Find out more about our Social Visibility Editor and LinkedIn Specialist Jennifer Corcoran

The focus of Jennifer’s client base is shared values and a desire to create the life and business they truly want. She's committed to helping clients flourish on your own terms, with 121 training, bespoke workshops and written strategy audits on LinkedIn. Helping her clients by proactively driving their social media engagement and amplifying the power of their personal brands in the process.

What sparked your passion for social media and online branding?

A few years back I won a place on a day workshop called‘Project You’. Over the course of the day the host tried topull out of each attendee what our super skills were andwhat we felt was holding us back in our career. At thatpoint in time I was on several social media platforms buthad no real training. If truth be told, platforms likeTwitter terrified me due to my lack of knowledge. By thetime the workshop had ended I had vowed to tackle mydemons and sign up for some social media training anduse my writing skills to blog and give back to mypreferred charities and causes. My initial LinkedIn coursewas the first of about 15 and what was initially a hobby /venture became a passion and vocation. I’m very much anintrovert (albeit a chatty one) but gradually began todiscover my voice and shape my own personal brand.

Social media and blogging is perfect for an introvert likeme and I’m a firm believer that you don’t need to be theloudest in the room to make an impact. You just need tobe authentic, social and consistent.

What would you say is the one consistent theme people should focus on for developing themselves on the main social channels?

The main theme is to simply be you. Be authentic and true to yourself. There is nothing more disheartening than someone creating an online persona and then when you meet them in real life the two facets don’t marry. Ideally your social media channels should be a warm introduction as to how you are as a person. When people meet you, you want them to feel like they already know you and create that essential know, like and trust factor. This is so important. Ideally your social media channels should be a warm introduction as to how you are as a person. When people meet you, you want them to feel like they already know you and create that essential know, like and trust factor.

This is so important. The 3 main rules which apply to all social media platforms are 1) Be social (it’s in the name) 2) Be consistent (whether this is daily, weekly or monthly) 3) Follow the 80/20 rule (this means that 80% of the time you need to educate, inform, engage and motivate and 20% of the time you can push your own content). Even then it’s a soft push and a focus on serving versus selling. The trick to all social media is to GIVE GIVE GIVE and to essentially nurture your community. The law of reciprocity then comes back to you slowly over time. Social media like face to face networking is a long game.

What is the 1 area of your own personal brand that you would like to improve?

This is an easy one for me. Public speaking! As an introverted business owner I’ve learned that I need to put myself out there more for the sake of my business. I naively thought that my life and business would all be online but I still need to spend almost 50% of my time doing face to face networking, workshops and events as people buy people so they need to meet you. I’ve embraced various mediums such as webinars, podcasts, workshops, skype calls and have even gone so far as to host my own events which is nerve racking. I’ve also embraced video and created my own Facebook LIVES. Like social media, I need to perfect video and my speaking at events and workshops. I’ve done a day training course to date and may need to give Toastmasters a visit. Time to smash through that comfort zone again!