Online Personal Branding - Three Key Ways to Promote Your Expertise Online

Your brand, whether it be your personal brand, or your business brand is a key piece of your business model that is needed to successfully market your business. Once you've created the right brand, promotion is the next step to using your brand to gain the attention you need for your business.

The top three ways to promote your brand are blogging, blogging and blogging. Seriously, blogging is truly important to your business. The top way to make your mark is to name your blog well and then start posting two to three times per week in your area of expertise. A well-branded blog will get you found more easily on the web when potential clients search for information and solutions to their problems that you provide.

Establishing yourself as an expert through your content also extends your brand. This helps to create perceived value, and you will be seen as a leader and expert in your field. You can do this by blogging, writing white papers and using personalization in everything you do. The most important part of this is being consistent and continuing to do this over and over. Blogging is the perfect platform to show and tell your expertise on a regular basis.

White papers, or special reports, are another way to promote your business. You can repurpose blog posts to create your white papers, or use the content from your white paper on your blog. You do not have to reinvent the wheel.

The third area of promotion is through personalization. Be as personal as you can in your business. Create videos talking about your business, providing tips and be as transparent and authentic as possible. Post your videos on your YouTube Channel for wider distribution. Of course, you also want to post your videos on your blog!

Doing these things will help you and your business get noticed. Staying consistent and keeping your blog content fresh is one of the most important aspects of using a blog to promote your business. This helps the search engines to find you and keeps your potential clients and customers up to date and in the know as well as keeping them interested in what you have to offer.

Those who follow your blog will see you as an expert in your area of expertise and will come to you for the information that they need on that particular topic.

You have to remember that blogging is marketing your business so you must make it a priority in your business. Be committed, stick to it, and watch the results that it can deliver for you.

And now I would like to invite you to claim your free instant access to my report on Better Business Blogging so you can learn more valuable tips for extending your brand online with a blog. Visit http://www.betterbizblogging.com From Denise Wakeman, Founder of The Blog Squad and Online Marketing Advisor.

Five Components Required to Create a Personal Brand

In a previous article we discussed why every adult, regardless of age, should develop a personal brand. To recap, the three primary reasons are:

1. It separates you from others, and distinguishes you from the crowd.

2. It makes a promise to others that you have a strong foundation, that know who you are, and that you will be the same in the future. It exudes confidence.

3. It keeps you focused on who you are and helps you to maintain the highest standard for yourself day after day.

Since we have established why a personal brand is important, we will now begin the process of creating a personal brand, brand YOU. Remember, no two people are exactly the same. You are uniquely different from every other person in the world. Your DNA proves this, as do your fingerprints. Your personal brand should similarly distinguish you from every one else.

There are five distinct areas YOU should focus on when building your personal brand:

1. What YOU value. Your personal brand identifies who you are, as opposed to what you do. Values ultimately reflect what is most important to you. Integrity, for example, indicates that you place a very high value on being thorough and not cutting corners. You also project an aura of honesty and sincerity.

This first step is critical in the building process of a personal brand as it lays the foundation for everything else. It is very important to take the time to consider and write down those values that guide you each and every day. Do not assume that others hold the same values. You might ask yourself something along the lines of what do I stand for? Then list at least ten core values that you will not compromise.

If you have children or grandchildren, it might be of value to ask yourself, what do I want my (grand)children to know me for? As you think about this, you might consider the importance of keeping your word, or the value you place on education and knowledge.

2. How YOU want to be perceived by others. Much of personal branding is about what others perceive you to be. Fortunately, you have the power to influence and control other's perceptions by how you handle yourself.

How do you want others to perceive you? Go back to step one and ask if every action you take reflects your core values? All of us have some sort a reputation, good or bad, related to what we are known for; hot-headed, level-headed, decisive, follower, clown, buzz-killer. The list goes on.

As you build your brand, it is an excellent time to reflect on your reputation. It is positive or negative? What should you change? What are you willing to change? All branding is about perception. Companies recognize this and many have re-branded themselves in order to change their perception in the marketplace. It is no different with personal brands.

