Marketing Yourself: Tips for Managing Your Online Presence

Summary: We know online conversations are happening about brands and businesses. But, guess what? If you have an online presence, conversations are also happening about you, more than likely. Here are some tips to for managing your personal image online and for making sure you present yourself in the way you want to be seen.

Did you ever stop to think that in the same way online conversations are happening about businesses, conversations could be taking place with yourself as the topic of interest? If you have an online presence—and chances are that you do—you have your own personal brand to manage. You have a responsibility to do what you can in order to present the image that you want people to see, because people are looking.

With this revelation in mind, I’ve compiled a list of tips for helping you market your online presence in a way that is consistent, authentic, and manageable.

1. Make a good first impression.
I’m not just speaking to those people in the job market. Would you run up to anyone you just met and toss them a photograph of yourself acting stupidly or give them an angry discourse on your political opinions? I hope not. That wouldn’t make a good first impression. Save these things for after you know someone and have a feel for them.

2. Show personality and be authentic.
Though you want to make a good first impression, don’t be phony. I’ve seen articles recommending that people craft entire profiles based solely on what may or may not impress others. If you meet someone or acquire a job based on these carefully-crafted personas, how long are you willing to hold up that sparkly structured image? Don’t mold your image or your message in a way that is not authentic to yourself. Your unique personality is the factor that will keep you from blending in.

3. Be consistent.
If your purpose is to become well-respected, well-known, or an authority in your field, create a consistent image of yourself throughout your various online platforms. Use the same picture on your blog, your facebook page, and your twitter account. Connect these disjointed spaces by using a similar design in order to stamp them with your own personal brand. Uniformity will create recognition.

4. Know your audience.
Before you try to please everyone (impossible), give some thought to your audience. To whom are you speaking? Direct your message to this group, and make sure it is meaningful to these people.

5. Go easy on the self-promotion.
Just as a company should refrain from using social media as a tool for mass-blasting marketing messages, so should you limit your own self-promotion. Give advice, share your expertise, and let others do the promoting for you. If you have a quality product, others will recommend you and endorse you, and these endorsements will carry much more weight coming from others.

I know there’s a whole school of thought out there that goes something like this: “I’m gonna be myself, and if people can’t deal with it, then that’s their problem!” and I think that’s fine. I feel a little bit of that myself. But just make sure you’re promoting the side of yourself that you won’t regret later.