Using Twitter to Develop Your Personal Brand
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by: MattCBA
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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 number of followers. The casual feel of the site gives users the freedom to incorporate their sense of humor and personal interests into their tweets—an opportunity that doesn’t exist with many other forms of communication. However, don’t let the simplicity fool you… as with all branding efforts, effective personal branding through Twitter requires a well-conceived plan. Below are five tips to get you started:
1) Put some thought into your layout. You don’t have to design a masterpiece, but you should spend some time on your Twitter layout to make sure it is consistent with your personal brand. Perhaps most importantly, choose a picture that shows you at your best. If you’re like most people, you’re a bit shy about using your picture in public—but resist the urge to use a company logo or some other image. When it comes to the colors of your profile, try to use the same colors as you have on your website, blog or other branding 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. He has developed some of the most successful mass media and multi-channel business marketing campaigns in the country and built multi-million dollar businesses on the back of them – to the tune of more than $500,000,000 in sales. 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. A “Best Selling” author with more than 14 published books, and hundreds of articles, J.W. has also been quoted or appeared in Newsweek, The Wall street Journal, USA Today, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX affiliates as well as Entrepreneur’s Start-Up Magazine, Forbes.com, CNN.com, and many other national and local media outlets. In addition to coaching and consulting for clients nationwide, J.W. is also a successful entrepreneur living in the trenches himself. He has built his own businesses, with annual sales exceeding $35 Million, developed real estate in excess of $200 Million and created and sold intellectual property rights for as much as $1.8 Million. Jack is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, NASD, National Association of Realtors, the Florida Bar and the Virginia Bar. Jack’s business address is in Orlando, and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife of 37 years, Linda, and their two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing… although the fish are rumored to be safe. JWDicks@DicksNanton.com • 800.980.1626 http://www.DicksNanton.com
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