by Kelly MacDonald-Hill, Partner, Senior Vice-President, Speakers’ Spotlight
Last year on the occasion of Martin & Farah Perelmuter’s 40th birthday, I got the idea of throwing a surprise party for them in my home. “We can’t do that!” my husband said, “ the backyard isn’t finished!”. I don’t know about you but deadlines work for me. The party was wonderful and the back patio looks pretty good too!
I recently applied the same motivation tactic to establishing my on-line presence… I have a profile on LinkedIn but I’m not utilizing it in any real way. And on Facebook, … well I have no friends. There’s some bad photos tagged here and there, sporadic posts with OMG comments from my 14 year old niece alongside thoughtful pieces from a business colleague.. What if one were to consider this messy, uncared for, and mostly missing in action, online presence to be a true reflection… of “me”!?
Something had to be done. Then one night at home while listening to the radio, I found my catalyst. (Jazz FM is a publicly funded radio station and during their fund drives; they always come up with interesting ways to donate. The newest idea was a chance to host your own radio show. As it happens, my favourite radio host, Ralph Benmergui, is also a speaker on our roster. This was it! I would donate to my favourite radio station, host a radio show with my favourite host… happen to mention how we’re connected to millions of listeners!! And I’d have a very cool event to post and attract people to my shiny new on-line personal brand!!
I needed help so I reached out to Marketing and Personal Branding expert Mitch Joel to see if I was on track and to inspire me. Admittedly, I was a late adopter and not entirely convinced of the value, the time commitment, and workings of social media.
Mitch was very clear. “First”, he said, “It has to do with having the right attitude. You can always make time for things that are important to you. These different channels offer a chance to have real connections with real human beings, so why not do that? Networking is networking – online, offline or otherwise.”
Mitch’s presentations and website are steeped with further advice and how-to’s. I also came across some great posts from Chris Brogan, author of Social Media 101. Check out his “Best of” page! http://www.chrisbrogan.com/best-of/ – I was pumped!
Then, Jesse Brown, another influential voice on the subject, added a caveat: “ Don’t force it, Kelly!” “Facebook”, he said, “is fuelled by effortless, almost compulsive usage. People who initially don’t see the point join in once enough of their friends are using it and before they know it they’re commenting on photos, hunting down old contacts and uploading their own stuff. It becomes a hub of their social and even professional lives.”
“But if this isn’t the case for you, don’t worry about it! Maybe your particular network prefers other points of contact. And that’s okay. Facebook isn’t interesting or useful in and of itself. It comes to life if the people you care about are constantly supplying it with content.”
“If they aren’t, then it might be better to simply not have a Facebook presence. No page at all might be better than a neglected one. This doesn’t mean you won’t be accessible. Make sure a Google search for your name brings up stuff you want people to see. If you want to expand on your online presence for professional purposes, then take some time to create a good LinkedIn account.”
OK, that’s helpful! Networking is networking and that’s something I’m good at. These are just new channels. I can figure out what channel(s) works best for me and represent me in an authentic way to further connect with my current network and how I want to expand it.
Speakers’ Spotlight has a Facebook page. Perhaps I should direct friend requests there and devote my personal Facebook page to my kids, nieces and nephews, and any friends that are into it. Let it grow organically.
I decided to concentrate on LinkedIn. I improved my profile and have included a link to it in all my correspondence and I made sure my Blog posts are connected too. I’ll be finding out more and will post anything of value. I’d love it if you wanted to connect! And, if you have any advice on managing your on-line brand please send it along.
OH!! And if you love Jazz, my radio show airs this Sunday, August 8th at 11:00pm on 91.1 Jazz FM.
Connect with Kelly, or any of the Speakers’ Spotlight team on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter!!
Tags: brand, Chris Brogan, communicating, Facebook, JazzFM, Jesse Brown, Kelly MacDonald-Hill, LinkedIn, Mitch Joel, Networking, online brand, radio show, Ralph Benmergui, Social Networking and All That Jazz, speakers' spotlight, Twitter
