5 Ways to Create Great Content To Grow Your Personal Brand
I recently presented at the Future Workforce Conference in Toronto on the power of social media to build your digital brand as an HR professional. Although developed for recruiters, anyone can benefit from these strategies as the future of work will require you to significantly invest in your digital communications skills. Research shows, including a recent study released by MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab on the Future of Work, that people skills will be increasingly in demand as technology transforms the way we work. Social media can be overwhelming – what to post, how often to post, and how to stay relevant in a field of influencers.
Here are my five tips for creating great content to grow your online brand.
1. Lead with Numbers
Think about it, how often have you clicked on an article on Facebook or LinkedIn because of a catchy title like, “10 Ways AI is Transforming the World”? An easy way to increase your engagement and captivate your audience is to break down your post into consumable lists, with a catchy title.
2. Recognize Others
You may have noticed on Twitter the trend of #FollowFriday when people offer suggestions on who to follow. Take the opportunity to recognize others on your social media, whether it be a colleague, a client, or your team’s achievements that week. Encourage recognition, knowledge-sharing, and the power of community online. This is easy, feel-good content that results in maximum engagement.
3. Leverage What’s Trending
Take advantage of current trends online, industry news, trending hashtags, and current events when timing your posts. Is blockchain taking over your newsfeed? Is everyone sharing photos of their dogs #NationalDogDay? Jump on that bandwagon and add your voice to the conversation. You can also look at social media holiday calendars like this one, to help prepare you for upcoming holidays.
4. Share Other People’s Content
I get it, thinking about what to post can be exhausting! You don’t need to always create your own original content, sometimes great content can be sharing others’ posts and adding your own opinion. Don’t be the bot that just clicks, “share” without adding your perspective – take the time to add a sentence or two about the article, if you agree or disagree and include your thoughts.
5. Post images
Posting images on LinkedIn results in a significant increase in the number of comments on your post. Take the extra minute to add a photo to your post and see your engagement grow. Make sure you add quality images that help to tell a story. And of course, make sure to give credit to the owner of the picture.
Now, what are you waiting for? The first step in growing your brand online is to get active! Having a profile on LinkedIn or a Twitter account isn’t enough anymore – you need to keep active and add your voice online to stay relevant.
About the Author
Bridget King is the North America Branding & Communications Program Manager, Early Professional Hiring at IBM, responsible for strategic branding and communications across the US and Canada to enable IBM to attract and hire top early professional talent. Previously, Bridget led IBM’s campus recruitment team in Canada. A graduate of the University of Waterloo Arts and Business Co-op program, Bridget has also worked in recruitment in the tech industry and the federal government. She holds her CHRP and is an active member of the York Region HRPA chapter. She was named Campus Recruiter of the Year by TalentEgg in 2017.