How Bloomberg anchor Betty Liu uses social media to build her brand

“I do feel like I’m one of the lucky ones,” said Liu, editor-at-large and anchor of Bloomberg Markets. “I continue to have this great passion and curiosity for the news and giving our viewers the analysis and information they want.”

Every morning is a busy rush but Liu carries the same ease and professionalism when on set and interviewing entrepreneur Richard Branson or billionaire Warren Buffett or simply talking to one of her Bloomberg producers. Her goal is to always connect, whether it’s to her guests or even her followers on social media.

Liu is active on Instagram and Twitter. There are the usual television anchor photos with upcoming guests or tweets promoting her show. But her feed can get more personal. There are Instagram posts of her blowing raspberries while her stylist combs her hair, selfies dolled up before a show, and selfies in a baseball cap while on vacation. Even her twin boys make cameos in her social media life.

Liu is comfortable offline and in the anchor seat as well, even when she is the only female minority on set, which is often. She said growing up as a Chinese immigrant in Philadelphia exposed her early on to a diverse range of people.

“I connect to people from every single background and it doesn’t just have to do with billionaires and millionaires, but I connect to all races and all dimensions. I bring that back to my upbringing,” Liu said.

“[People] want that authenticity and sometimes you don’t get as much of that off-the-cuff or behind-the-scenes look when you’re on air,” said Liu. “I think a lot of times people think when you’re on camera, you’re not like them.”

Liu has been a financial journalist her entire career, first starting in print then moving into television. She’s written books and is now making forays into podcasting. She jokingly says it’s another step in her “path towards global dominance.” Liu says she got hooked on podcasts when she caught the Serial bug.

“It’s another form of connecting to the viewer and the listener,” said Liu. Her show Radiate, which launched this past October, is conversations people she calls “the smartest minds in business and society” like Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman and correspondent Charlie Rose.

“I didn’t want to talk about how successful they are because you hear that stuff all the time, and it’s not very useful for people,” said Liu. “I wanted to talk to them about their mistakes, their personal struggles, even what was it like growing up in poverty in their childhood. You don’t get to hear that from these titans of the business world. I wanted to get more intimate with these people.”

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