Today’s guest post is by Susan Lambre, a blogger, writer and corporate communications advisor. Susan discusses with us how she built an online profile.
By Susan Lambe
There is much well-versed commentary on the establishment and building of an online presence and this post is intended to neither regurgitate nor challenge the wealth of information already circulated by experts on the topic. Far from being an expert, I have been actively participating in social media for only just over twelve months.
This post is a reflection of my ‘excellent online adventure’ and is really held up as an example of how one person went about developing an online presence – it’s not intended as a ‘how to’ guide.
Have you ever wondered how a particular event or encounter was experienced or executed by someone else? Have you ever thought ‘I wonder how they did it’? An online community is the perfect forum to share and compare experiences – especially those pertaining to experiences online. I find it really helpful to get some insight into how other people went about achieving something – if only to come to the conclusion that I’d go about it differently. So, here I offer the opportunity for you to consider the course I have taken in establishing an online profile, for you to use – or not – as you see fit.
Once upon a time …
I began to build my online profile last year – not that I understood what I was doing at the time. It all started with my first foray into Twitter – undertaken at the urging of various mentors in the world of corporate communication. ‘It’s the way of the future’ they enthused, ‘you can’t be a corporate communications professional without getting across social media.’
Prior to that I had only dabbled with Facebook in the context of sharing status updates and photos with my already existing network of current friends, and re-connecting with old ones. I had no clue about the existence of this ‘social media’’ thing or the potential power of the concept.
What’s all the fuss about?
I didn’t ‘get’ Twitter at first. But my mentors had warned me this would be the case, so I persisted and busied myself with systematically trawling through the people they followed – and the networks of those people as well. Little did I know at the time that this was the best thing I could have done to position myself in the ‘Twitterverse’. I was watching the ‘right’ people – and those that returned the follow were watching me right back! I had defaulted to my target audience.
Once I’d been through the exercise of setting up a network of people to watch, I wondered ‘what now?’ as I passively consumed the myriad of information offered up. I was excited by the volume of new data coming my way everyday – so much information that I never would have found on my own – but I knew there had to be more to it. And I figured that the way to get more out of it was to put more in – as is the case so often in life.
Share and share alike
I began sharing the articles I came across that I found helpful or informative and if someone asked a question or was seeking advice, I contributed if I could. Like any mode of communication, social media must be two-way to be valuable and my experience – with Twitter in particular – is very much as an online community.
Communities, as we all know, are about helping out others when you can – and being helped in return. Once you start engaging with people in a social media forum (and on Twitter in particular) whether by sharing information , offering advice or answers to questions posed, or jumping head first into a conversation you see going on, then people can’t help but respond – they’re only human, after all.
It can take a little time, and I must admit that for me it was a little nerve-wracking (a bit like being at a really massive party where you pretty much don’t know a soul), but the reality is that if you’re sharing quality information and bringing intelligent input to the community, then people will engage with you. But you have to take the first steps. You have to be prepared to put yourself out there. No-one will be interested in finding out more about you or your work if you don’t give them something to make them want to find out more about you.
Engagement, engagement, engagement.
From a communicator’s perspective, building an online profile is really no different to any other awareness campaign. You need to be selective about target audiences and utilise the channels that are pertinent to those audiences. Your conversations should be about the topics that your target audiences are discussing, in the spaces they using to discuss them. And they need to be relevant, regular and engaging – even controversial. Stimulate a response.
For me, this has meant reading more and contributing thoughtfully through comments on other people blogs. It has meant re-engaging with Facebook with a different perspective. And it has meant starting my own Posterous and blog – spaces in which to share ideas, provoke thought and commentary, and generally engage.
Opportunity knocks
Making connections, engaging in conversation, building a profile – it all leads to opportunities.
Establishing a presence and a personal brand online naturally leads to opportunities to connect with people in real life. It opens up doors to new professional and social networks – even potential employers and customers. It give you license to comment and lead thought in the space you carve out for yourself. And it generates endless possibilities for learning, growth and development. Be present. Be heard. Make the connections. Create the opportunities.
Who is your audience?
What conversations do you want to have? Where will you create your space?
Susan Lambe is a blogger, writer and corporate communications advisor in Brisbane, Australia. You can see more of her work at The Big Speakeasy and follow her on Twitter: @SusanLambe
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March 14th, 2010 at 7:38 am
I had been blogging for years before I ever heard the term ‘social media’. I had been building my online profile since 2003 – although my focus for the first 5 years was on building a presence in the world of comic books/ pop culture.
Like you, I was initially perplexed by Twitter and Facebook. When I first thought that I ‘got’ it, I approached both mediums as self promotion tools. I wasn’t very successful in gaining followers.
Sure, these days I still promote myself, my ideas, my blog posts – but I also engage and share with others. This has allowed me to meet/ contact many inspiring/ smart thinkers in the world of PR/ comms/ social media (including yourself) who I would never has otherwise come into contact with. For me, this is the buzz I now get from social media – using it as a tool to build my network and share knowledge and experiences.
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Susan Reply:
March 19th, 2010 at 1:25 am
I agree Jason – there is definitely a buzz around growing a network online and sharing with others. The online community feeds a need for interaction with like-minded people and contributing in a meaningful way. What we (as a broad generalisation) still seem to be struggling to come to grips with is that this community is about conversation, sharing and connecting – not blatent self promotion. Thanks, as always, for your continued support
Cheers
Susan
.-= Susan ´s last blog ..With a little help from my friends =-.
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September 2nd, 2010 at 4:04 am
I’ve been using twitter for some time now but I’m still pretty overwhelmed by it.
.-= Selurus´s last blog ..Shrek Forever and After =-.
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