Self promotion is a challenge.  A delicate balance is required between confidence and humility.  One must create a sense of value while also developing relationships and selling the most important product, which is yourself.  That’s all why we’re here isn’t it?  Otherwise personal branding sites like this one (Brand-Yourself) would be called Brand Everyone Else or maybe Brand My Boss.  And yes, both these domains are available for purchase.

Self promotion is more than just a snazzy business card or a great elevator pitch, it’s a well-thought out marketing and business plan that requires research and an understanding of how your unique qualities are unique and set you apart from the rest.  As part of my business strategy I have chosen to set myself apart from the rest by writing a book, Tweet This!  Twitter for Business. Now that I am a published author, I have found myself conflicted.  I’m not the self-promotion type of gal.  Most of my business comes from referrals who are professionals or past clients, but my book is different.  My business strategy aims to develop an audience or relationship with those outside of my regular network outside of conference attendees who hear me speak, my social media network, and internet surfers who happen upon my book on Amazon.

Sometimes to make a splash or impact in your market or to take your business to the next level you have to take on an aggressive strategy and self-promotion is part of that.  Because if you don’t promote yourself and your unique qualities, no one else will!

Two weeks into my book being released, the response from friends and professional contacts new and old has been extremely positive.  Tweet This! aims to provide small to medium sized businesses, consultants, and entrepreneurs an easy to read, easy to use guide on how to grow and manage your Twitter presence realistically and in under 30 minutes a day.  My book’s official website is Tweetingmybusiness.com and I would love for you to take a visit.  Not only can you purchase the book at the site but you can take a look at some of my upcoming events as part of my book tour, as well as stay up to date on the latest news and information about social media.

As part of a special promotion, I will be giving away a copy of my book to one lucky reader from Brand-Yourself.com.  Leave a comment on this post and tell me how you promote yourself.   I will be randomly selecting a winner one week from today (on February 10, 2010).

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is an author, new mother, and human resources professional with a passion for recruiting and all things social media.  She has over 10 years of experience in human resources & recruiting.

Her company, Xceptional HR provides businesses with social media, recruitment, and human resources strategy and consulting.   Jessica’s book, Tweet This! Twitter for Business was released January 2010.  Follow Jessica on Twitter, LinkedIn, & FaceBook.

Support me by sharing this post:

It’s an old story: The college student goes to the company to interview for an internship, only to have the hiring manager pull up their Myspace page and see pictures of the applicant getting drunk and sloppy.

The moral of the story is always, “Beware – Big Brother is watching you.”

The reaction of most, then, is to completely eschew all social media for fear of having some future manager drudge it up just when you’re hoping to work for them.

There again, what kind of life do you lead? Think about what you would post on a Myspace or Facebook page, if you don’t have one already: Picnics with your kids, exchanges with your friends about rebuilding a car, comments on Fan Pages you are interested in. These aren’t the kinds of things that would embarrass or get you in trouble – quite the contrary, it’s just the sort of information that lets a hiring manager see the whole you, and without having to fill out that awkward, “Interests and Hobbies” section on a job application form.

Rather than skipping social media entirely, it actually behooves you to create a full social presence for yourself, and to let people know about it. Create your own brand, just as if you were Coca-cola or Dell – but instead of selling products, you’ll use it to sell yourself.

I won’t go into the particulars of setting up each profile, but there are some key steps you’ll want to take in order to make social media work for you:

1. Your Brand

You will want to register profiles on various social sites using the same name each time. If your real name is available, great – grab it up everywhere. Personally, I know a lot of people have the name, “Eric Reid” so registering my name isn’t always an option. So I created my own on line name, “ciaoenrico.” Now when you do a search for ciaoenrico on Google, I am all that shows up. (Well, sometimes Enrico Berlinguer, but I’m there more than he is.)

You’ll also want to create an avatar – a photo ID on social networks, if you will. This will be what people recognize first when they come to any of your profiles.

This is the avatar for video blogger Robert Scoble on Twitter. The image says it all about him: This is me, happy, with my camera. It’s a simple statement that lets you know a great deal about him before you even read his information.

The consensus is that you should always use a personal headshot, but I disagree. A photo of yourself certainly represents you, rather literally in fact. My own avatar is a cartoon of myself I’ve been drawing since high school.

I think it represents my personality better than a simple photo. (On Linkedin, though, where serious business people congregate, I did go with a photo – because there are times for being a free spirit, and there are times to button down.)

Social media sites require specific image properties for a picture, but if you have a simple headshot you can usually crop it when you create your profile.

2. Your Sites

If you’re already on a few social media sites, great – you’re on your way. If not, though, consider which ones you’re likely to actually use on your own time, and which ones best fit your personality and tastes.

Linkedin is certainly one you’ll want to consider for your professional resume. Twitter and Facebook are certainly popular, but may not be for you – it really depends on if you enjoy using the tools available, and if you find a network of friends to socialize with.

Remember: Social networking always pinions on socializing. You can’t simply create a page, put up some information about yourself, and leave. Doing so shows people that you know it’s important to be using social media in some way, but that you aren’t actually interested. And people who actually like using social media sites can spot that kind of cynical use of it in a finger snap.

Once you’ve found your niche, you should have a list of sites that exemplify who you are and what you do. Keep a list of links to these, and add posts to them as often as you can.

In some cases, posting to one can automatically cross post to the other – for example, if you post something on Twitter, it can then turn up on your Facebook page as well, or a photography posted on Facebook can turn up on Flickr, a photography sharing site. You’ll want to post often to each of your profiles so you stay current, so this is a good tactic to consider if you know you don’t have time for everything.

