There is a persistent theme in the air, riding shotgun on the digital pulse of the web and its something you know very well….
“Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you, the latest and greatest, highly acclaimed, googled and twittered, facebookalized….Yooooouuu…..
If anyone is going to make it outside (or even inside) of corporate America you better at least own your own name. Note: Seriously, if you have not purchased http://yourfullname.com, or a variation thereof, go do it now.
Personal branding is imperative and crucial to the success of the Internets self made millionaires.
If you are an active participant in the social networking arena, you have a brand. You character is known by everyone that reads your profiles, your blog, your forum posts and of course watches your videos. Now, you may be unaware of the size of your digital footprint, but anything can go viral at anytime, without you knowing it.
The entrepreneur wants to find those magic words that every friend will re-tweet, but its not as easy as it may seem. Why? Because most individuals who are trying to make a household name for themselves, end up attracting short term customers. The successful social media celebrity builds a brand with a foundation based on truth.
They ‘re not pretending to be somebody they’re not. Sure, having a charismatic or amusing personality doesn’t hurt, but a fake will be identified and purged from the cache of every follower with in a matter of kilobits.
You want to build your brand with integrity. Be yourself, be transparent and let your audience become your most powerful sales strategy, word-of-mouth. You want cheerleaders, not groupies.
Whether they like you or not, your audience will comment, rank, vote, tag and bookmark. The bigger your network, the faster the message will be delivered. Your brand can gain national recognition or be completely jaded in seconds.
So, think about why your friends like you. Why your colleagues respect you (hopefully), why your kids think your funny (at least mine laugh At me all the time) and why your dog never leaves your side (and its not because you have bacon in your pocket).
These are the reasons why you will establish long term relationships that will turn into long term customers, and maybe even a best friend or two along the way. Its easy to be the real you. It’s hard to be somebody you’re not.
Other Resources on Branding You Inc.
FastCompany – The Brand Called You
Newsweek – Creating Brand You
Seth Godin – Who’s telling you the truth about your online personal marketing?