Make a list of at least ten perceptions that you want people to have about you and your brand.

3. How YOU are unique. What differentiates you from the crowd? Obviously, it depends somewhat on what crowd you are part of. Start with your peer group at work. Perhaps you are the first one to arrive every morning, or the last one to leave. Maybe you are the only one with a college education. Begin by considering those attributes that make you distinguishable from all of the others you work with.

If you are not currently employed, or you are self-employed, you can still answer the question by thinking of groups to which you belong; your church, social networking group, or simply the people you pal around with on a regular basis. The idea here is simply to help you realize that you are different and unique. As you become increasingly aware of positive characteristics, make sure you are making them part of your personal brand.

4. What expertise YOU have. What specialty are you known for, or want to be known for? Consider areas where you are already viewed as an expert or an authority. Don't only think in terms of your vocation. Again, personal branding is about defining who you are, not simply what you do. Perhaps you are recognized as someone who is an expert at raising children, or caring for the elderly.

Expertise often reflects what we are most passionate about and what we spend our time perfecting. Expertise reflects added value. If you are an expert at taking an idea and putting it on paper, you will bring great value to every new project. If you are particularly gifted as a speaker or writer, your communication value is highly prized for moving a product or service out to the public.

When added to the other steps, your expertise will distinguish you from everyone else. Be known as the punctual person with high integrity who can build anything, and your brand is established.

Write out a list of five things you do particularly well. Then identify the one or two that you do better than the rest. Begin to focus on making that the center of your brand.

5. Who YOU want to have as a customer. One of the great things about building your personal brand is that it is an opportunity consider what people you want to deal with. As you consider your unique values and abilities, it is much easier to determine your target audience.

Your target audience should primarily consist of people who will most benefit by using your brand. Your brand should be the brand of choice when a prospect thinks about the areas in which you specialize. Your brand should build trust. When someone uses your brand they should confidently expect satisfaction, guaranteed.

As you put these five elements of a personal brand together, think about some of the best, most recognizable corporate brands. What are they known for? How are they perceived in the marketplace? How are they unique from their competition? What do they do better than anyone else? And lastly, who is their target customer and how do they reach this target group?

Pick two or three brands. Determine what they have in common. Now consider the brand YOU, and ask the same questions. Determine what you, personally, have in common with these exceptional corporate brands. Determine how you can best Incorporate these common traits in your brand. By doing so, you will be well on your way to creating a strong personal brand.

Thom Lane, aka "The Branded Boomer" is an online coach and trainer who works with Baby Boomer entrepreneurs and internet marketers. Want to learn more about personal branding? Visit The Branded Boomer where you will find many additional free tips, downloads, and resources. Be sure to subscribe to the FREE Branded Boomer newsletter.

The Top Ten Secrets to Mastering Your Personal Brand

What do Sir Richard Branson, Barack Obama, and Suze Orman all have in common? They have each built powerful personal brands that have propelled them to the top of their businesses, their careers, and their lives. How did they do it?

Like other successful personal branders, they took the time to define, communicate, and protect their brands. You can be sure they followed all of the top ten secrets below to reach their great success. There's no magic to it: You can apply the same personal branding principles to your work and life not only to achieve your goals, but to surpass them.

Secret #1
You already have a personal brand whether you want one or not - simply by virtue of being you in the workplace. It's up to you to determine where your personal brand is strong and where it could use improvement. Then, it's up to you to make changes as necessary to make it as strong as possible.

Secret #2
Your personal brand exists in the minds of others in the way they perceive, think, and feel about you. Think about your favorite corporate brand for a moment. It can be the best "functioning" product of its kind in the world, but if the public fails to perceive it as the best, it won't be successful. So, it's critical to keep in mind that your personal brand is now what you think it is but it's what others perceive it to be.

Secret #3
A common misconception about personal branding is that it's self-centered and all about you. But the truth is: personal branding is all about your Audience - the person or people you most want to impact with your brand at work and in your career. Just as corporate branders must offer a benefit to consumers in order for a product to be a success, you must fill a need your Audience has in order for your personal brand to be a success on the job.

