Make Your Social Media Profiles Distinctive

What’s so special about you? Everything!

Your social media profiles should reflect that.

Social media is a great way to connect with your clients, customers, and prospects. Depending on where your clients hang out, you can choose from a wide array. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn are some of the major players.

First thing’s first. For business, make sure your choice of social media outlets is driven by where you will find your clients and prospective clients. Even if it looks cool and fun, use your time wisely by focusing on the outlets that best serve you and your business.

Pinterest is a great example of this. Pinterest is focused on images and other visuals. I’m really drawn to Pinterest, because I’m a visual person. The thing is, though, my business coaching offering isn’t usually found by people looking for a particular kind of visual image. So, even though Pinterest tugs on me like a siren song, I’ve decided that this outlet is not a primary one for me.

Used by the right business, you can get enormous exposure on Pinterest. Just be aware that unless your business has an important visual aspect and your clients look for it by visual images, this may not be the best use of your entrepreneur energy.

Once you decide on which social media outlets to focus on, your next step is to develop your social media profiles.

How you present yourself on social media will support how you want your clients to see you and your business. That directly affects how connected you become with them, which impacts their buying decisions.

One of the first things people see when they connect with you on your social media outlets of choice is your profile. If you have a business page, then it’s your business profile they’ll see.

Making that profile distinctive will draw attention and set you apart.

This isn’t just a strategy. It’s about being authentic to who you really are and the uniqueness of what you offer and how you offer it.

This authenticity fits in beautifully with the branding we talked about last week, which is based on your and your offerings’ main strengths. Those strengths can be the guide for how you structure your profile.

Your bio doesn’t have to be chronological. Make it about your strengths instead.

In LinkedIn, you have an opportunity to provide a more in-depth background of your work experience. You can be just as creative in that aspect of your LinkedIn profile.

Structure your LinkedIn work experience so that it highlights your strengths. Instead of a list of jobs of increasing responsibility you’ve had, for example, highlight core areas that you’ve gained expertise that you want to highlight.

Your profile can also be visually arresting. Add graphic content that supports what you are saying in the text or makes a particular point on its own. Or if your expertise lends itself to presentation as a time sequence, present it as a timeline.

Another way to set your profile apart is to take a stand, voice an opinion. Your point of view is unique, and stems from your values, your experience, and your expertise – all of which are valuable to your clients. You know those opinion talk shows and how they develop an intensely loyal following? Your point of view can also generate interest and loyalty.

If your work involves consulting in any way, which is essentially about giving your clients a different perspective based on your own experience, then your point of view is even more valuable. Let your clients know what it is! It will pre-screen potential clients for you.

Reaching your prospective clients isn’t just about your posts, tweets, and visuals. One way to make an effective initial connection is with a truly unique profile that reflects the real you.

Coming from that authentic place to reach out to those who don’t know you yet is trust-building. As they get to know you from this initial connection, you’ll build a relationship that is real and therefore powerful. There’s no better basis for a business relationship with your clients.

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What are your main social media outlets, based on what best serves your business?

What ways can you use to make your social media profiles distinctive?

Let us in on it! And share your social media URLs here too!