Auditing My Online Reputation
And setting goals for improvement.
Aaaaaaand, we’re back! This time with another audit. But not the tax kind. The fun kind we talked about in this blog.
“What are we auditing this time, Dana?” Thank you so much for asking. This time, it’s all about me.
While talking about myself and thinking about myself isn’t exactly my favorite past time, sometimes I have turn the conversation to myself. Especially if I want to be a successful PR practitioner.
In public relations, before I could ever hope to successfully manage an organization’s brand reputation, I need to have my own personal brand under control. The best place to start honing it in? Online.
So, I’ve done an audit of my online presence, aiming to answer questions like, “What is my ‘why’ as a future PR pro?” As well as, “Does my digital persona match my real one?”
And now it’s time to set some goals. Because in this blog, we learned nothing can be accomplished until some measurable goals are set.
But before I tell you my goals, a bit of back story…
Who am I?
Not 24601. Not Jean Valjean.
So when I started my Content PR class this past summer, I was told to hand in my Twitter handle, as we would be using it for class participation, projects and things of the like.
My reaction was something along the lines of, “S#!+.”
Now, my reaction was not spurred by the fact that my “personal” Twitter is dedicated to inappropriate postings, jokes and activities. It was because of my ‘@’ name on my “personal” Twitter: @Danafrickyeah.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
I made the Twitter my junior year of high school and my ‘@’ name has become my own moniker of sorts. Seriously. I have many dear friends who greet me like, “Hey, Frick Yeah!”
But @Danafrickyeah is no Twitter handle for a professional woman. And by no means was I ready to give up that aspect of my online identity. So, I made my “professional” Twitter: @danamcjenn.
But I’ve learned how valuable an established online presence is in public relations, as well as how difficult it is to start from scratch. @Danafrickyeah has 549 followers. @danamcjenn has 10.
So most of my online reputation goals pertain to merging these two Twitter accounts because I’d be a fool to throw away the following I have on my “personal” Twitter by deleting it in pursuit of cultivating my “professional” Twitter.
High school has ended and is long-gone (though Bowling for Soup would beg to differ). It’s time to lay “Frick Yeah” to rest.
(Long story short: I’m going to delete @danamcjenn and give that handle to what is currently @Danafrickyeah. This way, a Twitter search for “Dana Jennings” does not result in two results, with the larger having an immature handle.)
Okay, so back story turned into a novel, but whatever. Let’s get to those goals for improving my online reputation!!!!!
How I’m going to improve my online self…
- Establish my professional accomplishments on my new, improved Twitter.
- Right now my Twitter is not inappropriate, but it is mostly for my personal musings. I need to start sharing things like my blog and my speculations on the industry on there.
- Earn a following of professional influencers.
- This may be quite an undertaking. I do have plenty of followers, but they’re mostly friends. I follow many PR professionals and influencers, but it’s time for them to notice me as a credible, vocal, up-and-comer.
- Make my identity across the “Big Three” cohesive.
- The Big Three being Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
- My Instagram shares those rare occasions I like a picture of myself when I’m out being social. I need to make it a little more personable. What’s my day-to-day life like?
- My Facebook really has no identity at all. It’s pretty all over the place.
- My Twitter, as mentioned, is for my personal musings on pop culture and current events. Also, this is where you can go to see how I’m doing emotionally. Odd, I know. But I tell Twitter what I’m feeling more than I vocalize it to the people around me.
- The Big Three being Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
I’m going to stop there because this is getting pretty wordy. But I have plenty more goals and tactics to achieve them. I’ve saved these for myself, but if you really want to know, I’d be happy to share!
So, follow me on everything: @danamcjenn and Dana Jennings on Facebook.
Sincerely,
The Artist Formerly Known as Frick Yeah
Dana Jennings: Forever Learning. 