Secret #4
Since your personal brand exists in the minds of your Audience, the only way to determine if your brand is successful is to find out how your Audience perceives you. If there is a gap between what your Audience thinks and feels about you and what you want them to think and feel about you, your personal brand should be adjusted and strengthened.

Secret #5
The only way to have a strong personal brand is to carefully define it. Many people believe that personal branding is all about how you "execute" your brand, but true personal branding starts with a crystal clear definition. Until you define it, your brand is just a vague premise with no real foundation. No corporate marketer would dream of putting a product in the marketplace without a clear definition of the brand. That definition tells the marketer which consumers to target and where to focus advertising dollars. On a personal level, your own brand should do the same.

Secret #6
The best brands respond to both emotional and functional needs. In the workplace, functional needs are the tasks you perform on the job and are typically listed in your job description. The emotional needs that you fill forge a very important connection with your Audience. For example, if two accountants are equally qualified, the one with a stronger personal brand will be the one who is reliable and precise. That accountant's Audience can relax in the knowledge that the work will not only be done, but will be done on time and well!

Secret #7
The best personal brands are credible, so you must prove that you can deliver what you promise. It isn't enough to simply say that you can fill a need at work; you must show that you have the experience and/or training to do it. Help to prove it with your background, your education, and the unique qualifications you bring to the job.

Secret #8
Your personal brand is built 24/7 and 365 days per year through what you say, but even more importantly, through what you do. This doesn't mean that you can't be human or make mistakes, but it means that you need to think about behaviors that could damage your brand. Even when you're not on the job, if someone sees you drinking too much at the local pub, it could get back to your manager ... who might begin to wonder about your reliability. No need to be paranoid, per se, but unless you're behind closed doors, make sure to think before you act.

Secret #9
While it's important to avoid negative behaviors that can undermine your brand, it is also important to be consistent in how you communicate your brand. If Nike's ads suddenly focused on encouraging you to become a couch potato, you wouldn't know what to think, would you? Just as Nike is consistent in promoting sports and fitness in all of its advertising, you must be consistent in how you present your personal brand every day at work.

Secret #10
Even though your personal brand is all about your Audience [out], it never makes sense to pretend to be someone you're not. You won't be happy in your career, and it's hard to remain consistent with a "fake" personal brand. So, the task is to find out what your Audience needs, and align those needs with your own unique strengths and your unique character traits. Your personal brand will then reflect who you really are, which will not only bring you greater success in your career, but greater fulfillment as well.

You don't have to be famous like Suze Orman or Barack Obama to benefit from defining, communicating, and protecting your personal brand. But you can certainly learn from their examples and take advantage of the same personal branding secrets that have helped these heavy hitters reach their full potential.

Brenda Bence is an internationally-recognized branding expert, certified executive coach, professional speaker, and award-winning author of the How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo personal branding book series. With an MBA from Harvard Business School, Brenda's 25-year career has included developing mega brands for Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb across four continents and 50 countries. As President of Brand Development Associates International, Ltd. Brenda now travels the world speaking, training, and coaching individuals and companies to greater success through corporate and personal brand development. Visit http://www.BrendaBence.com

How's Your Personal Brand

Have you ever been driving down a city street or walking along a restaurant row and smelled the aroma's of a succulent meal being prepared? Weren't you drawn to discover where the smell was coming from? Perhaps you followed your nose and rearranged your day to indulge in a meal from that restaurant. Your senses will either draw you toward or draw you away from an experience, much like your personal brand. What is a personal brand, you ask? Everyone has one.

Like a company brand, a personal brand is the persona that you reflect that ignites, convincing, meaningful perceptions in the minds of those you come in contact with. These perceptions shape how the receiver may feel they will either benefit or be hindered by an experience with you. Basically, it's who you are, the actions you take and what makes you unique from someone else. Consumers seeking a quick hamburger nearly anywhere in the world are more likely to seek out a McDonald's over Joe's Hamburger Joint (unless Joe's has a darn good reputation), because of the reliable brand McDonald's has created. Why is a personal brand important? If you are an entrepreneur, a good personal brand is crucial to your ability to gain credibility and influence your targeted customer to increase business. If you are an employee, your personal brand is an important key to influencing those who have a say in your career advancement. Your brand encompasses how you dress, talk, walk, where you live, what you drive, your character and your abilities.

