The Internet makes distance inconsequential and brings us closer despite the miles between us and our goal. Social media presence—professionally speaking, that is—is the best and most effective introduction. The translation industry has many professionals who are well aware of this and have been astute enough to create their own highly successful personal brands with which they are immediately identified. Here are some of them.
You’ve surely heard of them or perhaps you’re even one of their followers if you’re active in social media.
Xosé Castro
If you know Xosé Castro Roig, you know that he is a multifaceted professional with frequent appearances in the media. At present, he regularly collaborates in the show Atención, obras on La2 or in the program Likes on Channel #0 of Movistar+. He can be found and is very active in social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. His posts are not only related to translation and language, but also to current events— delivered with utmost professionalism and experience, and his trademark sense of humor with a touch of irony. This is a combination that undeniably goes over very well and is the reason why his number of followers just keeps on growing and growing. His talent as a photographer is also worth pointing out, as it certainly comes in handy for his posts in social media. In a nutshell—and a great many things clearly remain to be said—, Xosé Castro is a delightful blend of a very high level of professionalism, sense of humor and perhaps, a touch of irreverence.
Scheherezade Surià
Scheherezade Surià López is another shining example of how to market a brand really well on the Internet. Aside from being a great professional, she has successfully created an attractive brand that engages thousands of followers. Her tweets are frequent and always interesting, but they are far from being this translator’s only posts. Reading the articles in her blog enlalunadebabel.com, always very well documented and thorough, or the memes that we can find in her miniblog https://pinuptranslator.tumblr.com, is always a pleasure. What’s more, Scheherezade balances her work as a translator with her vocation for teaching, and she also puts posts related to this, especially in Twitter.
Just as with Xosé Castro, a witty sense of humor and a refreshing viewpoint always characterize her posts, and this article doesn’t quite do justice to her brilliant professional career. At Okodia, we are proud to say that she is part of our team. The next example—who we are sure you already know—is…
Jorge Díaz
Jorge Díaz-Cintas, another great professional translator. He is also present on social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn, but is possibly not as active as the two previous cases. He is currently director of the Centre for Translation Studies (CenTraS) at University College London and throughout his entire career he has been involved in the world of teaching. This author’s name appears in the bibliography and webography of many courses run by countless translation and interpretation faculties and he is undoubtedly one of the authors most read and consulted by students of this speciality. His brand can be characterised, to a great extent, by discretion, although he is also aware of the need to operate in the virtual world. In short, Jorge Díaz-Cintas is one of the greats and an example for those professionals who seek to build a brand in the world of translation.
Luis Rodríguez
We cannot forget our own example. Luis Rodríguez, CEO of Okodia –very well positioned on the Internet– and an example of how perseverance and motivation are the main tools an entrepreneur needs when tackling the exciting task of building a brand. As we can read in this interview, inquisitiveness, continuous training and perseverance were and are the keys to the success of Okodia, now a leading translation company in our country. Luis Rodríguez has a complete profile on LinkedIn, which testifies to his great professionalism and human touch, two features that also define Okodia very well.
If you are thinking about building your own brand, you should be one step closer to achieving it after learning how these translation professionals have built theirs. Think about your brand in perspective, think about how you want people to see you and what aspects of your personality and work you want to convey. Keep in mind that your essence is just one click away from others and, with this simple gesture, anyone can have access to your career path and more. Good luck with this exciting project!
