Previously we have talked about using transmedia as the building blocks of a fictional story world. However, thinking about cross platform expansion is also valuable when building your personal brand across your own field of expertise. Below are some things to think about when building out your brand across social platforms.
Consistency: It should be easy for people to find you across multiple platforms. One way of doing this is keeping a consistent screenname across all platforms. For instance: You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and various other platforms under “AngeliqueToschi”, including my website. Also, your social networks should point to each other, or to a general centralized point, such as a personal website where all other platforms may be located. One exception is my Tumblr, which was not initially meant to be connected to the other various social platforms.
Organic: Your brand should exist on platforms that make sense to you and should grow organically with your brand. For instance, depending on your career, it may not make sense for you to necessarily have a Facebook Fan Page. You don’t have to be on all the platforms, just the ones that make sense to you and your brand.
Diversification: Start with the social media platforms you use on a daily basis, and then decide what the best ways are to share your knowledge, expertise or brand. Once this has been decided and created, cross promote them to your other various channels. In doing all this, it is important to remember to be true to who you are – because that is the brand you are representing. If you do something that rings false to you, your followers will pick up on it and question it. For instance, if sports aren’t your think it wouldn’t make sense to become an “expert” for a sports themed show or podcast. Focus on who you are and what you do well, rather than looking for new things that may be outside of your wheel house.
Platforms: Below is a list of social media sites and other things you can use to expand your personal brand and create a well rounded transmedia experience to tell your personal story online:
Facebook
Facebook Fan Page
Twitter
Instagram
Tumblr
Pinterest
Blog – focused on a subject you want to be seen as an expert on
Vlog
Podcast – best if part of a group, but should be cross promoted on all other platforms
With the above tools you can begin to think of your personal story as a transmedia experience, which in turn will assist you when thinking of how to expand your fictional storyworlds.
More of my articles on transmedia storytelling can be found here.