A year ago before I started blogging, I had never heard of personal branding. I didn’t fully understand the concept until I had read several blogs about it.
Last February, when I started “A Step Ahead,” I leaped into social media and personal branding. Social media is a great tool for creating and communicating your personal brand.
- Blogs
My blog has been my top tool for building my personal brand. My original intention when starting blogging wasn’t to build a brand. I wanted to write about my personal experiences as a public relations student. My blog has not only improved my skills as a writer, but I also have built a brand. People, like Dave Baker, have recognized who I was because they have read my blog. Professors, classmates and friends have asked me to explain blogging. My brand includes social media knowledge, public relations experience and writing skills due to this blog. Commenting on other blogs helps your brand as well. - Twitter
My dad always said, “Birds of a feather fly together.” Basically, you are who you associate with. On Twitter, I am able to associate with and talk to PR professionals and students from around the world. Twitter also is one of the top referrers to my blog. A few months ago, I thought Twitter was one of the most ridiculous tools I had ever heard of. But, as I have used it and seen its effectiveness, I believe Twitter is a great tool for networking, brand building and public relations - Facebook
I recently launched Learn it, Live it, Love it, a public relations book group open to all PR students and professionals. After starting a Facebook Group, I invited probably close to 100 people from the PR field. Many of them accepted the invitation. Through Facebook, I was able to reach many people and spread the word about a group I started. This has helped strengthen my brand (because I am the founder of Learn it, Live it, Love it) and also the new brand of the book group. I also posted information about the book group in various PR-related Facebook groups I am a part of. - LinkedIn
I love how LinkedIn works as a virtual resume. When people “connect” with me, they are able to view my experiences and other professional details. This helps build my brand as a knowledgeable, ambitious PR student.
How have you built your brand? What has worked best for you? How has branding affected your career?
April 9th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
These are all great tools for expressing your personal brand! As a Certified Personal Branding Strategist who helps working moms and other “hidden gems of the workforce and business world”, I have seen both personally and professionally how important personal branding is in the new economy. I think a really important point to add here is that before one embarks on utilizing different forms of social media to express their brand, they need to first uncover it. Lots of self-awareness and introspection work here, but in the end can make a really powerful difference in whether or not your “branding” efforts are working for you. Being authentic, unique and compelling is they key, but can only be figured out if you’ve given yourself the opportunity to really get to know yourself and dig deep.
Great article!