Social Networking

Personal Brands are Portable

Wendy Terwelp 1 Comment

“No matter where you go, there you are.” —The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (motion picture) (1984).

And everywhere you go, your online reputation follows.

If you haven’t searched your name online recently, do so. Put your name in quotes, like this “Wendy Terwelp,” to narrow the search parameters.

Next, use these questions to assess your online brand and visibility:

Your Social Media Profiles: Have you chosen the right social media networks for your target audience? Do your social media profiles contain a current professional photo, your one word that represents you, and a clear brand story about your background and experience? Does your profile pop with your personality?

Your Network: Who’s in your network? And who needs to know about you? Invite those who are a fit for your current goals. And those whom you’re confident in referring to others. Is it time to review and prune some of your current connections? Your network reflects your personal brand.

Your Thought Leadership: TED talks say “ideas worth sharing.” Are yours? Review the content you’re sharing. Is it relevant to your goals and helpful to your network and target audience?

Your Personal Brand Hub: If you haven’t done so already, grab your name as a domain. This way you can create and curate content about you in a personal brand hub. When people search on your name, this on-brand content will rise to the top of the search.

Time Savers: Maintaining a highly visible brand online doesn’t have to be time consuming. You can repurpose your content. If you’ve written an article or blog post, use quotes from it in other social media, like Twitter or LinkedIn, and include a link to your post. Take advantage of tools like Hootsuite to schedule posts in advance for consistency. And keep the conversation going by addressing responses in real time.

I invite you to share your results in the comments.

And if you’d like help in up-leveling your brand online, let’s talk!

©2018 Wendy Terwelp | All rights reserved.

Five Moves to Rock Your Network® Online

Wendy Terwelp Leave a comment

Editor’s note: updated May 2019

How do you leverage social media to network effectively and stay top of mind? Check out these five rock star moves to get connected, get known, and make your network thrive:

1. Pick Three: With so many social media networks to choose from, I recommend picking three so you can manage them well. For career and business development, I recommend: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. As of 2019, LinkedIn has more than 610 million members, Twitter has more than 326 million users, and Facebook topped 2.38 billion.

2. Create a branded bio: Tell a story in your social networking bios. Let your personality pop. Don’t regurgitate your resume information or company bio. Know that chemistry helps you land and KEEP new clients and jobs. Likability counts, be interesting.

3. Know what you want: When you start networking online, it’s important to know what you want from the activity. If you want new clients, be sure your profile is on brand, up to date, professional, personal, and communicates your value and scope of practice. Have a professional, current headshot. For #LinkedIn, add a custom background image or color as well.

4. Join a group: Know that in order to make the most of an online group, you’ve got to take an active role. If you’ve got a business, join groups where your ideal clients will be, including niche and specialty groups. For job seekers, find out where your ideal employers hang out and join those groups. People like to do business with those having similar values, backgrounds, and experiences.

5. Be relevant and add value: Social networking gives you a chance to demonstrate your thought leadership and set yourself apart from your competition. As an executive and leader in your profession, it is even more critical to demonstrate your expertise online.

Take Action: Review your current social networks and identify at least three action items from the above list you can implement immediately. Schedule time to effectively manage your online network and communicate with your contacts regularly. It only takes minutes a day to fuel your network and fire it up!™ That way, your network is there for you when you need it.

Grab your free social media action plan here!

© 2006 – 2019 | Wendy J. Terwelp | All rights reserved.

Networking Before, During, and After ASTD ICE 2012

Wendy Terwelp 1 Comment

I’m heading for the ASTD International Conference & Expo (ICE) 2012 and was asked to write a blog post for them. After writing the post, I though my readers could use these tips at any conference or event they have coming up. Enjoy! And I’d love to hear your tips.

Get fired up to attend this year’s ASTD International Conference & Expo! Here are some tips to help you get the most from the conference through networking.

Before: Plan Ahead

Have goals. Many times people attend events without a plan and that’s when it becomes a waste of time. Instead, plan ahead. Who do you wish to meet at this event? If you wish to meet speakers, name them. Who needs to know about you? How many new people do you wish to meet? (I recommend meeting at least three new people.) Plan ahead to ensure you connect and meet your networking goals.

If you’re shy, bring a friend. Introduce them first, and then introduce yourself. Sit at a table with one person you know – and at least three people you don’t. Get to know the new people.

You’ll remember to do these things if you have made a plan in advance. Set networking goals.

Use social media to schedule meetings and gatherings ahead of the conference. Check out ASTD’s LinkedIn page. You’ll see several people are already starting conference discussions. Follow the #ASTD2012 hashtag on Twitter. This will keep you up-to-date on pre-conference and at-conference happenings. Follow people using the hashtag who seem interesting. If they follow back you can direct message (DM) them, contacting them directly and set up a meeting at the conference. I once planned a guest-spot for my conference presentation using Twitter’s DM feature. It’s terrific when you’re not in the same state – or as many attending ASTD’s International Conference and Expo – the same country.

Pack/bring plenty of business cards. Yes, there are cool electronic tools, like Bump and Evernote Hello, however, most people still use business cards and are familiar with them. If you’re unemployed, create your own cards using gotprint.com or vistaprint.com. Have a tagline on them that brands you. Ensure you have all your contact information on the cards so people can connect with you. For those currently employed, have your staff order you extra cards. Bring at least 100 cards (more is better). You’ll use them for drawings as well as for networking. And, if you meet someone you click with, you don’t want to say, “Gee, I ran out of cards going for the iPad.”

