When high-ranking executives start to use social media for their personal branding, they are sometimes hesitant when asked to show something about who they are as a person. It’s in “Personal Brand” somewhere: We don’t like someone because they can recite “googleable” facts so well; we like them because they are exciting, inspiring, approachable, and fun. Before you start, you must ask yourself, “What does authenticity mean to me, and how can I show that on the social web?”
I currently oversee more than a dozen C-level executives from a wide range of industries. Here are a few key questions to help you find your own authenticity:
What’s a good way to start?
If you’re usually careful on social media and just read instead of post, every bit of information you share can feel like a soul striptease.
So, it’s helpful to think about what first small steps the corporate ambassador could take to show a more personal side of himself or herself that still makes him or her feel at ease.
Could it be the game? Or something else? People can also seem more friendly by sharing stories and experiences. Here, you can choose your own path that makes the person behind the profile stand out but doesn’t go too far.
What is the difference between private and personal?
You have every right to decide where the line between private and personal lies for yourself. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to talk about your own family, things that happen in your own home, or even your most controversial ideas.
But there’s another way to see corporate ambassadors as real people who have nothing to do with their jobs: insights into your own values, interesting things from behind the scenes, lessons learned, and personal stories can work just as well.
The goal of more personal content is for followers to get to know and like the people behind the personal brand.
But corporate ambassadors must do this if they want to be successful. Those who only want to focus on technical content will miss out on a lot of the potential.
What can I do over and over again without much trouble?
One way to position yourself in a genuine way is to keep putting the same behaviour, values, and activities on the content plan. For example, series formats can make it much easier to make a recognition value that is also easy to handle because it always goes the same way.
This can be done through things like weekly “question and answer of the week” or “leadership learning.”
To figure out where something like this could go, it’s important to first think about focus topics that will come up again and again over time.
Anyone who gets used to and confident with the platforms, content formats, and their own interpretations in this setting can later show something more spontaneous and flexible about themselves.
What do other people like about me that I could talk about?
When talking to C-level executives, it’s often clear that they may have forgotten (or have a very harsh opinion of themselves) what an interesting, special, or noteworthy achievement or quality is on a day-to-day basis.
When they think about it, they sometimes realise that a lot of what they do every day and finds easy is actually their “superpower” or unique selling proposition (USP), which is the key to their success.
So, it’s important to ask your peers “How do you see me?” and have a coach tell you what they say. When people realise this, their fear and scepticism about the positioning often go down a lot, and they often say, “Well, that fits me perfectly, that’s easy for me, and that’s how I want to be seen.”
Where am I willing to leave my comfort zone with some care?
Anyone who already knows how to do the basics (has clear focus topics and a good personal brand) should first get some experience. Not only has it been shown that each Corporate Ambassador is different, but also that each community is different.
What works well for some people doesn’t work at all for others. So, start with a solid plan, then watch and make changes.
Based on this, you may want to try a spontaneous post from a company event or a short selfie video with a statement, etc., in the future.
People who have answered these questions for themselves before making regular content and who are then willing to try things out and learn as they go can have unexpected successes and encounters. And not just sometimes, but over time as well.