Your internal brand is basically what people in your organization take into consideration you. Typically, it’s going to be set in stone inside your first yr of labor.
Whether your colleagues initially view you as resourceful, creative, ineffective, or useless, it’s difficult to vary their minds once you are a long-term worker. While there’s little you may do in your day-to-day work to strengthen your internal brand, it continues to be possible to vary internal perceptions by transforming your external brand through the strategic use of social media, particularly LinkedIn.
My boss and I once attended a gathering with a vital client in China whose company was planning to list its shares on the stock exchange. My manager knew that the client was well-respected university lecturers, so he introduced me as “Professor Sim.” The customer initially laughed because he thought a senior banker would not have the time or inclination to show, but my boss then asked me to provide the client my university business card. I used to be surprised he even remembered my second job as a teacher because he was so busy doing banking, but that was on his mind when he introduced me.
This shows that your external activities, which you’ll promote through LinkedIn or other social media, can influence your internal status.
LinkedIn is a strong tool that may change the course of your profession, making it perfect for constructing your external and internal brands. For example, when you gave a successful speech outside of labor, you may post it on LinkedIn to advertise your brand to the surface world. Then your colleagues who follow you on LinkedIn will hear about your talk, giving your internal brand a pleasant boost.
But don’t just have a LinkedIn strategy, have a social media strategy too. Below are three small steps you may take to enhance your skilled use of social media.
Strategy 1: Use LinkedIn as an engine to drive other channels
Think of LinkedIn because the powerful engine that drives your social media branding. LinkedIn permits you to write longer, more thought-provoking posts that may give your brand more exposure over time. So if you’ve got developed a subject that interests your followers, post it on LinkedIn first.
After LinkedIn, you may optimize the post and share it on other relevant social accounts. Sometimes you may also share your LinkedIn post with friends via messaging apps. Job and business opportunities can potentially arise on any platform.
I became a lecturer at a university in Hong Kong in 2016 because a former colleague at a US bank saw my Facebook post a few talk I had given on the University of Cambridge. She contacted me on behalf of her professor friend who was on the lookout for a financial skilled who was comfortable teaching. Then I met the professor for coffee and next thing I knew I used to be appointed associate professor to show finance and communications.
Strategy 2: Make sure your profile is consistent across all platforms
It’s vital to have a consistent personal brand in your offline life. You also needs to be consistent when organising your social profiles. Many people have a proper headshot for his or her LinkedIn profile and use a more casual profile picture for Instagram. While that is a well-liked approach, when you actually need to construct your brand quickly by making it easily identifiable and consistent, I like to recommend using the identical high-quality skilled photo across all of your channels.
I also use the identical title “Banker, Lecturer, Speaker, Author” in my profiles on LinkedIn, Instagram, Clubhouse, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, WeChat and WhatsApp. For example, when conversations start on LinkedIn after which move to Telegram, my latest contacts experience a seamless transition without me wondering in the event that they’re still talking to the identical person.
Another good reason to remain consistent: The line between casual and skilled relationships is blurring, so lots of your contacts see you on multiple platforms. Your Instagram friend could someday change into your colleague and even your boss, and your customer or manager could eventually change into your Instagram follower. Meanwhile, HR people and hiring managers may attempt to review all your profiles (not only LinkedIn) before interviewing you, and it’s best to give them a consistent impression.
Strategy 3: Speak the native language of every platform
While it is vital to maintain your social profiles consistent, it’s essential adapt the content of your posts to every platform’s native language. Here’s how I adapt my posting style on a few of the main social networks.
You should use skilled language, provide value to readers, and tell an excellent story. It’s okay to write down either long articles or short posts, and it’s always best to incorporate a relevant image alongside your text.
If a subject does well on LinkedIn and can be relevant to my Facebook friends, I’d post it on Facebook. I do not post anything too technical on Facebook. It’s best to shorten the post and use a more personal and casual tone.
Of course, whatever you write, it is vital to write down well. And find out how to try this will likely be the subject of the subsequent episode of the “How to Master Social Media” series.
If you enjoyed this post, remember to subscribe.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images / Staff
