelong learning, social media gets a bad rap. It saps our attention. It makes us depressed. It polarizes our world.

Scrolling through our Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn feeds can be a trip down the rabbit hole of comparison hell. None of us can ever measure up to the carefully curated feeds of people and brands we see every day.

Unless …

… we remember that the only competition is with ourselves.

… we remember never to compare others’ outsides to our insides.

… and most importantly, we remember a great power of social media.

And that’s the power to lift others up. To rejoice in the accomplishments of others. And to use our voice on social media to amplify their good deeds.

On Administrative Professionals’ Day this spring, I was inspired by a post from Anne Chow, a senior leader at AT&T and someone who always inspired me when I worked there. She lauded her administrative assistant and how important she was to the her and the team.

That made me reflect. I had the good fortune to work personally with two exceptionally talented assistants, Kathie Frasquillo and Nancy Takahashi. And I worked peripherally with others, including Cynthia Dillard and Mallika Siegel.

And that made me remember I had some great pictures of them from my corporate farewell event (thank you, Jessica Sterling). It was the perfect confluence of factors to post a thank-you message on LinkedIn.

Seeing the community of comments and appreciation that sprung out of it was truly gratifying. What a boost for all involved. Suddenly, my day felt brighter, and hopefully others felt the same.

It was the putting into action one of the concepts in the book I published this spring, What Successful People Do in Social Media: A Short Guide to Boosting Your Career.

In my book, I talk about the social media trifecta. What’s that? It’s bucketing your social media content into thirds:

  • The first one is sharing what you’re doing in the work world.
  • The second one is amplifying the great things your team or your colleagues are doing.
  • And the third one is being a brand ambassador for your organization.

In this way, you don’t over index on promoting yourself and potentially turning people off in the process. You build goodwill with your colleagues and your team by highlighting their good works. And where it makes sense you share the good work of your employer.

As spring soon gives way to summer, I reflected on some of the social media posts that made me rejoice in what colleagues and friends are doing ..

My former colleague and inclusion mentor L. Michelle Smith launched the popular The Culture Soup Podcast and embarked on an inspiring series of speaking events.

My friend Corii Berg boldly stepped into the president role of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors, following other inspirational leaders Michael Felix and Jaime Lee.

My former boss Fiona Carter is now leading the #SeeHer movement to bring equality to and eliminate bias in the way women and girls are portrayed in advertising and media.

My friends Tom Henkenius, Austin Maddox, Madeline Lindsay, Allegra Guitierrez, Briana Latter, Stephanie Corrigan, Danielle Harvey Stinson and others celebrated their graduations from USC.

My former colleagues Sarah Groves, John Stancliffe and others continue to inspire me with their social media innovation in the B2B space and beyond.

My students in the social media program at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising are all doing amazing things as they get ready to graduate in June.

My friend Tina Quinn published a fabulous book this spring called Invisible Things. Tina coached me through some difficult times a few years ago and she inspires me every day.

My former colleague TeNita Ballard is doing so much to make the world a more inclusive place, especially for veterans and people with disabilities.

My former colleague Charles Miller keeps me and others up to speed with beautiful scenes of New York on his Instagram grid.

And an amazing thing has happened just as I’ve reflected on all of these special people and what they’re doing in the world. I feel uplifted. I feel inspired. I feel happy for them.

And the way for me to share that feeling is by engaging with their social media content, by liking and commenting and sharing their good deeds.

This spring has been difficult in many ways. Yes, it was the thrill of a lifetime to give a TEDx talk and publish a book and help my husband Kevin with the launch of his new restaurant this summer (Pacific Standard Prime in Redondo Beach, for those in So Cal).

But it’s been challenging shepherding my son through his last few months, weeks and days of high school. Like seniors all over the country, he’s beyond ready to move on to the next thing.

In his case, it’s a bit of a different path. He’s been “scrimming” (practicing) with two esports teams in League of Legends. Now when he’s sitting on the couch with his headset on playing a video game, he’s actually doing a job and getting his first paychecks.

Our world is changing so quickly, it can be hard to keep up. But if the happiness I feel right now in thinking about friends and colleagues is any indication, one way for you to find happiness is to look for the good in others and amplify it in social media.