Social Proof: Fadeke Adegbuyi discusses Creating a Distinctive Identity for You Online

This is the first installment in our series Social Proof. Fadeke Adegbuyi, one of my favourite writers online, is our first installment.

Fadeke is an internet culture expert and prolific writer. Fadeke is currently Shopify’s Lead Writer and is the brain behind Cybernaut, my personal favorite newsletter as part of Every, a collection of business-focused newsletters.

Fadeke is known for being a content strategist and has been co-leading Doist’s content strategy. This was before she moved to Shopify where she manages editorial strategy and writes about creators and entrepreneurs. Her ability to analyze and distill internet culture into engaging content has made her a unique brand in this niche.

Fadeke is not the only one who will create their brand. Others might decide to start a podcast or make YouTube videos. There are many lessons to be learn from each person’s journey, which is why this series exists.

We hope that this interview (and others) will provide insight and help you in your quest to create and grow a personal brand.

Let’s move on to the interview.

Q: Fadeke, thanks for being with me at Social Proof! What are your thoughts on personal branding? Are you intentional about how you use yours? Is it even a personal brand?

The term “Personal Brand” was popularized in the early 2010s but feels outdated now. There is a lot of hesitation when referring to one’s online presence or presentation as a personal branding. Although people cringe at the idea, it is a reality that everyone online has their own personal brand. Your personal brand can be viewed online in any way you like.

Question: What word would you choose to describe it?

Personal brand is fine with me! Although I don’t like the term personal brand, I do use it. If I had to choose, I would say “online Presence” or “social Media Presence.”

Q: What is your personal brand online? Three words or terms to describe your online presence.

I would use the following words: genuine , basic , informal.

Genuine – I try to be authentic and not post anything I don’t agree with.

Simple: I keep it simple when it comes to the content and language I use.

Informal/friendly: I think there is an instinct to polish your social media presence, and personal brand, which can be good or bad depending on who you are, but I tried to keep it professional and not too formal.

Q: How do you feel about building an online presence? Do you think you have been very intentional about your online presence since the beginning of your career?

As a marketer, I also work as a content marketer. I have experience in growing brands and care a lot about numbers and metrics. These same criteria are not applicable to my personal brand and my personal social media platforms.

But, it’s important to have an internet presence and a distinct brand from your employer. It’s something I have always valued – being able to share my work and connect with others who are interested in the same topics online. It also allows me to have a steady flow of collaboration and hiring opportunities.

The Holloway Guide to Using Twitter was a project that I enjoyed. It outlines how to use Twitter to its full potential and shows you how to get the best out of it. Although I don’t claim to follow all the principles in the guide, I do believe they are good principles that others have used to build their brand.

Q: Do you think social media is a major part of your career growth? Can you draw a line between your social media activities and the opportunities that came from them?

My work has been shared and received feedback via social media. Your career can grow by putting your work out there.

I have published articles on social media and they have been well received by others. That has lead to other editors and publications reaching out to me saying, “I liked the piece in your newsletter. I’d love to write a piece.” Other opportunities have also been presented to me for consulting, freelancing, and jobs. These are all direct results of my social media posts.

A personal brand is about being a great employee. If that happens, it can limit your career. The economy is at a crossroads. We are seeing a downturn and impending recession. There will be layoffs in all industries. Social media can be an effective way to promote your work.

Question: What do you prefer? Social media or newsletters?

Both I like, but I believe they serve different purposes. My newsletter is a collection of pieces that are long-form and range from 2000 to 5000 words. There are many nuances to be explored and many dimensions that could be fleshed.

Social media is limited in character counts, so there’s a little incentive to be more concise, to make things snappier, and to be less nuanced. It’s fun to mix the two platforms and enjoy both.

Q: Do you think about increasing your numbers? Are you more concerned about the quality of your engagements?

I don’t usually track the growth or engagement of my posts. For social media, I am more focused on “How can I describe my work in such a way that it is compelling?” It’s not about numbers and metrics.

Q: It’s fascinating to see how you can combine your knowledge with the need for Every’s business audience. How can you develop that knowledge and understand the internet culture deeply? Then balance that with serving your audience through your newsletter Cybernaut.

When I think about writing a piece or exploring an online space, I don’t necessarily think about a specific business audience. Cybernaut is a site I write about internet culture for Every. I also think about growing our audience and expanding our base of subscribers.

My newsletter subscribers include people from all walks of life. It is difficult to appeal to everyone. My main goal is to write the best piece and create something interesting and compelling.

If you keep your eyes on this, I believe everyone can find something in that article they find interesting. They may be interested in social media or the human stories. I strive to create the best piece possible, and hope that it finds an audience who is just as interested as me in internet culture.

Q: As a content creator, you place a lot of emphasis on productivity. How do you balance being productive and building your personal brand?

This is something I am always up against. It can be very distracting, even though I love the internet.

I have written extensively on the power of flow and focus, and how important it is to move away from context switching and toward deep work. So I have several tools that help me unplug from social networks. I use Self Control as a site blocker and RescueTime as an app to manage how much time I spend online.

If you work online and are required to keep an eye on what’s going on, it’s important to set aside time to unplug and create work. Rather than trying to do multiple tasks at once,

Q: Have you been working remotely for some time? Is there a group that thinks remote work can negatively impact your career growth? Do you think remote work has increased or decreased your access to potential opportunities?

Remote work doesn’t necessarily make you less productive or more effective. However, I believe there is truth to the notion that remote work can hinder professional connections and create a strong peer group for those who are young in their careers.

Although I love remote work, there are some limitations. It’s difficult to match in-person interaction. It’s been a constant struggle for me to make connections with people while I work remotely.

Building a personal brand is a key part of this. Inbound marketing can also include creating content and sharing it online. If you work remotely, it can be even more important to build a personal brand that allows for you to connect with people.

Q. What advice would your self give if you were starting a personal brand?

“If you don’t feel comfortable going to work in an office or being present at an in-person job in person, then you need to be more visible.”

It might be about building a social media profile, writing a newsletter, or building an online community. To progress professionally, it is important to surround yourself with people who are ambitious, even if they are just a step ahead of you. It can be very powerful to use social media for this purpose.

Q. How did you cultivate that community?

Over the years, I have joined several online communities. Superpath is great for content marketers and The Grand is great for career growth. On Deck is for everything writing related to entrepreneurship. Every is our writer collective that includes a Discord group for paid subscribers. Twitter is also a favorite of mine. These are all online places where I have met amazing people that I would not otherwise be able to if it wasn’t for my intentional search for community online.

Question: What do you think is the future for personal branding/growing an internet presence?

People are becoming more sensitive to fake content and “professionalism”. A person building a personal brand should be authentic while still finding the right balance between sharing too much and not enough. This can be difficult. This is also known as “influencer creep”, where maintaining an online presence and visibility for your work is almost a requirement. More people will try to do that.

Takeaways

Here are some key points to keep in mind if you want to make an online presence like Fadeke.

• Distinguish your identity from that of your employer. Fadeke states, “It is important to have an identity that is distinct from your employer.” It’s something I have always valued – being able to share my work and connect with others who are interested in the same topics online.
• Be vocal about your work. It can be very difficult to make a career out of doing great work in a company if nobody knows about it. How to position yourself on different platforms This article will help you.
• Try different platforms to build a cohesive personal brand. You can experiment with different formats, such as creating video content or longer-form writing via Twitter Notes, a newsletter, or creating videos. This will help you discover the best format to showcase your work.

Buffer is a great tool for automating publishing and scheduling your online presence.