Heather Rim Profile: Brand You

by | Sep 26, 2018 | Careers, Corporate Communications, Leadership, Social Media

Heather Rim builds great teams to do amazing things.

But we might never know it if she wasn’t such a pro in sharing her professional journey in social media.

Heather is chief marketing and communications officer at AECOM, a global infrastructure firm based in Los Angeles. The $18.2-billion company has appeared on Fortune’s list of Most Admired Companies for the last four years.

Heather’s path began to cross with mine a few years ago through professional associations like the Forum-Group for senior-level communicators.

And we’re both proud alums of the master’s program in communications management at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Heather is a natural for my series of profiles on how professionals are using social media to build and boost their careers.

We talked recently at AECOM’s Century City headquarters, with views of the many projects the firm helped create.

Here’s what she shared …

How do you think about personal branding in social media?

Your brand is one. You have one reputation to build and protect. When you’re on social, you can’t compartmentalize. While I’m a fan of using a mix of platforms to tell your story, it’s important to remember that it all ladders up to the brand that is you.

I also think that for communicators and marketers, your personal brand trumps your resume. We’re expected to maximize social to build brands for our employers and clients, and it’s important that we demonstrate our ability to do that by how we show up online.

What’s your personal brand?

I lead teams to disrupt the status-quo and build transformational brands.

At my core, I’m a builder. Every job throughout my career has involved reimagining what’s possible, and building a powerhouse team to make that happen.

I lead an incredible global communications and marketing organization at AECOM that includes corporate brand and reputation management, public and media relations, thought leadership, employee communications and engagement initiatives, crisis and issues management, social media and digital communications, CSR and strategic marketing.

To give back to the profession, I serve on the Board of Advisors of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations. We explore the future of PR in the annual Relevance Report. I believe the digital age has transformed time from past, present and future into a single flowing now.

Heather Rim speaks on a 2017 Relevance Report panel with fellow professionals at the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations

Why did you first get started in social media?

When my daughter was born 10 years ago and my son after that, I joined Facebook because I wanted to keep our family connected as our kids were growing up. For me, Facebook is personal. It’s for family and friends.

As I’ve made career moves over the years, it’s been fun to see how former bosses soon switch from LinkedIn connections to Facebook friends.

Tell me about your themes in social media.

Each platform has a theme for me. Facebook is largely family life. Instagram is for my favorite pastimes and personal interests. LinkedIn is for professional activity.

I’m most active on Twitter, where I am a brand ambassador for AECOM and advocate to end homelessness in Los Angeles through my work as Board President of the Downtown Women’s Center.

What made you ramp up on Instagram this year?

The tipping point for me was a discussion at AECOM with the National Millennial Community. This is a superstar Millennial group led by Bill Imada.

As chairman of the IW Group, Bill enables organizations to connect effectively with multicultural and cross-generational consumers, business owners and entrepreneurs. He’s a fellow board member at the USC Center for Public Relations.

We had a focus group with a handful of company leaders and a few dozen Millennials. In talking with these students about social media, it was clear that they were less interested in what they might read about me on LinkedIn – a site they viewed as a perfectly curated resume – and more interested in “who I really am.”

They asked why I wasn’t on Instagram, and my response at the time was, “it’s too personal.” And then a lightbulb went off.  Personal is what matters to them.

Soon after, I reluctantly took the leap and jumped into Instagram.

I initially struggled with what to post, and then decided I would create a virtual scrap book of the experiences that bring me joy (outside of my family and career). Everything from the adventures I’m blessed to take, to the excitement of a fabulous pair of shoes or a delicious glass of wine.

People in my industry have started following me, along with the students who prompted my start. One of my most popular posts was one I almost didn’t do. My friend Dawn Soler, @the40plusgirl on Instagram and EVP of Music at ABC Television, got me involved in the #WokeUpThisWay challenge. It was a calling to keep it real in social media – filter and makeup free.

It wasn’t something I was initially eager to participate in. In fact, the thought of a filter-free morning selfie made me cringe. But I did it for my daughter, to show her that beauty comes from within. And I’m glad I did.

Posting a few times a week is easy. It’s become a natural part of my life. And I enjoy Instagram as a source of inspiration and nourishment for the soul. It’s also my version of scrolling through a fun magazine.

Why is Twitter ideal for events?

Events can be so powerful. Live tweeting at an event is my way of sharing the action, documenting the experience and taking notes. It’s also a great tool to make connections, as you become a go-to source for the content shared, and associate your personal brand with that subject.

I’ve found that people appreciate it when you tweet a powerful soundbite they said and amplify it with a great photo. That almost always gets retweets.

I work hard to earn followers by sharing the best content I can. When I’m reading, I’ll often tweet a quote, much like I would at an event or conference.

How do you show up on LinkedIn?

For me, LinkedIn is about leadership. I share about business events I’ve attended as well as my volunteer work at the Downtown Women’s Center. As a result of my activity, I’ve been invited to give presentations and speeches.

The downside of LinkedIn is when people try to use it in an urgent way. You have to invest in your network over time. A sales pitch or job application isn’t effective when you haven’t established a relationship over time.

What “do’s” do you follow for social?

Be authentic. I strive to be true to myself and share the real me.

Be sure the content of a post can stand alone without being misinterpreted. Everything you say is open for interpretation. I put a lot of thought into my tweets and posts.

Be comfortable with the content appearing anywhere. Assume that anything you publish will one day surface for all to see, and share accordingly.

Be true to your brand. Everything I share relates back to my personal brand statement in some way.

