Chapter 15
Fusing the Me in Social Media and the We in the Social Web
The evolution of media and communications is timeless.
Once we put these lessons and insights into practice we truly graduate into apprentices of new media.
But before we do so, there's an important element in the socialization of media that can't go undisclosed: The socialization of media starts with not us, but specifically you and me. Let's spend one chapter together exploring and unraveling the butterfly effect.
The butterfly effect is an example made popular in the 1980s and taken from the chaos theory that describes how the fluttering of a butterfly's wings may be the initial source of events that result in a large storm. In reference to the Social Web, it is a potentially chaotic effect created by something seemingly insignificant, whereby a small change in one part of a complex system can have a large effect somewhere else.1 That somewhere else could have devastating or wonderful effects on you or the brand you represent or both.
It sounds alarming, but this is not science fiction. I need your attention as we move forward together, as our journey is only just beginning.
Figure 15.1 A Thought from George Bernard Shaw
CASTING A DIGITAL SHADOW: YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU
You will be googled… .
This couldn't be any truer. This might make you smirk, but go google yourself.
View the results as if through the eyes of a stranger, a business prospect, a recruiter, an HR professional, your current or future boss—I'm leaving out BFFs and family, as it skews your perspective. We need an unbiased encounter with the results that return.
But also pay attention to what you don't see. Pay attention to how these results portray who you are and what you represent today and also discern how these pieces of the puzzle establish your potential for accomplishing your short- and long-term goals.
Truthfully, stop and think a bit about what it is you stand for, believe in, and aspire to become (see Figure 15.1). Let's expand the search. What do our tweets say about us? What does our Facebook activity reveal? Do they paint a desirable picture? Do these results represent you when you can't be there to explain them?
Everything starts with you. Your actions and words online are indeed extensions to how people interpret, perceive, and react to the brand you represent. At the same time, you also represent your personal brand—the digital identity that's established through the assembly of digital shadows you cast across the Web.
Our contributions to the Web are archived for years to come. When we tweet, upload videos and pictures, post on blogs and comments, and update our status on social networks, we cast a digital shadow that may or may not parallel our activities in real life. This digital shadow is cast across the Web only to be reassembled through the search pursuits of others—whether they're prospective partners, employers, employees, customers, influencers, or stakeholders.
DEFINING YOUR ONLINE PERSONA
The social economy is defined by the exchange of ideas and information online and in the real world, and is indexed by the dividends earned through interaction and alliances. Relationships, social objects, and engagement are the new currencies of the social economy. They fund valuable interaction, insight, and loyalty, and in turn, contribute to the social capital of the individuals who actively invest in their personal branding portfolio.
We are now defined by the size and shape of our social graph and our place within it. Size isn't the only thing that matters, however. In all seriousness, our experiences and resulting circumstances, possibilities, and options are defined by how we uniquely engage and participate throughout the Social Web. To put it another way, our interactions and contributions earn keys that unlock the doors to future opportunities.
In the workforce and in our personal lives, the things we share online define who we are—it's a fortunate or unfortunate reality (depending on how you look at it). Social profiles in Facebook for example, are showing up in search engines. What's in them can tell us everything about how you view yourself and therefore how you may wish others to view you. It's not only your profiles in the social networks where you participate, it's what you say and share everywhere, from blog posts and comments to wall posts, the music you listen to and the widgets you embed, as well as your status updates and even product or service reviews.
This is your digital identity and your real reputation and it's yours to define and nurture.
It's important to proactively weigh, factor, and contribute to the impression you want others to have when they stumble upon or intentionally find your profile(s). This is the first step in defining and shaping your online brand and it's necessary to master before you can represent the brands that will employ you.
YOUR BRAND VERSUS THE BRANDS YOU REPRESENT
Whether we believe it or not, everyone within an organization is at some level responsible for branding and public relations. Everything we do, online and offline, builds the public perception of not only our personal brand, but also that of the organization we represent. They must be symbiotic. And while many insist that a brand must be human, it must not act as just any ordinary human. It requires definition and also embodiment.
As an active participant in social media and also a professional working in any capacity within a company, eventually an important decision will determine your outward presence and whether or not your personal brand and your corporate responsibilities intersect, compete, or clash.
As many businesses are realizing, there is not only the possibility, but, in many cases, the requirement to engage with customers, peers, influencers, and prospects in their respective communities. New roles and responsibilities emerge for all employees.
MANAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION
Everything starts with listening and observing where, how, and why these conversations are taking place and the tone and nature of the dialogue.
As part of the marketing process, companies employ (or should incorporate) a monitoring and online reputation management (ORM) program.
Typically, ORM focuses on company and product name(s), executives, or brands, and each of these services automate the process of searching and presenting the results in a manageable, easy-to-navigate dashboard. The differences between each lie under the hood, where the individual algorithms distinguish each service in how they discover, track, and present data. And none of these services are all-inclusive. There is still a manual element involved, requiring you to search specific communities directly.
Real-time search engines, alert systems such as Google Alerts, which scours News.Google.com, Blogsearch.google.com, and other media properties, are among the most effective free services available for tracking keywords and presenting them to you as they appear online. They give you, as the primary stakeholder, the opportunity to participate and respond immediately to help you better protect the integrity of your brands and stay connected to your community.
Emerging media will only continue to provide us with the opportunity to build and grow our brands and establish a position of authority based on our expertise and engagement. The more attention we devote to listening, participating, and contributing to related conversations over time the more our reputation matures. Feedback and criticism can offer value, even if they're incorrect in their assumptions and reactions.
WE ARE ALL BRAND MANAGERS
Organizing and managing a strategically posed brand is critical to how we are perceived in the real world.
Again, the comments we leave, the posts we publish, the pictures and videos we upload, the statuses we broadcast in social networks and streams, collectively contribute to disparate digital recreations of how people perceive us—as an individual, representative of a company, or the corporate brand we manage. While we can't control how people ultimately assemble these pieces and make judgments based on them, we can shape and steer perception by sharing the right content, the right way to invest in the brand we wish to portray.
We are all, at some level, becoming brand managers.
With social media comes great responsibility… .
NOTE
1. “Butterfly Effect,” http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/butterfly+ effect.