Unfortunately, people make judgments about you more on the superficial areas of your persona than your actual abilities. Test it out, as you sit and enjoy a cup of coffee or a latte, observe passersby. What are your perceptions about a fit, custom -suit- wearing gentleman, verses a short-sleeved -dress shirt- outdated tie wearing, beer belly of a guy, with yesterday's shampooed hair? Be honest , one guy gets a better perception than the other.

How do you know if you need to improve your brand? Here are a few ways to find out if you are in need of a personal brand improvement:

1. You are not attracting the kinds of people or customers that you intend to attract.
2. You are earning considerably less than you know you are capable of.
3. Your business is slow or inconsistent.
4. Others perception of you does not line up with what you intend to project.
5. You are passed over for promotions or unable to obtain business on repeated attempts.
6. Your credibility is threatened; people do not trust you.
7. You are out of touch with those you are trying to attract.
8. You present conflicting or inconsistent messages.
9. You lack visibility in the marketplace or workplace (you are a wallflower)
10. You have out dated or no marketing material

If you can relate to any of these areas of improvement, you may be in need of a brand makeover.

Linda Hembry is the founding President and expert marketing consulting of Launch Marketing Solutions, LLC. Launch Marketing Solutions, LLC is marketing firm that helps growing business implement marketing strategies that are impacting and effective, yet butget conscious. You can read other articles like this at our blog athttp://www.launchmarketingsolutions.blogspot.com or contact us at (240) 788-0670. Our website will be up soon at launchmarketingsolutions.com.

How to Brand Your Business Yourself

What is Your Brand Xcellence Factor?

Brand Essentials to help you brand your business Yourself!

Your brand is not about just having a logo or Website; your brand is everything that relates to your business, from the way that you communicate daily with your clients and partners, to the graphic design elements that you carry throughout all of your marketing and advertising materials. Essentially, what you are doing when you brand your business is you are communicating { both visually and verbally } a particular message to the public, so that they develop a positive perception of you and your business.

Free Download of Introduction & Branding Preview Available

Lisa Hromada, Personal Brand Designer, designed a downloadable home-study program that you can do on your own time and at your own pace. Included in this program are ways that you can generate creative ideas on how you make more money in your business, build a strong brand foundation, market your brand more effectively, and much more.

This Brand Essentials Home Study Program gives you steps to take to ensure that you are representing your unique brand message in everything that you do in your business.

This program helps make certain that your brand is effectively communicating your message to the right audience in a compelling way. It will not teach you how to create a logo or other design elements; it is important to first have a strong brand foundation and clarity of the potential of your business.

Results!
Results are what you're looking for!

• Attract the attention of your ideal clients so you can make more money.
• Create more brand buzz for your biz.
• Get to where you’re going faster by following a step-by-step system.
• Concentrate on the essentials of what you need to accomplish and set aside the rest for later.
• Save thousands of dollars that you would need to spend on a branding agency.
• Take your business to the next leve visually and verballyl.
• Work more efficiently and cost-effectively with graphic designers and other vendors.
• Market your unique brand influence in thought-provoking ways through speaking, writing, and product development.
• Leverage your talents and manage your time to get more done.
• Understand your strengths and recognize opportunities to grow your business. (HUGE in building your brand)
• Create situations to make your business stronger and more successful.
• Establish yourself as a leader in your field.
• Gain a greater focus for your work. Why? The more focused, the more creative...the more profit for your biz!
• Stand out from others who offer similar products and services. This is your brand Xcellence factor, your brand influence in the market!

Personal Branding - Your Key to Career Success

Most people have this notion of branding as limited only to companies and business. However, the concept of branding can also apply to people. In fact, the most successful individuals in this world make full use of personal brands in order to promote themselves and advance in their careers.

