Building Your Personal Brand With Facebook

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There are more tools available today than ever before to help us promote our personal brands. Many executives wonder if Facebook is an effective tool for self-promotion. It is, but it should be used with a cautious and sensible strategy.

Facebook is the Casual Friday of this Generation

If you tink most people when given the opportunity to make judgments without guidelines will err on the conservative side, go to any organization on Casual Friday. For some reason, employees who seem quite judicious Monday through Thursday suddenly think Casual Friday is the day to trade in their pinstriped Armani for ripped Levi's or plunging necklines. This was demonstrated at a highly conservative organization when one man who was usually impeccably dressed decided to wear shorts and a tank top to the office. To say he was hairy doesn't begin to cover it. This man was a human Chia Pet with enough jet-black fur on him to provide warmth to a small fishing nation. Whether it was bad taste or just testosterone poisoning, the image was hard to erase from one's memory. His boss had to send him home. Another woman on the casual Friday before Fourth of July weekend, revealed her patriotism by donning a white micro mini skirt and a halter top which had barely enough stars and stripes to cover her ample mountains majesty. Remember - everything communicates.

Professionals Behaving Badly

The very nature of the Facebook medium gives people a sense of unbridled freedom. What they don't realize is they may lose a promotion or a job opportunity because of their Facebook antics. Here are some basic DOs and DON'Ts to live by:

DO use Facebook to:

-promote relevant information about your industry,
-make thought provoking comments on topical issues.
-give opinions on current events.
-promote positive aspects of your personality, e.g., photos of yourself engaged in competitive sports, fundraisers, or travel.
-demonstrate your expertise, such as providing information on a speech you are giving, an article you recently published or a trade show you will be attending.

DON'T use Facebook to:

-reveal anything you wouldn't reveal during a senior management meeting.
-promote anything that would reflect your company in a negative light.
-make inflammatory and hurtful statements about others.

Also, remember that some people will be judged more harshly than others online. For example, a photo of a young woman drinking a beer may be judged differently than one of a male professional guzzling some ale. Someone applying for a job will be judged with more scrutiny by the HR manager of a conservative company versus one with a young, innovative culture. Demonstrate attributes that position you positively within the context of your career path - when in doubt, leave it out. It will never hurt you to exclude a questionable photo or comment.

Facebook is a powerful tool'use it wisely and as a touch point to demonstrate the most unique and compelling qualities about your personal brand.

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Sandra Sellani is a brand strategy expert who helps individuals and businesses build compelling and profitable brands.Sandra authored the award-winning book,"What's Your BQ?" (Brand Quotient) (http://bqbrandingblog.blogspot.com/)which launched to #2 on Amazon.com. Her website also includes a free BQ Test to determine your brand strengths and weaknesss.Sandra has an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University, Malibu, California.

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