Write a social media profile that sings

What does your social media profile say about you? Whether you’re on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or others, don’t miss an opportunity to tell your story. While you may have a limited number of characters to work with, that doesn’t mean you are limited in your message. I see many social media profiles that simply state a title.

Are you a title, or a person?

Even though your profile exists in a virtual space, you are still a real person and each person has a story they can tell about what they do, how they help others and what makes them special — even in 140 characters or less. So think about how you help others solve problems, or share something personal (carefully and respectfully) about yourself to set your social media profile apart from the millions of profiles that just say CEO, entrepreneur or owner. You can even add a call to action to your social media profile as long as you’re careful about it. For example, you can encourage others to contact you on LinkedIn but it’s against LinkedIn policy to include a phone number. Check each social media channel to make sure you don’t violate their policy.

Here are a couple of examples of Twitter profiles that highlight professional strengths and personality:

LINDSAY OLSON

I like that Lindsay explains what she does and includes hints about her personal interests.

VICKI CHILDS

What is a scraggy pigeon? Can anyone tell me? I have to admit, those two words caught my eyes!

Here’s a business example too:

SUNDAY RIVER

I’m a skier so I follow a lot of the New England ski resorts on Twitter and most of them have decent profiles. What I like especially about Sunday River is how the resort incorporates a call to action: For snow reports and trail updates follow @sundayriversnow. You can do this too.

Once you’ve written your social media profile, use the same or similar one across all your social media platforms. Keep track of where your profile appears so you can easily update it. By the way, you can use the same approach to write your bio. You know, the one you use on your website, in your media kit or for speaking engagements? If your bio is a narrative version of your resume, please purge it immediately. Your bio needs to tell your story too. Make it fun and interesting.

What does your social media profile say about you? Post a comment and let me know.

Need help writing (or re-writing) your social media profile? Give me a call. I’d love to help.