Post date: Nov 16, 2010 6:51:34 PM
In just a few short years, Twitter has become a household
name. If you had told me five years ago that I would spend
my time "tweeting" I would have thought you were crazy.
Today, most people are aware of the power of Twitter for
networking, website promotion and communicating... but have
you thought about the impact Twitter could have on your
personal brand? Twitter is ideally designed for personal
branding--users have the ability to choose a color scheme,
upload a picture, and send messages to an unlimited numberof followers. The casual feel of the site gives users thefreedom to incorporate their sense of humor and personalinterests into their tweets--an opportunity that doesn'texist with many other forms of communication. However, don'tlet the simplicity fool you... as with all branding efforts,effective personal branding through Twitter requires awell-conceived plan. Below are five tips to get you started:1) Put some thought into your layout. You don't have todesign a masterpiece, but you should spend some time on yourTwitter layout to make sure it is consistent with yourpersonal brand. Perhaps most importantly, choose a picturethat shows you at your best. If you're like most people,you're a bit shy about using your picture in public--butresist the urge to use a company logo or some other image.When it comes to the colors of your profile, try to use thesame colors as you have on your website, blog or otherbranding materials.
2) Engage experts in your field. Follow experts in your
field and look for opportunities to contribute to their
conversations. If they reply to you, you can bet that many
of their followers will follow you. This is a great way to
gain more followers--and it's a great way to gain
credibility in your field of work.
3) Self promotion should be subtle. Many experts suggest
that no more than 20% of your tweets should be self
promotion. More than that may make you look like a
spammer--and that is not the brand any of us want to convey!
In addition, even when you are promoting your blog posts, web
site or special deals, make sure that you choose your words
carefully. Twitter is not a place for an in-depth sales
pitch.
4) Tweet once a day at minimum. If you're tweeting less than
once a day, you're not going to connect with your followers.
You need to build relationships in order to convey your
brand--and that takes more than two tweets per week.
5) Be yourself. Don't be stiff and boring. Display your
sense of humor. Share some opinions. You don't want to be
overly controversial, obviously, but an interesting opinion
is a great way to catch the attention of your followers.
Twitter provides a unique opportunity to engage your
friends, clients and potential clients. Before diving in,
make sure that you've identified your personal brand. Each
action that you take should reflect that brand. Keep the
guidelines we've covered above in mind, and you'll be well
on the way to projecting your personal brand through
Twitter.
About the Author:
J.W. Dicks, Esq. is America's foremost authority on Personal
Branding for Business Development. J.W. represents some of
the top marketers and professional experts in the world in
the growth of their businesses using online and offline
business development systems, social media,
multi-dimensional marketing, franchising and strategic legal
structure to accomplish their goals and capitalize on the
assets they create. http://www.JWDicks.com