By Andrea “Nickey” Buzek

When speaking of a company’s social media accounts, it only makes sense that all platforms have the same theme. For example, if you went to Wal-Mart’s Facebook page, you would expect to see the same blue and yellow graphics and posts as their Twitter page, right? In the public relations field, this important concept is known as branding.

Now, let’s take that same idea and apply it to your brand across your social media platforms. When people search your profile, do they see the same theme through your posts, or do they see vibrant red on one profile and light blues on another? Having inconsistent content may cause your audience to lose sight of who you are as a person. Unifying your profiles can give future employers a sense of professionalism and cohesiveness as they examine you as an applicant.

Let’s begin with the appearance of your profile.  Analyzing the type of photos you post may cause you to see a theme. Find pictures that represent you as a person and seem to have the same color scheme. Make them the most visible on your page. Set one of them as your cover photo across all platforms, and make sure your profile picture complements it. If Twitter is a platform you use, you have the option to set your text color to the same color scheme as your cover photo and profile picture. This will be the finishing touch on your color coding.

Your bio to every platform should be the same. Social media sites often have a limit to the number of characters you can use because people rarely want to read long-winded texts. Keep this in mind when typing your bio. Give brief information that provides important details to the profile you have created.

Next, consider your friends or following list. When people search your profile to find commonalities, they often go to your friends list first. If they see people of interest to them, they are likely to think you fall under the same category. While follow for follow seems nice, making sure you stick to a follow strategy will gather more followers that are in line with your personal brand.

Once you’ve established your friends list, your target audience will begin to gravitate toward your page. This is where you need to consider post content. People enjoy reading posts that are interesting and/or valuable. Find out what is interesting and/or valuable to yourself and those who follow you. Make comments and repost items that will likely attract the attention of others in your area. This will make you more relevant to those who follow you.

Unifying your brand across all platforms of social media can take some time if you’ve never thought of posting in a strategic manner. 10 Best Social Media Management Applications can provide tips on apps that can help you.

If you have any other tips for unifying your brand across social media, make a comment below, or mention us in your post on Facebook and Twitter. You can check us out on Facebook and Twitter here.