Unless you have been living under a shell, you probably have a LinkedIn account. You may be on Facebook. You may tweet, blog, and “connect” through a myriad of other social networks. But to what avail? Beyond consuming extra time that you probably do not have, has your time spent in the world of social media actually paid off?

Sometimes social media do not work because we do not spend adequate time on a fundamental question: what do other people think of us when they look at our profiles? In other words, what is the connection between social media and our personal brands? If people think highly of us, this can translate into professional opportunity. If they think poorly of us, then they may not even be open to beginning a relationship. We disqualify ourselves.

A good definition of personal branding is simple: our brands are what we represent. Unfortunately, we cannot share our identities directly, so those around us are left to guess what we represent by two things: what they see, and what we do. Enter social media.

What they see: Consider your LinkedIn profile. Are there typos? What do the endorsements of you say? Does your profile appropriately describe your experience? Is your photograph professional? Up-to-date?

And what about your Facebook profile: are there embarrassing photos? Inappropriate comments from others? Nonsense status updates?

What we do: Is all of our community and professional leadership presented on our profiles? Are we seen to be active and engaged in our professional groups (such as the Toronto CFA Society)? Do our comments reflect well on our knowledge and professionalism? Are our blog posts and tweets value-filled, or are they ego pieces?

This is not an argument about not having fun on Facebook or Twitter—we do have a life, after all—but each of our personal brands is truly under our control, and the transparency of social media means that, if we wish, we can use this feature and tool to our professional advantage.

Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective client, a recruiter, or perhaps a leader from another part of your organization. What conclusions do they draw about you from looking at your profile? What adjectives would they use to label you? If these are different from the adjectives that you would prefer to use yourself, then your first social media task is to close the gap.

Here are a few ideas that can help:

Define your Personal Brand: What do you represent? What adjectives describe you? How might these be demonstrated online?

Demonstrate: Fill out your profile with appropriate content. This might also mean starting a blog, changing how you tweet, etc.

Delete: When someone adds photos, comments, or other content that are out-of-brand, delete or hide them. And consider using privacy controls to hide entire areas of your profile from casual viewers.

Disconnect: If there are people who are constantly tugging your brand in the wrong direction by adding inappropriate comments, photos, and other information to your profiles, consider disconnecting/de-friending them. (You are judged by the quality of those who spend time with you, or in this case, by those who spend time adding things to your profile).

The expression “you only have one chance to make a great first impression” is even more true in today’s transparent world of Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. If we want a powerful personal brand in the real world, we need to take care of our online brand as well—starting with our profiles.

Practical Advice on Social Media

LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social networks are now features of everyday life. But how can investment professionals use these tools without wasting their time? How can they avoid identity theft and use social media effectively to develop a network for both professional support and corporate growth? Based on the research covered in his books on social media, Randall Craig, CFA provides very useful practical advice and perspectives. In a recent presentation to CFA Society Toronto members, he explained how an “anchor and outpost” strategy can significantly increase the profiles of investment professionals, how others can be prevented from hijacking their own and their organizations’ identities, and how they can derive the greatest benefit from social media while avoiding their risks. Randall is President of Pinetree Advisors, a firm of social media consultants and is the author of six books on social media, including Social Media For Experts. He can be reached at RandallCraig.com or on Twitter at @RandallCraig. In this issue of The Analyst he has written two articles of advice for members.