During: Engage!

Have a sound bite ready. When people ask, “So, what do you do?” in a gathering of trainers, instructional designers, e-learning gurus, you want to stand out from the crowd. Do so by stating a benefit you provide your learners. (More tips can be found in my website’s newsroom: http://knocks.com)

Get a business card from those whom you meet. On the card, jot down at least one unusual or interesting thing you learned about each of the new people you meet on the back of each person’s business card. You can find out something unique about each person you meet by asking open-ended questions.

For example, “Is this your first meeting?” is not an open-ended question because the person will either say “yes” or “no.” Instead ask, “So, what brings you to tonight’s event?” or “What’s one thing no-one knows about you?” or “What’s one thing you’d like to take away from this conference and bring back to your employer?” And so on.

Also list the date and name of the event (or conference session) where you met.

Use social media during the conference. Twitter is one of my favorite tools for this. At last year’s ASTD ICE conference, Marcus Buckingham tweeted that you could see him at a specific hotel and that he’d be wearing a red baseball cap. At TechKnowledge, a fellow Wisconsinite tweeted that he’d be wearing an Aaron Rodgers jersey and where he could be found. Several Wisconsinites met up with him at the conference. And there’s the Red Feathers group who connected through social media, then attached red feathers to their name badges for easy spotting, and connected during the conference.

After: Follow Up

Follow up. On the back of the business cards you received, list the action you plan to take to follow up with your new connection. For example, you promised the person you’d send them an article on the topic you just discussed, do it!

I typically recommend you send this within 24 hours. If you’re at the conference, send it when you return. You’ll have made a note on the person’s business card, so you can remember and do what you promised.

Use social media to stay connected. Because ASTD has such a vast membership in their LinkedIn group, if you did miss getting a person’s business card, you may be able to connect with him or her using LinkedIn. Additionally, if you clicked with the people you met during the conference and want to stay connected later, LinkedIn is an easy way to do so. Plus, you can learn more about each person via their LinkedIn profile. (Note: if you haven’t updated your own LinkedIn profile in some time, do so before the conference!)

Pick up the phone. Sometimes we can get so busy or so used to using social media, we forget to make it personal. Picking up the phone for a brief call does wonders in solidifying business relations with your new connections.

For those wishing to connect with me at the conference, I’ll be in the career center and presenting “Rock Your Network®,” an interactive networking presentation where you’ll learn how to create an effective sound bite and apply what you learn immediately. Follow me on Twitter @wendyterwelp, use the hashtag at the conference #ASTD2012, and be sure to check out the ASTD group on LinkedIn. See you there!

©2012 | Wendy Terwelp | All rights reserved. | Graphic design: SnapHappyCreative.com

 

Social Media Can Get You HIRED

Wendy Terwelp 3 Comments

Can social media help you get hired faster? YES, if you use it the right way.

Laura Gainor

Laura Gainor did. In March, Laura Gainor saw a job posting on Twitter for a position at Comet Branding in Milwaukee, WI. Based on the ad, Gainor launched a social media campaign, which landed her the gig in less than 30 days.

Gainor identified the company, did her research, and launched her campaign based on what she learned about the organization. She used all elements of social media to make her pitch as to why she was the best candidate for the role – and it worked.

Recruiter Todd Nilson (Twitter Handle: @talentline411) regularly posts job openings on Twitter. When asked if it works, he said (via Twitter), “So far so good. I get some kind people RTing [retweeting] me. Slightly better luck from LinkedIn updates, though.”

Probably because Nilson has an extensive LinkedIn network. As do I. Because my connections are connections I know personally, I am very comfortable in referring them to others. However, I’ve got to be asked in the right way.

For example, one recruiter emailed me via LinkedIn asking for more information about a candidate. Unfortunately, I had no idea who she was talking about. So, I picked up the phone. It turned out this candidate was a third-degree connection. That meant that the candidate was not directly connected to me (first degree), but rather connected to one of my direct connections.

The recruiter and I talked and she provided me with more specific details of the job, including: salary, location (city), position title, requirements, and a brief job description.

This enabled me to forward her email, along with my recommendation about her company, and provide more details about the gig to MY connection. This enabled him to forward more information to his connection – the candidate. This strategy helped my recruiter friend not only get referrals from me for the gig, but also more candidates from my direct connection.

The job was filled.

If you’re in job search mode, it pays to pick up the phone, especially if you are the direct connection to the person posting the job. If you aren’t, you can certainly email your direct connection to get more details.

Personally, all the people in my LinkedIn network are people I actually know and can refer with confidence. I recommend this strategy to those wishing to beef up their LinkedIn connections.

If someone wishes to connect with you and you have no idea who they are, you can either ignore the request or simply pick up the phone and find out more. If, after you connect, you feel this person would be a great addition to your network, add him or her.

In addition, whether you’re an employer, recruiter or candidate, it’s important to have a detailed LinkedIn profile that communicates YOU, your brand, and your personality. Go beyond the standard data.

See my LinkedIn profile here:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyterwelp

Note the story AND the recommendations. Build your profile accordingly.

Also, don’t forget about the in-person connection. Pick up the phone. Set up a meeting. According to CareerXRoads 2010 Source of Hire Study: Referrals make up 26.7% of all external hires. (Translation: Networking!)

Want more tips on how to make that personal connection the right way – and using just five minutes a day? Check out “Rock Your Network®.”