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April 23, 2012 by Todd Wasserman 14 The Social Media for Business Leaders Series is presented by by The Awareness Social Marketing Hub, the leading social media marketing software for marketers to publish, manage, measure and engage across all their social channels. Request a free trial here. If youíve just got a new job and are now contemplating tagging your Twitter account with a shout-out to your new employer, consider the case of @Phonedog_Noah, a.k.a. Noah Kravitz. Kravitz, a blogger, chose his Twitter handle when he was employed by cellphone news and review website PhoneDog. But Kravitz left in 2010, and last year PhoneDog sued him for $340,000 for the 17,000 followers he kept after he left the position. Itís unclear if PhoneDog will get its way ó a California court in February denied Kravitzís motion to dismiss. Meanwhile, Kravitz told Mashable last December that he ìwould do it differently now.î While Kravitzís case provides a clear reason to avoid meshing your professional and personal worlds via social media, itís not always a bad idea. Consider, for instance, Aliza Licht, a blogger with 385,000 followers. But itís a fair bet that few of those followers know who Licht is. Thatís because she goes by the nom de plume (or maybe ìnom de Twitterî) DKNY PR GIRL. Licht, who started the account in 2009, is credited with spawning imitators in the fashion industry, including Oscar de la Rentaís @OscarPRGirl. Licht, who had worked in PR at Donna Karan since 1998, kept her identity secret until last October, when she revealed it in the YouTube video below: http://mashable.com/2012/04/23/personal-professional-social-identity/ 29/08/2012 Should You Combine Your Personal and Business Social Media Identity? Page 4 of 11 Lichtís Twitter handle is sort of an amalgam of advertising and social media. DKNY PR GIRL is a character, as she freely acknowledges, and thus can be thought of as no different than Flo from Progressive Insurance. Yet, the Twitter account became popular because of Lichtís personality and her nearly 24/7 commitment to updating on the platform. ìThe account started anonymously because DKNY PR GIRL was envisioned as a ëcharacter,í hence the sketch,î Licht says, referring to the illustration on DKNY PR GIRLís Twitter page. ìBut as soon as I started tweeting, I realized that Twitter was a conversation, and the voice needed to be consistent. Naturally, people started to realize DKNY PR GIRL was in fact, one girl, but yet it never really mattered ëwhoí the person was ó it was the personality and content that mattered. As time passed and the account became more popular, we realized the anonymity didnít matter anymore either.î Despite her seamless integration with the persona, Licht has no illusions that she has any claims on DKNY PR GIRL. ìDKNY PR GIRL has become synonymous with my name, however it belongs to the company,î Licht says. Another social media star who melded his online identity with his employer is Richard Binhammer, the director of strategic corporate communications, social media and corporate reputation management at Dell, who is better known by his Twitter handle @RichardatDell. ìDating back to 2006, when I first started work in the social media field for Dell, the linking of company and personal name to create @RichardatDell has made it clear, transparent and obvious who I am and that I represent Dell,î Binhammer says. ìObviously this was both a personal and professional decision that works for me, while also meeting Dell policies around disclosure and transparency.î As Binhammer notes, if you intended to be a public spokesman for a company in 2006, then it made sense to put your companyís moniker in your social profiles. However, in 2012, the standard practice is to be yourself and build a social media following, and then act as a hired gun for the companies you represent. A good example of this is Ben Rudolph, Microsoftís chief evangelist, who goes by his given name on Twitter, though he uses @BenThePCGuy as his Twitter handle. Also, there are two fields of identification on Twitter: Your name and your handle; you can change both to whatever you would like (as long as itís not already taken). Consider the case of Ben Smith, the former Politico editor, who joined BuzzFeed in January. When Smith left Politico, he changed his Twitter handle http://mashable.com/2012/04/23/personal-professional-social-identity/ 29/08/2012 Should You Combine Your Personal and Business Social Media Identity? Page 5 of 11 from @BenPolitico to @BuzzFeedBen, yet his name still appears as ìBen Smith.î He has kept his handle intertwined with his company, but remains his own personal brand on Twitter ó as a result, the switch from one publication to another is seamless. The advantages of keeping your name are obvious. For Rudolph, if he ever left Microsoft, he would still be Ben Rudolph on Twitter, even if he became (for example) @BenTheSamsungGuy. ìThe way the workforce is changing, itís probably a given that youíll have to leave that employer at some point,î says Alexis Grant, a journalist and social media strategist. ìI suppose you could technically change the handle when you do, but for branding purposes, itís better to have a handle thatís all you, so you can keep it forever.î As the PhoneDog lawsuit demonstrates, thatís a major consideration. If your profession involves communicating with the public, then your Twitter following will be taken into account by future employers. Apparently, thatís worth quite a lot: the $340,000 lawsuit nets out to $2.50 per follower in Kravitzís Twitter audience. Series presented by The Awareness Social Marketing Hub The Social Media for Business Leaders Series is presented by The Awareness Social Marketing Hub, the leading social media marketing software for marketers to publish, manage, measure and engage across all their social channels. The Awareness Social Marketing Hub is leveraged by companies of all sizes including MLB, American Cancer Society, and Starwood Hotels. Request a free trial here. Download a complimentary whitepaper from Awareness: Actionable Social Analytics: From Social Media Metrics to Business Insights. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, EricHood Topics to follow ï Social media 77,037 followers Follow ï Social media marketing 1,264 follower Follow ï Social media for business leaders series 80 followers Follow More Stories in Advertising 1. Remix the Old Spice Guy With New Interactive Video 12 Like Tweet http://mashable.com/2012/04/23/personal-professional-social-identity/ 29/08/2012 Should You Combine Your Personal and Business Social Media Identity? Page 6 of 11 2. Obama Web Ads Target Romney on RNC Turf 0 Like Tweet Top Related Stories 1. Obama, Comedians Top Tuesday’s Republican Convention Tweets 7 Like Tweet 2. 1 Terabyte of Data Will Be Sent Daily During Conventions 1 Like Tweet 14 Comments 1. PlamenaTodorova Follow If I were to work for a global company, Iíd keep my accounts strictly separated. Since I have chosen a different path, I have a different strategy. I use social media to express my genuine opinion, to brand myself and to communicate my strengths and interests. I seek to find communities and likeminded individuals I enjoy engaging with. Thanks to this post I am having the opportunity to reflect on how I use social media. I have just realized I use my accounts for both purposes because I want to be a social entrepreneur. It is important for me to build my credibility and display my authenticity both as a professional and as a person. If I had chosen another field to develop my career within, I may have had a different strategy. April 23, 2012 09:41:28 Reply 1 Flag this comment ◦ FashionistaChik Follow http://mashable.com/2012/04/23/personal-professional-social-identity/ 29/08/2012 Should You Combine Your Personal and Business Social Media Identity? Page 7 of 11 Plamena this makes great sense. In my case. I am building a business. I do use my twitter platform to build my personal brand.