10 Personal Branding Mistakes To Avoid On Twitter [Infographic]

We often hear people talk about personal branding, and how you can brand yourself in social media. That whole concept means a lot of different things to different people, but to me, it basically means behaving in social media like you would if you were at a networking mixer. In other words, if you were invited to a happy hour social event where you would be mingling with friends, colleagues, and possible future clients, how would you behave?

Would you start arguments with people? Would you vent about all the problems in your life? Would you offer helpful information if someone asked for it? Would you be on your best behavior? I guess the main question is, would you be known as having an overall positive influence or a negative influence on your followers and fans? However you would answer that question, just remember to behave the same way in social media and you’ll be all set when it comes to establishing your personal brand.

Let’s take Twitter for example and do some comparisons. You wouldn’t show up to an event like I described without business cards, right? The equivalent of that on Twitter is showing up without having an avatar and completed bio. At an event like that, you would give whoever you were talking to at the moment your attention, and you would try not to be distracted by all the noise around you, right? The equivalent of that on Twitter is creating lists so you can see certain content all the time and cut down on the noise. Also, at an event like that, you would respond to the people who spoke to you and asked questions. After all, that is the polite thing to do. The equivalent of that on Twitter is checking your @ replies and tweeting to individual people.

I could go on and on, but you get it I’m sure. It’s not difficult, and if you treat it as an event like I described, you’ll find that it is a lot of fun! This infographic below, called 10 Strategic Mistakes You Are Making Now on @Twitter That Will Be Harmful For Your #OnlinePersonalBranding In The Future, explains some of the things I’ve mentioned along with others. It’s a great little guide for anyone who is new on Twitter, and anyone who is concerned about personal branding. [Infographic created by LinkingR]