A few weeks ago I was packing for my trip to SXSW. As I gathered my clothes Tara asked me if I was going to bring my “social media costume”. I laughed…she had totallycaught on to me. Over the past few months I have been making a point of wearing the exact same outfit to any event where I would be seeing a lot of social media types.
My hat, Twitter shirt and crazy red running shoes have all become part of my personal brand. I wear this outfit to events because it enables people to easily recognize and remember me. It also creates a consist image when people take photos of me and post them on the interwebs.
I have a red and blue version of the “costume”, allowing me to switch things up if the event is multiple days. The red version is my primary pick because it matches the colors of this blog.
If you want to build a personal brand you need to constantly reinforce it, whatever it is. Are you the guy who always dresses in black? Hawaiian shirts? Has crazy hair? Wears sunglasses inside? Define your visual image and make a conscious effort to embrace it, particularly at social events.
I saw this picture on your flickr stream the other night and was wondering what was coming. Love the “costume” and what you say about it make total sense. I’ve been trying to do that a bit with my “I’m Not A Famous Blogger Shirt” It really gets some notice.
I may not have a social media costume, but I’m wearing my Ted Murphy t-shirt this morning. Does that count 🙂
[…] S on his chest. And as Ted Murphy, serial entrepreneur and CEO of IZEA, wrote in his blog post My Social Media Costume, “My hat, Twitter shirt and crazy red running shoes have all become part of my personal […]
Great idea, Ted, and not one I had thought of, although I am pretty sure my huge and unruly hair is almost as easily recognized as your tongue.
This show really reminds me of this: http://t.co/JHw65fGc