Be your own narrator: developing a positive online reputation
As one of the few students in the class who is an avid TikTok user, I have been waiting in anticipation for this class. Admittedly, I am very active on social media (see above). I was taught early to have a robust digital presence — to have a personal website, to post frequently across multiple platforms. I understand the importance of engaging consistently to maintain a following and to have a unique perspective. So candidly, coming into Kudzi Chikumbu’s session: Creating a Reputation On Social Media, I was skeptical that I would learn anything new. Boy, was I wrong.
Kudzi has been with TikTok for the last 5 years, now serving as Director of Creator Community. He shared us his personal journey, his passion for social media, some frameworks to help us think about personal branding, and tips and tricks for creating and maintaining a strong digital reputation. Here are my five key takeaways from the session:
1) Be intentional
Kudzi kicked off the session with the below framework to help us think about managing our reputations. To achieve the results that we want to have, and to guide the actions that we should take to reach those results, Kudzi urged us to have very clear intentions when posting on social media.
It seems painfully obvious, but having been on social media for over a decade now, I’ve recently found myself posting stories and pictures almost robotically. Sharing moments from my life on social media has become so ingrained in my everyday routine that I needed this session to help me take a step back and reevaluate what I’m trying to achieve on social media. Is it to stay connected with friends and family? Is it to develop a reputation for being a topical expert?
The results from my personal reputation survey have been timely, as one person pointed out that I’m “too active” on social media, accusing me of having more superficial intentions of flaunting my “fun” business school life. I certainly don’t want that to come across as my intention, so Kudzi’s session inspired me to recalibrate what I’m trying to accomplish (which varies across platforms), and to adjust my actions accordingly to achieve the results that I want.
2) Be regimented
Kudzi shared with us his personal content creation schedule (below). Every day, he tries to engage with each of his core platforms to maintain his online presence. While some may view this as excessive, my takeaway from this is that it takes work to maintain a positive online reputation, in the same way it takes time and effort to maintain a positive offline reputation.
One of my personal goals is to be known as a knowledge expert on blockchain. Twitter is the main channel that crypto enthusiasts convene on, yet Twitter is the channel that I personally am least active on. If this is my intention, then I need to be more regimented in my actions — I need to contribute to crypto conversations, retweet influencers within the crypto community, and share my personal perspectives in a more dedicated manner.
3) Engage more than you post
Many of us think that engaging with social media means posting constantly, which can be exhausting. However, Kudzi pointed out that liking, commenting, and resharing others’ content is equally, if not more important, than simply posting. On platforms such as LinkedIn, followers can track your activity and see what posts you’ve engaged with. This helps them see consistency in themes / topics you care about, and it also creates opportunities for you to connect with others’ followings, ultimately expanding your reach.
4) Be of service to others
This one is important, and is what Kudzi calls his secret sauce. The key to curating and maintain a positive online reputation is uplifting others and being a supportive voice. Find opportunities to offer your services to others, may it be amplifying their content to expand their reach, or connecting them with someone in your personal network to achieve their goals. This will not only help to paint you in a positive light to others, but it will win you favors to call in down the line.
5) Do what makes you happy
By the end of Kudzi’s session, I could tell there were still a few folks who were skeptical. They still view posting on social media as a chore, or they fundamentally think social media is toxic. Ultimately, Kudzi reminded us to do what makes you happy. Don’t post content that you don’t care about — otherwise you create another “job” for yourself. Post about topics that you’re passionate about, and social media will seem less like a burden and more like a hobby. And for those of you who disdain social media altogether, I leave you with some of Kudzi’s words of wisdom:
“If you don’t tell your own story, other people will tell it for you.”
Personally, I’d rather be my own narrator.
