Stop These 3 Mistakes from Killing Your Personal Brand Online

These are easy to miss, but just as easy to avoid when building your personal brand.

There’s an understanding that trust takes years to build, seconds to destroy and forever to rebuild. Thanks to the advent of online communication, this can now happen at lightning speed. You don’t have to be in the room with someone to lose their trust. Your online personal brand is always on. So, your communication A-game has to be too.

What’s one of the quickest ways to break trust in your personal brand online? Inconsistency. It could be destroying your personal brand without you realising it.

Here are three ways you could be damaging your personal brand online:

As easy as they are to miss, they are equally as easy to avoid and keep your relationships thriving.

1. Misaligned messages for your personal brand

Once you’ve defined your personal brand values and messages, create consistency in your online footprint across:

• Social media profiles

• Third-party websites

• Your website or blog

Do the ‘mum test’ before posting anything online. If you wouldn’t want your mum to see it, don’t share it. Research has shown that 60% of recruiters review social media profiles during the hiring process.

2. Violating the Law of Reciprocity

The Law of Reciprocity is regarded as one of the most powerful laws of human nature.

Reciprocity is when you respond to one positive action with another positive action.

With reciprocity in mind, consider how you might be violating this principle:

Avoiding engaging with posts on social media

It’s often said that 95% of social media users are lurkers.

Do you engage with valuable content, consuming it with no endorsement for its creator? Do you post your achievements expecting accolades, yet never join in on the celebrations of others? People notice. So expect to see less of their support in the future.

Failing to respond to others’ direct endorsements

Do you thoughtfully respond to comments on your posts? Or instead, at best give comments a lazy ‘like’? This is like inviting someone to your dinner party, and then not talking to them when they show up for you. Plus, by leaving a comment, your guest has come bearing one of the most valuable gifts on social media. Reciprocate their kindness.

Do you only ‘like’, or even worse, ignore a post you’re tagged in? Anyone posting about you is endorsing your personal brand in public.

The LinkedIn algorithm checks if those tagged in posts respond. It deranks a post if tagged users don’t reply. Even the bots look for common courtesy as an indication of a good relationship. As humans, shouldn’t we naturally understand as much?

Imagine walking into the world’s biggest networking event. And then, turning your back on someone who takes the time to introduce you to their friends? It’s the same thing.

3. Providing a poor personal brand customer experience

Your online presence is part of the shop front window of your personal brand. With this in mind, it should command a compelling retail experience. And customer service is the heart of retail. Are you guilty of any of these service faux pas?

Not responding to social media direct messages

There is no point in having social media, only to ignore the social part. Respond to every message. And offer personalised consideration for the individual who took the time to connect with you.

Picture a time in a store when you needed to speak to someone, only to be ignored. It likely left a bad impression of the brand and the people involved. Don’t be the person doing the same to others.

Gary Vaynerchuk is known for creating a global powerhouse of a personal brand online.  He credits it to responding to every comment, no matter how long it took. If you’re not familiar with Vaynerchuk, perhaps you’ve heard of Taylor Swift. The superstar singer famously did the same on her rise to the top.

Not responding to emails

Have you ever written to a business only to receive no reply or a poorly timed response? You likely drew conclusions about their dedication to customer service. Your emails should be no different. Stop damaging your personal brand one missed email at a time.

If you say you’ll get back to someone, do it in a timely manner. One of the most common understandings of integrity relates to keeping your promises. This is as relevant for the big things as the small.

Breaking your content schedule

Are you a content creator perhaps with a social media profile, blog, podcast or YouTube channel? Explicitly or implicitly you are likely delivering on a regular schedule. Then one day you may unexpectedly abandon your audience when they were expecting you. Without a word of warning or explanation. This breaks trust. It’s like a shop deciding one day not to open.

Your people notice when you don’t show up for them. They substitute you for more reliable brands. They won’t chase you, they’ll just replace you.

Forgetting you’re a service

No matter your industry or role, your personal brand is a service. Like any product or service, it exists to help solve the problem of others - its people. Without any people, there’s no brand.

Here is one of the most important rules in retail. The customer is not an interruption to your work; they are the reason for your work. In leadership, this only becomes more true the higher you rise.

While it’s important to have periods of focused attention, don't forget about your communication standards outside of these. Any online communication you receive is a privilege, not an interruption or burden. Missing communication sends the message to your people that you think you’re above them. And violates the service mindset on which personal branding is built.

Inconsistency is the quickest way to break trust. Don’t let this silent assassin destroy your personal brand online. Keep your reputation and relationships thriving online.

PS. Next week, I’ll be sharing the top mistakes killing your personal brand offline.