Follow Me! Creating a Personal Brand with Twitter

Chapter 17

Putting Her Personal Brand in the Pink

“Keep smiling friends and see you on the flip side :)”

@SharonHayes

Sharon Hayes (@SharonHayes) is a leading Twitter lady who knows exactly where she’s going, and it’s straight to the top! A successful entrepreneur whose professional yet lovable personal brand is reflected in her Twitter profile (see Figure 17-1), Sharon is widely respected as a businesswoman. All three of her companies specialize in offering marketing-related business-to-business services online, and all have thrived as a result of her personal brand success. As a leader in online marketing, Sharon has had to be ahead of the curve in social media adoption.

Figure 17-1 Sharon Hayes’s vibrant personal brand shines out from her Twitter profile page.

Skeptical Beginnings

Sharon’s Twitter story began in 2008. She recalls, “Many of my friends and associates were early adopters of social media platforms. In early 2008, I started to receive invitations from people I knew who had joined Twitter. A handful of my clients had also asked about Twitter and my thoughts on how it could be used for business.

“I filed away the invites. I didn’t even look at the Twitter website. I knew, conceptually at least, what Twitter was. You could have people opt in to receive your broadcasts ...