The way you present yourself influences how you are seen and, ultimately, your success in business. Social media has made it easy to craft a profile customized to appeal to just about any online audience. For business leaders and professionals, the temptation to present an image of who you would like to be instead of who you are can be overwhelming. However, creating a false impression can backfire when meeting potential clients or business partners face-to-face, as they may feel betrayed to find that you are nothing like your online persona.
As a working professional, it’s in your best interest to ensure that the image you project of yourself online is an authentic and accurate representation of who you are in real life. We asked 13 members of Forbes Coaches Council to offer their best tips to help you confidently project your genuine self on social media platforms in the most professional way possible.
Forbes Coaches Council members share their best tips for presenting your most authentic self on social media.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Hold Yourself Accountable Through Transparency
Offer transparency to your clients through your words when marketing on social media platforms, and hold yourself accountable for delivering on your promises. Clients value authentic relationships with the businesses in which they invest their time and money. Building a trusting relationship with clients includes being present, honest about who you are and open about limitations in your services. - Reena Sharma, Agilis Executive Consulting
2. Stay On Message And Be Honest
Your social media persona should stem from your real life and seamlessly transfer to your online community. That's what I call authenticity, and that is what people are craving today. Authenticity is about being clear on your message while staying open, humble, honest, vulnerable and real. It is not always easy, but it is certainly freeing to show up being unashamedly you at work and at home. - Mari Carmen Pizarro, Whole Leadership Systems
3. Get Comfortable With Yourself First
Being truly authentic can be challenging if you haven't invested the time and energy into getting to know and being comfortable with yourself. You have to be comfortable enough with yourself to be vulnerable and to own who you are; own your values and let your true self help you make meaningful, deeper connections. - Dhru Beeharilal, Nayan Leadership, LLC
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4. Don't Overthink It
Whether or not you realize it, you already have a brand that attracts people who are naturally drawn to you and to your perspectives. Continue to do what you do, in the way that only you can do it, and more raving fans will be coming your way. Trying to be someone you are not will feel like being in quicksand, and you will soon be sniffed out as a fraud. Yikes! - Karan Rhodes, Shockingly Different Leadership
5. Give, Give, Give
Provide recommendations, advice and your perspective in a positive, constructive way. Be professional and respectful of all readers. If you disagree, state your position, but don't blame or attack another individual or "side" online. When in doubt, see rule No. 1: Give, give, give. Ask your LinkedIn connections about how you can help them. Share online articles that are informative. Give! - Dana Manciagli, Job Search Master Class
6. Clarify What You Do And Why
Projecting authenticity without purpose falls flat and comes across as boastful promotion. Be clear about what you do and why you do it. Your purpose doesn't have to appear great to anyone else. If you want to entertain, be a truthful and authentic entertainer. If your purpose is to teach, live your truth and teach your truth. Be consistent, and keep refining your authentic purpose every day. - Paul Geiger, Public Speaking Advantage
7. Determine Your Most Essential Qualities
You first need to get clear on the qualities that you most want to project. Make a list of 10 positive, professional adjectives that authentically describe you. Ask a few trusted work colleagues to pick their top five that they see in you. Then, whittle those down to your three most essential. Choose articles, infographics and other resources to share with your audience that embody your three words. - Loren Margolis, Training & Leadership Success LLC
8. Unpack Your Various Personas
Equating authenticity with one persona is a common misconception. As you embrace a values-centered, belief-and-mission-driven approach to find the authentic self, consider unpacking how those values, beliefs and mission show up in each role in life—in your personal versus your professional roles, for example. This expands your range of personas, which are all authentic and show up accordingly across platforms. - Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE
9. Remember That 'Professional' Does Not Mean 'Perfect'
Embedded in profile-building is a desire to control how you want to be perceived, which inevitably means making choices about which parts of yourself you highlight and which you keep hidden. Authenticity demands a healthy disregard for perfection, which runs counter to looking "professional." Decide where you want to be on this continuum, and consistently align your social media posts with that. - Lisa Schmidt, Worksphere
10. Share Your Struggles
Being authentic is really hard because so many people live a lie these days. When you show the vulnerability of being real, you risk losing those who want you to be fake. My suggestion is to do what I do, which is to show not only a highlight reel online, but also the struggles. More people identify with struggles than with wins, and in the long run, this will allow you to connect with more people. - Ryan Stewman, Break Free Academy
11. Consider Your Legacy
Careers and relationships will come and go, but the behavior you demonstrate today may define your leadership legacy tomorrow. The next time you are thinking about posting or showing up on social media, pause, and imagine that you are in the future, 10, 20 or 30 years out. Before you post, ask yourself, "Is this representative of my leadership legacy?" If so, click post. If not, click delete. - Sheila Carmichael, Transitions D2D, LLC
12. Be Willing To Evolve Your Identity
Identity researchers warn about having too simplistic or too rigid a definition of "authentic self," which can limit your learning and growth as you develop and make transitions. Through experimentation, practice and learning, you can develop and evolve your identity to present a professional style that feels right for you, in person and on social media. - Palena Neale, Ph.D, unabridged
13. Embrace Congruent Consistency
Congruent consistency is essential. The key on social media and other mediums is making sure that the actions you take to build your professional brand are congruent with your principles, beliefs and values. The consistency of your messaging across the various platforms, and offline, can reinforce the perception of congruence. When you are congruent, you present your true, authentic self without any pretense, and the audience can relate. - Jedidiah Alex Koh, Coaching Changes Lives
