I’ve written before on how to protect your online identity. But I want to go back a little bit and write on how you can build a solid foundation for your online identity. This tips will even be key in protecting yourself against online identity fraud.
- Buy more than one domain for your site. I would recommended buying .com , .net, .co and .uk for a start. It’s good to cover all your bases when building your online identity. It will also protect you from future identity fraud.
- Purchase your full name for a domain. People will remember you better by your name, than by some nickname or a “Design Studio” name. Unless you truly do own a design studio and have people working in it, it’s better to just use your own name. People have to memorize names all day, so were more programmed to remember a persons name, than a studios.
- Whatever name you use, make it consistent with every account name you have online. It will make it easier for people to find you and also to remember you.
- Having an identity that is consistent with your brand name allows yourself to be more marketable in the future for guest articles and public events.
Your Image
- Use 0ne Favicon that you can use on your website, small pieces of artwork and anything else you want your “Brand” to go onto.
- One professional image. An image that represents your smiley face, with a non distracting background. Wear something that you would wear to an interview for the photo.
- Casual photos are important too. It makes everyone know you’re a laid back person and it also makes you more approachable online.
- Decide what kind of image you want to depict to people around you. Who you are targeting and what you are doing. That will help you define your physical online image, and just an image of yourself as a whole.
- Your words will also depict what kind of image you want to portray, so be careful.
Protecting Your Online Accounts
- Use long passwords, with a capital letter and numbers. The more complicated the password, the less likely it will be hacked.
- Be careful about what services you allow to connect through Twitter OR Facebook. You never truly know what kind of information they will be collecting. Also, a lot of services will send out automated DM’s about their service through you. Super annoying.
- Login often. This will help to make sure your account isn’t being hacked and it’s good to look active on your social media accounts.
What are ways that you build your identity online to have people remember you?
Hi Hillary,
I enjoyed this post. You gave some good tips that I did not think about such as purchasing a few extensions for my domain to prevent other people from doing so. Would you recommend doing this for every project you start? I think that would make sense but could be kind of costly.
I’m also wondering what you think about someone branding themselves as a company vs their own name if they have intentions to grow in the future. I feel someone may want to hire someone with a company name over an individual because it comes off as more like a business and they could (*in the mind of the client*) handle a larger account vs hiring a freelancer who goes by their name and may not have the man power to take on all these larger jobs (not to say that they couldn’t).
I feel like it does come down to perspective. Hiring someone who goes by their real name may seem more personable.
Hey Tom!
Thanks for this awesome comment. You’ve brought up some important questions.
Yes, I would recommend purchasing a few domains if you are starting on a new project. It’s good to protect any new thought or project.
If you have intentions to grow in the future, I would keep the name in mind, get a DBA for it and then only use it when you are growing and hiring people. Having a one man shop but saying you are a “Studio” doesn’t make much sense to a client. Also, clients will expect even more from you, if you have a “Title” to what you do. There are just pros and cons to both. You need to be wise on what kind of clients you attract, and what kind of clients you want to work with.
Hope this helps!
Hey Hillary!
So here’s my questions again – Do you find it comes easily or naturally to blog? Where do you get your inspiration? I find myself struggling with the idea of whether or not I want to add a blog to my new site or keep it out as I don’t find myself to be an interesting writer and that people actually would check out my blog! Are there ways other than twitter that you promote your blog?
Any other insight would be great!
Hey Elisa!
I do find that it comes pretty easy to blog. I usually just write about things I am learning about, or I ask people what they want to read and learn about. It does take some research and time. I spend about 4 hours a week on my blog. Which isn’t a lot, but it does take some commitment.
I think that you have to write what interests you and what you love. That will make you an interesting writer because you are expressing your passion. People will find you through your passion because they relate to you.
There are other ways I promote my blog. I comment on other people’s blogs. People don’t realize how powerful commenting truly is. If you want, you have to learn to give. I also have been trying to do more guest blogging, which drives traffic to my site. I also use Google + and ads on other blog sites. Also tagging posts correctly helps a lot with SEO.
I hope this helps a little bit! You have to stick with blogging for at least a few months before you’ll see a big spike in traffic. A lot of people drop-off at the 3 month mark. My advice to you is press through that and you will see a difference. :)
Twitter:
Im still working on my identity online but one thing that I found to work for me is staying connected with people. I dont want to sound like a Twitter junkie but Twitter has been great for me and letting people know I exist. I try to participate on conversations rather than be a spectator, that way you are having a conversation with other people. After repeating that step for a while people are bond to check you out and remember you.
Image/Logo:
Like you said, having a great image that you can put everywhere is important. I swear I mostly remember images/avatars rather than names (having a consistant name online is still very important). I have met people that I know from online and the way I know who they are is when I ask what there image/avatar is. Also people dont know who I am until they see logo, then they say ” ohhh so your the HERO ” :D
Consistency is very important for your online identity.
: )
Those are are other two great methods. Just like design, constancy is important and keeps people focused on just a few things, instead of a lot of different things. Thanks for the addition Herson!