With over 7000 active users, the Association for Maintenance Professional (AMP) Maintenance.org web site has become a personal branding hub.
Every profile that exists on Maintenance.org has the same core features and benefits, such as the ability to create a profile page, share files, add multimedia (photos and video) and much more. You have a unique opportunity to leverage this platform for career success.
The landscape at Maintenance.org is filled with maintenance and reliability professionals, book authors, subject matter experts, company owners, entrepreneurs and people just like you who can be reached through Maintenance.org's email messaging system without having to touch your company email system or corporate firewalls.
At Maintenance.org your profile will be searched, so use common sense in determining how you want to represent yourself. You are what you publish and first impressions are everything.
What follows is a guide to building your personal brand on Maintenance.org.
1. Understand the audience
Maintenance.org is a 100% focused community - unlike LinkedIn or Facebook where there are millions of members (and lots of recruiters) most of the conversation centers around maintenance and reliability related topics. Your profile does allow you to add some personal interest details which is encouraged - however almost all members use the site for professional reasons.
2. Decide on your branding strategy
Everyone should have a Maintenance.org branding strategy and it should be based on your overall life goals. Depending on who you are, where you are in your career, what you're passionate about and an expert in, you'll want to brand yourself differently.
If you haven't signed up for Maintenance.org, then you have a great opportunity to start fresh and to build your Maintenance.org profile to best represent you. If you're a current Maintenance.org user, then start analyzing how your brand is being portrayed and take steps to customize it to reflect your branding strategy.
If you don't want to build a branding empire, a strategy should still be extremely important to you; you're already branded and that brand can help shape perceptions online to portray you in a positive light and help you secure a good reputation. This means choosing what files and media you share to add value to your brand and those you're friends with.
3. Set your privacy settings
Depending on your Maintenance.org goals, you may set your entire account to private or grant certain individuals permission to view sections of your profile. You can also make your entire profile public for the world to see, which could be beneficial to you if you're looking to become more visible in your industry and will result in your profile ranking high for your name in search.
4. Fill out your profile completely
Maintenance.org is a great platform where you can paint a picture of who you are. When filling out the information fields, be sure to focus on the interests section, where you can connect with fellow maintenance professionals who use the same software, hardware or use similar strategies.
If you are already a member - PLEASE edit your profile to make sure you have the Interests section complete.
5. Grow your network
Each week, you should click the New Members link on the main menu and check out the profiles for new members you want to connect with.
Another way to build your professional network is to click the specific interest links from your own profile. For example if you selected that you are a Maximo software user, clicking Maximo from your own profile will show you a list of other members that also use Maximo.
Connecting with people who "do what you do" is one of the main values from belonging to the Association for Maintenance Professional (AMP) Maintenance.org web site
6. Update your status
Updating your status on Maintenance.org allows you to project a single message to a large audience. Your status is a reflection of who you are and what you do. You can update your status with press mentions, your latest blog entry, a new project you're working on or your interest in a particular job. Based on your branding strategy, you'll want to update your status to either keep people informed about what you're up to, push them to your content or both.
7. Join or start an event in your area
One of the best aspects of Maintenance.org is that you can get involved in your community by joining or starting an event in your industry. By opening up your event to everyone, you can meet new people and discover other people who have shared interest and can support your career.
If you're looking to start a weekly or monthly event and want to keep a calendar, logging it on a page is a good strategy. By starting an event, you're positioning yourself as a leader and an expert, which is great for your personal brand.
8. Link out to your other profiles
Your Maintenance.org profile allows you to add your LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profile pages so please add them.
9. Feed your social networks
You can easily share your Maintenance.org files, videos, blog posts and other activities at LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and it is a good idea to do so.
10. Everything All The Time?
In this short attention span world - we are thankful for the quiet focus offered by the Association for Maintenance Professional (AMP) Maintenance.org web site. While it will never even be in the same league as Facebook or LinkedIn, we value the relationships we have built there, the information we have gained and shared and the incredible spirit of the Maintenance Professional community that is reflected there.
Visit http://www.maintenance.org to join or edit your profile today.
