Living Digital 014: Your Online Persona
Jazmin Butler
An online persona is a carefully and sometimes not so carefully crafted identity one establishes online. This includes everything from your profile pic to the people you choose to retweet. Are you getting the most out of yours?
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Personal branding done right.
@Vashtie
@Mrdabney
@TimFerriss
@_ChrisClassic
@Ownbyfemme
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Transcript:
An online persona is a carefully and sometimes not so carefully crafted identity one establishes online. This includes everything from your profile pic to the people you choose to retweet.
Your online persona serves as a personal PR machine. And since we all have one, we might as well put it to work.
For example, say there's an actor named Ashton and... his goal, like many people, is to make relevant contacts and establish credibility in his field.
This is common. And as buzz wordy as it is. I gotta say it. Doing this helps build your brand! So, you're turning who you are into the solution to someone's problem. And in with the rise of of Vine and Youtube stars, IG girls...twitter honeys...It's evident that interactions can equal dollars. So, if you're in the arts, this applies particularly to you.
But back to Ashton the actor. Now that he has a goal, he can choose an audience and a method to reach them. A relevant audience might include casting directors, producers, movie lovers...And among these people, strategically he wants to showcase his talent and build a fanbase.
What he could do is initiate and maintain contact with these folks. So that when he's online they'll be like "oh, yeah. There's Ashton. that actor with the sick headshot, who's sometimes in a web series and other times waiting tables in Hollywood so I know he's committed to his craft. Which reminds me. Let me listen to his podcast on method acting".
Each interaction. Each...photo posted is a piece of a character profile that comes to people's mind when your name flashes across their screen.
And this is a pretty black and white example, but taking a goal and using certain tactics to reach it is something people have been doing since the beginning of time. All we've done is added a dash of status updates and a pinch of instagram filters.
Not that owning and crafting a brand is inherently...deceptive. I think it's great that people are able to take the reins and say "here i am. this is what I do. Look at how I do it in a way that I see fit".
Tech has created a space for socially oppressed minorities to show themselves the way they want, combat defamation from traditional media as well as create opportunities. Which is awesome!
Some people I think I have effective online personas are Vashti, Chris Classic on Instagram, OwnByFemme and Tim Ferriss (whose podcast I love by the way).
And for those out there not interested in actively operating the machine. In general, I still think it's good to keep in mind that you do have a digital footprint. It's the reason certain products are advertised to you. It's why a recruiter does or doesn't reach out for a second interview (because online personas can absolutely undermine a resume). and it might be why a company says "hey... you're attractive. sell this product for us". ...o/
Whatever your persona is, we'd love to hear from you. Head over to Facebook.com/livingdigitalpodcast. For show notes and more episodes, go living digtal.me.