In the context of personal branding, it simply means that you develop an image that you constantly maintain in front of your employers. This is the image that most employers will look at when you apply for a job, and what your former employers will tell their colleagues when they are asked for references about your work character.

Personal branding is awfully important if you are looking at building a career out of your field of expertise. With a solid personal brand backing you up, applying for jobs in reputable companies would be a breeze. This type of branding is what sets other job seekers apart from each other. This is the answer to the question as to why one of two equally qualified job seekers was accepted into the position while the other was not.

How to Build Your Personal Brand

Unlike commercial branding, acquiring a personal brand takes a bit more time, but it's okay; there are no hurries. In fact, in building a personal brand, it's better to have spent a lot of time building your skills because you have something to back your application up, which is what a brand is all about.

The first step to building a brand is to acquire a lot of skills related to your career path. This means that, when you are working at a job, do your best to grow your skills and be noticed by your superiors. This doesn't mean you aggressively brag about yourself; instead, you just concentrate on doing your job and make special efforts to improve yourself in parts where deficiencies have been detected in your job performance.

It can also help you to challenge yourself at your job. Take some of the more difficult jobs so that you won't succumb to mediocrity and monotony. This is also a preparation for you just in case you're advanced and would have to take those jobs and responsibilities. It doesn't help to be ready after all. If there is training available for advancement, don't hesitate to take the opportunity as well.

The workplace is not the only place to gain experience. You have to consider reaching into new horizons as well. Nowadays, there are websites that offer freelancing options for those who want to earn extra and gain new experiences that will not otherwise be attained in the office.

Last but not the least, list down all your accomplishments related to your field when you are applying for new jobs. The resume or curriculum vitae is what employers look at when gauging the eligibility of job applicants. Make sure that you list down all the things that make you qualified for the job including job experience (both in and outside the workplace), educational attainment, and special skills.

Jim Rogers is a uk based designer and illustrator and has been been working for Orb Creative, a Birmingham graphic design and branding agency for over two years.

3 Keys to Personal Branding For Fast Resume Results

You may have followed all the "right" advice on resume writing, and added industry keywords, certifications, tool sets, and the like. However, if you're not being called for interviews, you may want to consider tapping into the power of soft skills to demonstrate your brand on your resume.

After all, most employers may state that they're looking for certain core competencies and skills, but what they REALLY hire are personalities and work styles--which are exemplified by your brand.

If you have a hard time believing this, consider for a minute whether any business will succeed--even with a highly qualified staff--if the employees cannot successfully interface with co-workers or customers.

If your background includes the ability to build teams, interface with executives, communicate with stakeholders, and generate a loyal following among clients and colleagues, these are valuable credentials that WILL interest employers during your job search.

Taking it a step further, if you intend to advance into a leadership role, this leap must be made first on your resume--where you can show business acumen and motivational skill as well as more "technical" qualifications.

Here are some recommendations to enhance your resume brand with soft skills--and generate added interest by adding more than just keywords:

1 - Highlight Your Communication Style.

As a former recruiter at a consulting firm, my hiring practices were centered around finding candidates that I could easily present to a potential client. The company was intent on building a talent pool that possessed diplomacy, resourcefulness, and the ability to skillfully handle a dialogue with other businesspeople.

Here's the interesting part: we had a much harder time finding these "people skills" than we did technical abilities!

My point is this - if you can communicate the details of complex business solutions, motivate others, or build consensus, you should be aware that these are rare qualities sought after by employers.

By all means, trumpet these brand elements on your resume for all the world to see.

2 - Emphasize Your Leadership Role.

Many professionals focus on certifications, MBAs, and other credentials that will seemingly land a top job. However, a true leader can also be defined as one who successfully handles pivotal moments such as executive collaborations, discussions with stakeholders, professional development for junior staff, and crisis situations.

Think carefully of the experiences you have had when communicating with others, both inside and outside of your department. Do others frequently approach you for solutions or to explain ideas they didn't understand from interdepartmental meetings?