Keep connecting. Follow-up right away (while the interaction is still fresh) with a connection on the appropriate platform. Be sure to add a brief note.

How often should professionals interact with others in social?

Think about how the world works offline. How many times would you pop into someone’s workspace to say hi? Let that guide how often you engage with people in social through their content.

Want to learn more about Heather? Start with her Instagram and check out all the rest …

IG: @heather.rim

TW: @heatherrim

LI: linkedin.com/in/heatherrim/

Watch for more profiles coming soon. And if you’d like to be profiled, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

What’s Your Social Media Game in 2017?

by | Jan 8, 2017 | Corporate Communications, Learning, Social Media

It’s a new year. It’s time for a fresh set of goals. And it’s critical to think about them in novel and different ways.

In your professional life, how will you use social media to achieve your goals? How will you use social media to tell your story about your wins?

To start, think about how social media will change for professionals this year. Check out the post, along with Dorie Clark, Alexandra Samuel, Bryan Kramer and William Arruda for some fascinating ideas.

Then ask yourself these 4 questions to make your own social media game plan.

  • What are your company’s big goals? Is your CEO sharing the company strategy with employees this month or quarter? How about other C-suite leaders? Access any and all public information about your company’s strategic plans for the year. Be clear on the top goals and the order of priority. And be sure what you share in social media is public information only.
  • What are your team’s goals? How do the company goals translate into your department’s goals and ultimately your team’s goals? Where does your team help drive the strategy toward execution? What new and different approaches can you and your team try this year?
  • What are your professional goals? How do your team goals translate into your own professional goals? What do you need to accomplish this year? What stretch assignments do you want to tackle? On the development side, what do you want or need to learn? How will you accomplish that?
  • How will use use social media to achieve your goals and tell your story? Does social media play a role in achieving your goals? If it hasn’t before, could you incorporate it this year? When you achieve goals, how will you use social media to tell your story? What conferences are you attending? Where are you speaking? What are you blogging?

At this point, focus on “what” your goals will be. Don’t worry about the “how” at this point.

Why?

If you’re not sure about how to execute a goal, that can stand in the way of setting it in the first place. And just because you don’t exactly know how to do it, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

You’ve probably had many “first times” in your career. What did you do when your boss asked you to take on a new project, something you’d never done before? You can reflect on and use those experiences in the same way when you get to the “how” part of actually accomplishing your goals.

A former boss came to me some years ago and said the CEO wanted to do an employee engagement survey. My boss asked me to lead it.

That was beyond my role at the time as a corporate communications leader. There was a moment of terror, but after a few minutes it sounded like a fascinating project.

In thinking through the “how,” I realized I could build on the communications-related surveying I’d done, engage with experts and partners, create a team, map out a plan, execute it, learn and adjust as we went.

With so much information available online, you can research any topic and come up with ideas. Being able to figure it out is a skill that becomes more important every day.

I’m ever inspired by a talk that business leader Mark Cuban gave at my employer’s headquarters many years ago.

Most striking were his words about client meetings and commitments. A client would ask for something, and the group would agree it would be delivered the next day.

Later, Mark and his colleagues would look at each other and say they had no idea how to do what they’d just committed to. But they had all night to figure it out. And figure it out, they did. Time and time again.

If they could do it, so could I. And so can you.

For now, take some time to set your social media goals for the year.

Here are mine:

  • Amplify my employer’s social media strategy through its Social Circle, by sharing 3 posts each week.
  • Share appropriate highlights of my work in social media, by posting something at least 2 times a month.
  • Learn about how social media is changing and evolving, by listening to 5 podcasts each week during drive time.
  • Help others by sharing and commenting on their valuable content, at least 3 times a week.

Each goal is measurable, with a number attached to it. As the year goes on, I’ll assess if this is the right frequency or if tweaks need to be made.

None of my goals have anything to do with followers. In part that’s because I can’t completely control those numbers. Sure, the goals I’m pursuing are likely to attract followers. But I’m focused on actions I can 100% control on my own.

Here I’m influenced by Gary V‘s ideas on Building a Personal Brand, a Udemy course I finished today. One of the biggest takeaways? “Consistency almost trumps everything,” Gary says.

Another pearl from Gary? This one is for combating fear of failure: “Spend all your time in the in-between space, the time between starting and stopping.”

What’s your social media game plan for the year?

Don’t worry yet about the “how” of making it happen. “How” will be the subject of many future posts.

What’s Driving the Future of PR and Communications

by | Dec 26, 2016 | Change, Corporate Communications, Learning

What does the future hold for PR and communications? Check out the Relevance Report.

New from the USC Center for Public Relations this month, it’s full of innovative ideas on what’s ahead.

Global. Mobile. Video. Data. Emotion. These are just a few of the trend areas accelerating in the year ahead.

The biggest learning for me? It’s the parallel and seemingly paradoxical rise of data and emotion as drivers of influence. Data drives better decision making, while emotion is a prime influencer of people’s opinions and behaviors.

Find out more in my latest blog post on the USC Annenberg Alumni website.

It’s about what you’ll learn in this insightful report, with nuggets of wisdom from Annenberg’s Bob Feldman and Heather Rim as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning author Thomas Friedman.

The post is part of being a proud Annenberg Alumni Ambassador this school year. It’s a thrill to share the best of this distinguished school for communication and journalism.

The Relevance Report gives timely insight into trends that will impact society, business and communications. It features thought pieces from communications leaders who identify the issues, ideas and innovations that will be relevant to the communications industry in 2017.