Nick O’Neill: Social Media Is About Individual Branding
Posted on January 5, 2011, by JD Kathuria, under Featured Interview.
Nick O’Neill, successful entrepreneur of current ventures allfacebook.com and socialtimes.com, explains the most effective way to create your personal brand. O’Neill also tells us how businesses do not use social media to it’s full potential, and how to fix it. It is worth the read.
What is your background?
I’ve been building web startups for the past 10 years and have been a self-taught programmer since 2001, when my first developer business partner didn’t finish a site we were working on together. Since then I’ve worked for interactive agencies as a developer and eventually transitioned to building a digital media company (starting in 2007) which was acquired at the end of 2009.
Tell us about all of the web sites you manage and the mission of each one.
I manage AllFacebook.com & SocialTimes.com. AllFacebook.com is dedicated to covering every aspect of Facebook as it has grown to become a global phenomenon over the past few years. We cover everything from changes in their application platform, to strategies for marketers, to the day-to-day new (privacy, security, and more) affecting users of the site. SocialTimes.com provides daily coverage of the Social Web Economy, something I first defined in 2008.
How would you describe your online and offline brand?
I am first and foremost an entrepreneur at heart. My online and offline brand are both congruent with that.
More important than a Facebook profile however is a personal blog, which I continue to believe is the single greatest opportunity for anybody to use in order to expand their personal brand.
What are some ways executives can improve their on-linebrand on Facebook?
On Facebook all they need to do is maintain a professional profile with a personal touch, in that they can share some of their day-to-day experiences. More important than a Facebook profile however is a personal blog, which I continue to believe is the single greatest opportunity for anybody to use in order to expand their personal brand.
What is something most people get wrong about social media?
Most people write about themselves. The less you write about yourself and the more you write about others, the more likely you are to expand your brand.
How has connecting with the right people helped your business?
It has transformed by business as I would be nowhere without those who have helped me. My readers have probably helped me more than anybody else as they provide us with the information that we bring our global reader base on a daily basis. In person networking has been priceless as well as it has helped me connect with the people making the day-to-day decisions in the emerging social media industry.
Ultimately social media is more about individuals and less about corporate brands. The more that companies embrace that aspect of social media, the better they will perform.
What is the future of social media as it relates to brand building?
Ultimately social media is more about individuals and less about corporate brands. The more that companies embrace that aspect of social media, the better they will perform. It’s also about listening to what others are saying about your brand which is why we’ve witnessed an explosion in “social media command centers” which enable large brands to monitor the conversation and engage with their customers. Brands have no option but to engage in the conversation and that’s exactly what we’re seeing happening.
