“Back when I was a kid, we had to walk 5 miles in the snow to get famous… now all you have to do is get a zillion Twitter followers and you’re a superstar.”
Social media has made getting famous much easier, but does fame equal credibility?
Of course you want a high level of visibility to get your message out and attract opportunities, but you MUST have a trail of proof that you are who you say you are, and you know what you say you know.
That’s called CREDIBILITY.
When I meet someone new on Twitter or Facebook, or if they send me a reply to something I posted, I click over to their profile. Even though I’m very intuitive, I often do a quick check to learn more. Here is a list of what I immediately check out:
1. Bio
The online bio is, in my opinion, the equivalent of a personal greeting. It’s your handshake, eye contact, and introduction all rolled into one. On Twitter you get to do this in 160 characters max. In a matter of seconds, you need to make it clear to me who you are, why you’re there, and why I should be interested.
If the reasons are too personal or you sound like a psycho windbag, I’ll unfriend. I personally like a bit of cleverness in a bio, but most importantly that your business and expertise are well communicated. (I did a webinar on this, you can get a copy here to learn how to write a bio for your social networking pages)
2. Picture
No, I’m not shallow and using looks to judge people. I’m looking to see if this is a real person or not. A credible person wouldn’t hide behind a logo. I know a lot of peeps are using cartoon avatars and I think those are fine for anonymous message boards… but if you’re representing your business it does come across as if you’re hiding something. That’s a strike against your credibility. (I’m hoping some of you cartoon avatar friends are reading this!)
3. A Real Link to a Real Webpage for a Real Business
This is the deal breaker. If I’m checking someone out and there is no valid web page where I can learn more (a link to a blog, a website, etc) then that’s a big credibility crusher. On Twitter, if a person’s URL links me back to their Twitter profile then that definitely causes reason for concern, beside make me feel like I’m stuck in a revolving door with no escape. (Click here to read more about creating a social networking landing page)
Those are my initial credibility scans. If I want to check someone out even more, I’ll do a Google search on their name and look for more information.
How do you check for credibility? What are you deal breakers?
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