Happy 10th birthday Facebook! It is a long way from an audience of Harvard students in February 2004 to a global audience of 1.23 billion in 2014.
All those users face a dilemma: how do I achieve my goal of representing myself well online? I’ve blogged (in the related tweet above) about the challenges of managing a credible personal brand on social media before, most recently after 2013’s Business Show.
How will you manage your brand this year?
When it comes to your 2014 posts, how will you manage your personal brand? From what I can see it helps to keep posts:
- Professional – bearing in mind regularly posts about getting wasted the night before might not impress a future employer
- Succinct – staying on point, in fewer than 500 words, helps your reader focus on your message
- Visual – readers appreciate eye-catching elements
How do your posts reflect your values?
It also helps to be mindful of your key values when posting. What story are you telling about yourself?
If you are looking to make an impact on a wider community from a position of knowledge your advice and commentary could attract a strong following. Posting on a regular schedule would make you an important presence in others’ lives.
How are you managing your data?
How mindful are you about data protection when you are online? A bit of thought probably helps, as more and more of us contribute to the pool of Big Data being waded through by large organisations.
The goal of the European Data Protection Day (on 28 January) – branded as Data Privacy Day in the US – is simple: to inform the public about how their online data is collected and processed; helping to protect their privacy and control their digital footprint.
So, taking all of this into account, would today be a good day to start managing your digital self more thoughtfully?
Experience Your Life 