Are you relied upon to smooth over rough situations when clients have demanded seemingly endless accommodations?

Successfully managing expectations to promote the work of your team is a great idea. An even better one is to showcase these skills on your resume.

Skip the overused phrase "team player" and promote your talent with a full description of how your brand affects the success of projects--especially if you frequently take on challenges that surpass your job title.

Consider adding a description of your capabilities beyond the technical, as demonstrated by this passage from a professional resume profile summary:

"Recognized for clear, decisive actions credited with improving business performance, encouraging intense collaboration among executive teams, and implementing emerging technologies to corporations in the transportation, energy, and financial industries."

3 - Showcase Your Reputation.

Some professionals become the do-it-all resource, taking projects from inception to fruition with a big-picture understanding of requirements and deliverables. Others handle duties far beyond their job descriptions, perhaps because of their ability to roll up their sleeves and dig into new challenges.

If any of this sounds like your background, these soft skills may be the key to a powerful resume and personal brand. Do you:

- Rise to the occasion, no matter what the scenario?
- Resolve problems even in the face of heated debate?
- Quickly address and eliminate your company's competition?

If your success stories are stronger when told in-person than on paper, then it's time to boost your success rate! Take credit for your natural aptitude and highlight those people skills prominently.

Consider the following example from the resume of a versatile CFO and operations director:

"Hands-on financial officer known for deliberate and focused approach, with frequent accolades for limiting risk, creating lean teams, and collaborating with external groups including investors, banks, LPs, underwriters, attorneys, and tax advisers."

In summary, remember that your professionalism can be an asset equal to that of your technical expertise. Employers need well-rounded executive and professional leaders in many roles, even those thought to be the "back-office" operations.

The more articulate your can be on your resume with regard to soft skills, the better brand pitch you can make to a hiring manager. Your personal style and soft skills--as demonstrated by your unique brand--could well be your best selling point for that new career move.

A published and credentialed resume authority, Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC partners with executive leaders to open doors to top corporate jobs through powerful resume branding. The principal of An Expert Resume and the National Resumes Examiner, her work has been recognized with high-profile, global nominations for excellence in the careers industry.

Personal Branding Tips Using Social Media

There are many ways by which you can build your personal brand online. One of the most popular ways is through the use of social media. This is because social media serves as an effective way to manage the reputation of online brands. Because all the content and comments on most blogs and online articles are open to the public, most online entrepreneurs find that social media serves as a great tool to keep them updated on what is being said about their products and their brands in the market place and also gives them the opportunity to counter it. This not only eliminates the chance of any bad publicity, it also indicates to your target audience that you are a hands-on personal brand and not a faceless corporation. Listed below are some of the other most popular ways social media are used to enhance personal branding.

Social Media can be used to build a solid network online. Networking and getting to know your competitors and customers is crucial to the success of any personal brand. Social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and even sites like LinkedIn are ideal ways to network online. You could join a Facebook community that is based on the product or service you provide and get to know other members, what their thoughts are on the product, what they want to be improved and so on. This not only increases the credibility of your brand with peers and customers, it also increases your brand recall among a very specific part of your target market.

Launching an integrated campaign across various social media is a great way to target a specific kind of online traffic and by doing this, get significant and genuine traffic passing through your website and potentially buying your product. Most people online have accounts on social networks like Facebook and on networks like Twitter and MySpace as well. By being present on all the social networks they frequent, you present yourself as a serious contender within your market space and also increase brand recognition and recall.

Other classic ways to use social media to your advantage include writing articles for online magazines that are based on your product category and suggesting that readers visit your website for further information. Provided the content you offer is relevant and informative to your target audience, you and your personal brand will be seen as experts in your field and the go-to brand for any and all needs surrounding the product category.

Ms. Darlene Wood is an internet marketer living in Arizona with her daughter, four cats, three dogs and a snake (yikes!). She is creator of Mad Skills Marketing LLC and spends her days helping entrepreneurs create fun and highly profitable businesses. http://www.MeetDarlene.WordPress.com