Social Media Spring Cleaning: Executive Personal Branding Tips

Social Media Makeover & Spring Cleaning

Is it time for a social media makeover?

Like most Executives, you probably focus more on what you post daily on social media than the core skeleton of your digital profile. However, this is a mistake that can result in failure.

The structure of your profile is just as important as the content you post daily, weekly or monthly.

Does your business need a personal branding makeover?

Social Media Expert Kris Ruby, CEO of Ruby Media Group, says spring cleaning should include your social media accounts, too

SPRING CLEANING TIPS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Here are 8 ways to clean up your social media accounts this spring:

Clean up your LinkedIn work history.

When was the last time you updated your LinkedIn profile? Set aside a chunk of time to do this because it is time intensive. Organize all of your latest projects and professional achievements and update your profile so that it reflects who you are today in your career- not who you were when you first joined LinkedIn. Include your professional highlights from the past year including virtual speaking engagements, social audio rooms (yes those count too!) including Twitter Spaces and other social audio platforms.

Archive Instagram posts that no longer align with your brand identity.

Maybe an old post was too filtered and no longer fits your brand aesthetic. Or perhaps the photo is blurry or had minimal engagement. Archive it for now and clean up your social media feed. Your Instagram feed should showcase the personal brand you want to be aligned with. Be sure to review old highlights that you have pinned on Instagram. Do you still want all of those posts highlighted or should some be removed?

Update your Facebook cover photo.

Maybe you posted a Facebook cover photo for your personal brand when you first created a public figure page. However, if you are using an outdated headshot, it is time to update it. Personal branding photos should be taken every 1-3 years and updated to reflect what you look like today if you are booked for a TV segment on air. It can be hard to let go of a photo you love from 8 years ago, but when people meet you in person, the photo you use to market yourself online should be indicative of what you look like today, not what you looked like ten years ago.

Review your Quora answers.

Did you know people can see your activity on Quora? For some social media users, replying to Quora questions is a guilty pleasure they engage in when they can’t fall asleep at night. But that often leads to snarky answers when you are half awake. Review old answers you wrote on Quora questions to see if any changes should be made. You can either edit your answer or delete the answer entirely. Also, make sure your pinned answer is recent and not from two years ago. Remember, all of your activity is public in your activity/ edit log. Even if you delete a question or answer, it will still show the title and the topic.

Remove your profile from data broker sites.

There are several online directories that share your personal data. While this exists outside of the traditional social media realm, the data broker industry is a massive industry that buys and sells your data. You can manually opt out of these directories by Googling the company name + opt out. Just because you aren’t checking them doesn’t mean others aren’t. The good news is that some of these directories will allow you to remove yourself by sending an opt-out email. The bad news? It can often be an arduous process, but it's still worth a shot. Make sure you aren’t sabotaging your personal branding efforts if online directories are displaying negative information about your professional reputation. Clean this up so that your personal brand is in alignment with what can be found about you on the Internet.

Run your email address on 'Have you been pawned'.

One of my favorite free privacy hacks to see if your email has been compromised on ‘have I been pwned’. Turn on 2 factor authentication and update compromised passwords. The truth is, you won’t be able to makeover your social media if you can’t log into your social media accounts in the first place if you get hacked. Practice digital hygiene and invest in security and digital asset protection. Remember to update your privacy settings.

Update URLs to HTTPS.

If you have switched your website from HTTP to HTTPS, make sure you switch the old version of your domain too on social media sites. Most people forget to do this.

Keep track of your directory listings.

Notion has changed my life. I now keep track of everything from media lists to personal branding directory listings in Notion. If you haven't started this process, consider creating a new Notion file to put all of your profiles in. You can revisit these listings annually to do your social media spring cleaning and it will save you a ton of time. Also, be sure to use tags to mark off paid vs. unpaid directory listings.

Need help establishing your brand on social media as a SaaS Founder? Ruby Media Group offers personal branding services for Executives. We can help declutter your digital presence with content optimization and content pruning.

Did you enjoy this article? Keep Reading..

Thought Leadership Marketing: How to Raise Your Media Profile as a CEO