Social Media and Branding: Protecting your brand and your reputation in the social media world

Things happen quickly these days. What you say, in private or in public, and what you post on Facebook can lose you jobs, elections or land you in court. Sometimes you will know that you have lost out because of what you have said or done - but often you will have no idea. A very good friend of mine once boasted to me that he had heard someone being less than complimentary about me and that he had cited our friendship and closed down the conversation. I thanked him but said that in future I would prefer if he found out what the negative feedback or opinion was. That would be more useful to me. Good feedback massages the ego but it doesn't help you improve. If you are in the political world you need to be really carefull about what you say and what you post. Or what you have posted before. A regular review of what is on your facebook page - both from you and your "friends" is a valuable exercise. What other friends film or snap on smart phones could be ticking time bombs. Of course if you are in politics right now and you are speaking in front of a camera or a bank of cameras - remember who your audience is, stay calm and in control and do not react in anger. And speak so that your targeted audience can relate to you. This will keep you out of trouble and stop your campaign managers from shooting themselves. In politics, you can win electoral office because the opposition lost the election rather than you winning it. I wish that there had been cameras aimed at the campaign managers of Mitt Romney when the cameos in this video were taken. That footage would have fun to watch! Obama's campaign managers must have been punching the air and whooping. Costly unforced errors. Message disipline is vital.