My Truth is Who You Are

  You have 30 seconds to become my friend!

Depending on whose expertise you read or listen to, you have up to 30 seconds for me to make my decision as to whether or not I want to "friend" you on one of my social networks. This is simply a twist on the long-time admonition that it only takes a few seconds to create a first impression when we first meet someone. We meet more and more through social networks and online medium than we do in person in this day and age. Similar "rules" apply online, especially in business-related sites and venues. Seldom do we learn why someone does not friend us. (Yes, "friending" is now a verb.) A solid business practice is to make sure you have little reason to not be friended for business. That was terrible English, but you get my drift. How I perceive you to be, based on what I see of you when I find you online, is who you are to me. Make sure that what I find of you online reflects the truth of who you are and how you do business in reality.

Much is written about how important it is for us to provide solid content when we blog, tweet, and otherwise show our presence online. I don't see or hear as much about how we present ourselves "physically" online…our professional presence. How do we show our potential viewers that we are (a.) professional in what we do, (b.) have a strong work ethic, and (c.) are people with whom to do business (or volunteer or otherwise support)?

We show we're as great as we say we are – my Springboard Training byline, by the way – by how we look and sound online, similar to how we do so in person. For example, your work ethic. When you submit a proposal to a potential client in person, what do you do to demonstrate through your proposal that you have a work ethic that represents good business and moral practices? Some of the ways might include presenting a clean, neatly-bound, correctly-formatted document. You might have the document professionally edited, reviewed three times for correct content; check your facts and figures, make sure attachments are included, and have the requested number of copies and tabbed sections in place. Guess what? Do the same for your online presence. Present a clean, neat, well-formatted web or blog site. Use language correctly when you instant message or tweet. Have a professional editor review your pages and posts for grammar, spelling, and appropriate language that represents the image you want to convey. Use colors and fonts that are easy to read (for multiple generations) and convey "who you are" – whether that is creative, flowery, button-down serious, or other image that is "you".

I found this article about your online business work ethic, written by Karen Newman, to be very informative in supporting the message I convey above.

I've just given you one example of how you can convey your work ethic and professionalism through your online presence. Seek advice from trusted colleagues and associates on other ways. This is especially important if you have your own business or organization, or work alone as a sole proprietor. Your online presence may be your business or life's mission! Make sure it reflects the image you want reflected. Sweat the small stuff to show you're as great as you say you are!