Think about these things when posting your profile on social sites…

Never leave a blank space for your photo (people think you are being secretive)

If your company is people centered and so is your social media presence, use your face. People like a real person

Make the photo interesting but your face easy to see and smile

Don’t be “cutesy” unless you are a circus clown or comedian for a living

Like you probably shouldn’t post something like this, but my 11 year old drew it and I like it!

Make your face fill the frame…simple but some still do it

Use caricatures related to your job if you want to have a little fun…but be selective

If your presence on the social networking/business networking sites is information oriented then post your logo. Only do this if your logo is recognized by the public at large, otherwise it will not be necessary

Use the same avatar/photo in all your social and business networking sites. People relate you to it…it becomes synonymous with you and thus is a form of branding

Online social networking becomes too much when we spend more time trying to insure an online presence for our activities and end up neglecting the other equally important aspects of running a business. It becomes too much when we spend all our time on online forums answering questions, but not necessarily generating business from answering those questions.

And it becomes too much when we can’t effectively automate the technology enough so that we can maintain a presence, but also have enough time to focus on running our businesses and most importantly actually have time to live life.

Remember to keep a reasonable balance when it comes to online social networking. Don’t get so caught up in the buzz that you forget to maintain a presence in your offline life as well. Use online social networking to make connections and do business, but use it as just one tool among many…not more important or better than any other tool you would use to help you sustain and run your business.

My Best,
Kathy Kane
Market Insights, LLC