A last bit on this topic: Don’t try to join everything. It will be difficult to maintain 20 or 30 social networking profiles as much as you will need to, and if you are able to, it could make you look a little creepy.

3. Your Network

Don’t feel you have to follow everyone in site – or even follow everyone who follows you. . The people you know define who you are in the world of social networking. So keep your list tight – co-workers, former co-workers, friends, people working in your industry particularly, and especially those people you don’t know now but want to. (Like the people who work at the company you are applying to, for starters.) Look at the people you are following the way you would your list of e-mail contacts: The people you want to hear from, and keep in contact with, you make connections with.

Social media makes you easier to find on many different channels. You have created several opportunities for people to know more about you, and what you know. The most important thing to remember is being tenacious. Your social media brand will be only as relevant as the last time you posted – so post often. Maintain a blog, or a Twitter account, answer questions posted on Linkedin Answers – find something to contribute every day. What people respond to the most is the value you can give to them. You know you are smart and capable enough to educate others on what you know – social media is your opportunity to do just that.

By Eric Reid (http://ciaoenrico.com)

Eric Reid is an Internet marketer from Tempe, Arizona, specializing in SEO and social media marketing. Currently he writes the blog Ciao Enrico, which is also his nom de plume on Twitter and many other social media sites. He is not married and has no kids, so he stays up late whenever he feels like it.

Support me by sharing this post:

Expanding your network is something that everyone should spend more time on.  There are a variety of web services out there that specialize in doing just that.  Probably the best one that we have seen is Meetup.com.  You get some of the best of a variety of worlds with your ability to have a profile similar to what you would have on a social network and then there is an outcome to the network that you start to build.  In these instances the outcome is in the form of a meeting.

Who is Meetup.com for? Well, it is for you.  Let’s say you have an interest in talking about Art History in the Boston area.  There are over 200 people within the Boston area that are looking to talk about different forms of art history.

How do you get started? It is simple, just go to meetup.com and create a profile for yourself or browse anonymously and find out when people are getting together to talk.  You can read the comments that people have left about the group, also just by joining a Meetup you get regular reminders from the group about events that are going on it is a great way to stay connect.

Probably the easiest way to get involved with one of these groups is not to go alone. Now in general it is not best practices to go to a networking event with a friend or someone you are close to because some people will spend more time talking to their friend rather than being social.  This you want to avoid.

This is an easy solution to your networking needs initially.  You can find people with similar interests very quickly and these are the sort of events that lead you to bigger opportunities.

Your network is one of the most fundamental aspects to your brand. These individuals are there regardless of where you work, or what you do.  It is important to spend ample time developing it.  Set goals for yourself to branch out and meet new people.  I have heard accounts of people going as far as making stacks of business to be given out that week.  These are simple goals but they are important.  Look at prominent individuals on networks such as Linkedin, they are successful and well integrated into their network because they have learned the value of what a network can do for them.

Author: RJ Sherman

Support me by sharing this post:

What is personal branding?

Personal branding is the process of differentiating and articulating your unique value, and leveraging it across platforms with a consistent image. It creates a strong, specific association between you and the perceived value you offer. It means establishing your own mini equivalent of the Nike swoosh.

Why should I care about personal branding?

19 to 30 year olds (Generation Y) live in a new world of work. They switch jobs on average every 18-month job, execute shorter-term projects, and work in a highly competitive job market. Personal branding allows you differentiate yourself and thrive in this fast-paced job market.

Brands are more powerful than you think.

You have the chance to create a personal brand that puts you in a position of power for the next season of hiring no matter what you do.

“There are plenty of people who cut hair for a living,” says branding expert Garr Reynolds. “It’s a huge category. But I have been with my same barber for nearly ten years. And although there may be cheaper stylists, more conveniently located, my stylist is the only person I will go to. I trust his brand. The brand promise of trust is everything.”

Understanding the power of your personal brand will put you ahead of your competition.

The internet lets millions of applicants reach new employers on a massive scale. Today, standing out rarely happens without developing, packaging, and communicating your brand.

Your goal is to avoid being just another face in a pool of applicants. You need to employers to believe that you are the best solution to their problems.

If you aren’t branding yourself, others are branding you.

Shouldn’t you have as much as control as you can over your reputation? Shouldn’t you have some power to shape the perceptions people have about you?

Nike spends huge amounts of money to influence what people think and feel when they see its logo. That’s corporate branding.

Personal branding means thinking about yourself as a company. What do you want people to think and feel when they hear your name?

Brands give us mental shortcuts.

Brands tell us who we’re dealing with and set expectations about the quality of goods offered. So keep in mind that everything you do shapes your personal brand: your language, your appearance, your web presence and your physical behavior.

Ask yourself right now: Is the image you’re projecting today the one you want to be represented by? Are you even projecting an image at all? Are the pictures of you funneling beer on Facebook really promoting the image you want?

Learn to stop letting your brand manage itself.

If you aren’t proactive, you’ll have no say in what your brand stands for. It’s dangerous to sit back and let others make assumptions about you. You need to be taking an active role in shaping the mental real estate of those who determine your future.

Employers need to know: Are you credible? Can I trust you? Would we get along? And 80% of employers search for their applicants on the web. Your online presence will answer their questions, solidify your brand and put you in the driver seat. Then where you will drive is up to you.

Until next time, this is Pete Kistler wishing you success!

Support me by sharing this post: