Whether you are establishing your individual online profile or your business online profile, the most critical issues for consideration are “Consistency and Credibility”. If you create your online profiles with these two issues in mind, you will be assured of optimizing your presence, opportunities and successes.
If your name is Nike, CocaCola, Richard Branson or Oprah, there is no need to be concerned with creating consistent names, user names and URL’s because these brands are so well established that their logo alone represents everything about them. Their renowned presence and highly regarded reputations were built on consistent and credible brands.
Let’s start with your Twitter name. My personal Twitter profile was created using the Name: Martin Buckland and the User Name: MartinBuckland, which generated the url: www.twitter.com/MartinBuckland. Included in this profile is the website address for my company, Elite Resumes. My company profile was created using the Name: Martin Buckland and the User Name: EliteResumes, which generated the URL, www.twitter.com/EliteResumes. If you would like to search for me on Twitter, you will find both of my profiles regardless of whether you search for my real name or my company name and you can tweet me @MartinBuckland or @EliteResumes. Twitter posts, “Enter your real name, so people you know can recognize you.” For many, this advice has not been heeded making it very difficult to recognize or find certain people.
A consistent name, user name, email address and an association with a real name and company name if you have one will make life much easier to access your online profiles and will optimize your chances of being found. If a decision had been made to use a pseudonym such as, “resume writer” rather than Martin Buckland with the user name, Elite Resumes, those searching for Martin Buckland would not get any results. It is also very likely that when you post a comment or make an introduction, you will use your “real name” and not a pseudonym such as “resume writer”. How often do you meet someone and remember both their name and company name, let alone a pseudonym? If a search is done for “resume writer”, how many results are found? You may not be sure of the company name but once the name Martin Buckland comes up next to Elite Resumes, you no longer have to wonder if you have the right one. This consistency should be used for all other sites including Linkedin, VisualCV, Naymz, ZoomInfo, etc.
Credibility! Millions of individuals, companies and organizations can be found online and many sites show a lack of information, contact details or proper names. If there is a sure sign of credibility it is the availability of a variety of contact information to contact a real person. And above all a “real name” to contact. A name that you can google to verify what they are selling before you buy it or check out their career history and testimonials before offering them a job interview.
Think consistent, think credible when establishing your personal, professional or business online profiles. You never know who may be looking for you and the opportunities they have to offer.
Contact Elite Resumes to find out more about the many executive career management services available.
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