Promote Yourself (16 page)

 

To Do and Not to Do

No matter which social media platform you're using, there are certain do's and don'ts you should observe. Some are pretty obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many otherwise smart people make stupid, damaging mistakes. So as you foray into the world of social media, here are some do's and don'ts to keep in mind:

 

•
Don't badmouth your company, your boss, or your colleagues.
Common sense, right? You leave a comment on someone's blog calling your company's annual bonus policy a “pathetic operation” and someone from the company is going to see it. Guaranteed. An intern at the fashion firm Marc Jacobs International waited until his last day on the job to tweet about his boss: “Good luck! I pray for you all.… I'm out of here. Robert's a tyrant!” Did it get back to his boss? Of course it did. So much for a reference from that employer. But that's not all. The intern's tweet was widely retweeted, and that made it harder for him to land his next job.

 

•
Don't share classified information about your company.
This includes:

• unposted job openings

• company salaries (including your own)

• news of acquisitions or mergers. Your little tweet can spread through social media like a virus and end up in the mainstream news—with you identified. Guess who won't be working for that new merged company?

• office secrets, gossip, or rumors

• stories where you don't have all the information. Remember Ashton Kutcher and the sex abuse scandal at Penn State? Kutcher tweeted his support for coach Joe Paterno before he learned the facts—that Paterno had covered up longtime sex abuse by his assistant coach. Kutcher backpedaled when followers exploded in anger, but with each recant he put his foot in a little deeper. “Fully recant previous tweet! Didn't have full story.” “As of immediately I will stop tweeting…” “Won't happen again.” At least he hopes not.

 

•
Don't post anything you wouldn't want to see on a bulletin board in the cafeteria—or in court.
Everything can get forwarded—even your
personal
e-mails, so don't take a chance. That snarky e-mail about your coworker that you're about to send your closest friend? Save it for over dinner where your words will disappear. And yeah, you may look great in a swimsuit and sexy holding a drink in your hand, but this is your professional image, remember?

 

 

The Five Taboos: Politics, Class, Race, Gender, and Religion

Avoid them like the plague. They'll only get you in trouble. Believe me, I learned this lesson the hard way. Several years ago, I read something I liked about Ron Paul, the presidential candidate, and shared it on my Fan Page profile. Within minutes I started getting comments. “Why are you sharing this?!” “Since when are you a political guru?” “I find Ron Paul and your support of him offensive.” I'd unwittingly given people a reason to dislike me! Readers expected me to write about personal branding, not politics—and they were right. My expertise is advice for the workplace, not the voting booth. So I quickly learned to keep my personal opinions on my private Facebook page—or to myself.

 

•
Do add to the conversation.
Don't blog and comment just to read your own writing. People will tune you out. And don't write thin little comments that are nothing but excuses to slip in a reference to your name and Web site. That turns people off. We're all carving minutes out of busy days to catch up online, so make our time with you worthwhile.

 

•
Do offer great advice and free insights.
The more you give away, the more people will ask you for advice. And the more people come to rely on you for advice, the more valuable you become to your employer (current or future).

 

•
Do review everything you write to make sure it represents you in the best light.
That means (yes, Mrs. Richardson) use good spelling, punctuation, and grammar. If these are not your strong suits, ask a friend to look things over before you post.

 

•
Do promote your company.
Has your company got a great promotion going? Have you just released some excellent news? Post it on your Web site and spread it to your social networks. First, though, check with your manager; make sure your promotion is appropriate.

 

•
Do promote other people.
No one achieves success in the workplace alone. Most people are part of a team to which numerous people contribute, and even solopreneurs rely on others such as researchers who provide or analyze data, assistants who provide administrative support, and managers who clear obstacles out of the way. Make a point to acknowledge these supporting players when you promote your own work. Don't be phony—or Academy Awardish (“I'd like to thank my great-aunt Bertha, and my second cousin Neville, and my third grade teacher…”). That's as bad as hogging all the glory to yourself. But genuinely sharing credit when appropriate will make you look as good as the people you're recognizing.

 

•
Do ask for help.
Thanks to social media, you no longer need to know it all—or interrupt your boss with stupid questions. When you hit a stumbling block, use the Internet. I learned this back in my EMC days when I was stumped on a project. Rather than interrupt my boss I tweeted my question (I made it general so I didn't reveal sensitive information) and within an hour I got hundreds of responses. Doing that saved me a lot of time and helped my reputation. I didn't waste time guessing, researching, and underperforming, and my boss admired my “creativity.” A word of caution, though: Don't overuse this tactic. After all, it's
your
job and you're the one expected to do it.

 

•
Do share your story with the media.
Don't be shy: One of the best ways to get noticed and to rise in search engine rankings is to get covered in the media. So
after you get approval and support from your manager and PR department
(see below), figure out which media outlets are the best match for your expertise and intended audience and pitch them. Which magazines or journals does your audience read? What blogs do they follow? What do
you
read, and where would you like to see yourself in print? Once you've targeted specific outlets, read through back issues to get a feel for their preferred content. Are they heavy on technology stories? Try to tweak your article in that direction. Is their tone casual or formal? Try to adjust your writing to their style. Many magazines (print and online) have Guidelines for Writers sections on their Web site that tell you how to prepare and submit articles. Follow those guidelines. If your target publications don't provide that info, locate contact info on their Web site and call or e-mail to find out how to submit your article. Your pubs may prefer a query to a completed article. If so, prepare a brief summary of your article along with a list of key points and a grabby headline. Pitch smaller publications first to practice. Then, once you're published, include links to those articles when you pitch larger outlets.

 

Hold On to That Post …

Seventy-three percent of people think employees overshare on social media. And they're right! Here's a cautionary tale for you. When I worked at EMC, a fellow employee started making HR videos outside of work, which he posted to YouTube. The videos were general—not about EMC—but one mentioned something the company felt was proprietary. A colleague saw it and sent it to HR—which sent it to Legal. The employee managed to retain his job, but it was a nail-biter. He and I both learned a lesson: Before you blog, comment, write, upload video, or create any kind of public content, make sure you know what's acceptable to your company—because what you
think
is perfectly safe may not appear that way to company managers and lawyers.

Here's how you can avoid overexposure:

REVIEW YOUR COMPANY'S POLICIES.
   Many companies have media and/or social media policies. The policy may be as simple as requiring you to put a disclaimer on all content that says something like, “The views and opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.” Or it may be long paragraphs of legalese that spell out detailed restrictions. Know what is and isn't permitted before you open your mouth or click Send.

TALK TO YOUR BOSS …
IN PERSON.
   Describe what you'd like to do and get their okay. It's not only polite, it's smart politics. Ask: Is it okay to blog? To write articles? To post videos? Should my content be reviewed before posting? What are the company's sacred cows? What does the company consider safe? It's better to know the limits ahead of time than to ask forgiveness later.

KEEP IT GENERAL.
   Once you get clearance to write, keep your content general. Your postings can be relevant and useful without revealing confidential information. Discuss trends in your field, offer opinions on related topics, comment on industry news, offer advice to other professionals. But don't discuss what you do day-to-day. Remember, you're not an investigative journalist, you're a commentator. Feel free to analyze someone else's scoop—just don't deliver your own.

SAY NO IF YOU HAVE TO.
   You hate to turn down an interview request from
Time
magazine, but if your company says, “Sorry, a senior exec will do it,” you have to back off.

 

When Personal Life and Work Life Conflict

One of my friends is a male model. Nothing risqué. He keeps his clothes on. He appears in fashion magazines. Nevertheless, it's not something he particularly wanted his boss and colleagues to know. At the same time, he wanted a Web site where prospective clients could find him. What to do? How to create a public platform that his coworkers wouldn't find? The answer I gave him was only partially satisfactory: use only your first name or nickname for any online modeling content. Anything else and your company will surely find out. Ultimately, he decided against the Web site because the risk seemed too high—and I think he was right. Unfortunately, there is no safe way to keep people from finding us online.

Given the potential risks, how do you handle conflicts between your work life and personal life?

DECIDE WHAT YOUR BOUNDARIES ARE.
   Before you post anything—whether it's to your social network, Facebook Fan Page, or personal Facebook account—ask yourself if you're comfortable having your professional contacts see it. Because as careful as you are, chances are they
will
. When in doubt, don't post.

CREATE ALTERNATIVE PROFILES.
   If you decide to post personal content that might show you in a less than professional light, use just your first name, a nickname, or a pseudonym. Omit identifying information (and pictures!) whenever possible to limit your visibility to professional contacts.

BE UP FRONT WITH YOUR MANAGER.
   If your unprofessional content is already online, 'fess up with your boss. Better for her to hear about it from you than to find it herself or hear of it from someone else. The repercussions are apt to be less severe.

 

How to Fix a Bad Rep

In college, Ryan Miner started a Facebook group that opposed the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus; publicly he made insulting comments about homosexuals. After graduation, however, his views matured. “I could not have been more wrong,” he says. “My words were unabashedly despicable.… I was in no position to cast such judgment, and I pray that I can be forgiven and learn from this awful experience.” Unfortunately, the media storm that accompanied his college actions has made forgiveness elusive. Because of the attention he received, Ryan is now forever “attached to my mistake in the annals of Google.… I have been denied employment and was even fired from a great opportunity as a result of the incident.… each time I submit a new résumé, a sense of bleak fear overcomes me, wondering whether or not a company will Google my name only to toss my résumé in the trash.… If only I could relay to a potential employer that my beliefs have changed and I would never engage in that type of behavior in the future. But you reap what you sow, and I will continue to deal with the consequences of my mistake.”
7

Ouch. Makes you wonder whether Ryan will ever be able to recover his reputation. But more to the point, what can
you
do if something incriminating appears about you online? Here are a few strategies to help you minimize the damage:

PAY ATTENTION!
   You can't just send something off into cyberspace and hope for the best. Whether it's an article, a blog comment, or a Facebook entry, you have to monitor everything you post—and everyone's reactions to it. Check in daily to see what the response has been and make sure it's okay. If it's not, take fast corrective action.

I speak from experience. When I was first starting out in my social media position at EMC, I was also doing personal tweeting about success in the workplace. I knew I couldn't tweet while at work, but I wanted my tweets to be frequent and current. So I prewrote them and scheduled them to appear every three hours. What I didn't count on was the perception these frequent tweets created. Coworkers at EMC tweeted back that I was tweeting all day at work! Fortunately, because I monitored the Twitter stream, I realized the problem and quickly explained that I had automated the postings. Within days, the flap died down. I was able to correct my mistake pretty easily. If your mis-posting is more significant, the fix may be tougher. But whatever the gaffe, the best policy is to address it head-on. Admit your mistake. Issue a correction or apology. Describe what you've learned from the situation. A well-handled correction can actually win you support.