Branding yourself through social media

Helloo everyone,

This week topic that I am going to write about is Personal branding through Social Media. Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands. (Wikipedia) It describes the process by which the individuals differentiate them selves and standout from the crows by identifying their unique qualities and values. It is difficult to apply a brand to a person other than a product or a service because the behavior of people is totally unpredictable and gradually changes. Yet the topic of personal branding has gained a significant importance with the globalization and modernization due to several reasons.

Why personal branding

To demonstrate more value to customers or employer
It is a leadership requirement
It enables  people to standout of the crowd
To establish reputation and credibility
To advance their careers
Build self confidence

How to brand yourself 

Well executed personal branding campaigns create strong brands that lasts long. Personal branding starts with expertise, demonstrated skills and level of recognition. In order to do personal branding it is important to know what differentiates you from others. 

There are three elements in personal branding,

1. Value proposition-What do you stand for

2. Differentiation- What makes you standout

3. Marketability- What makes you compelling

Branding yourself online 

Internet has become a main source of effective personal branding. Many celebrities, actors, politicians and business tycoons use internet to brand themselves. At the same time anyone can use internet to build their brand in a quick and consistent way and also internet makes personal branding accessible to everyone. 

Blogging and social networks helps to reach your target audience. 

Things to ask yourself before starting up

Who are you

What do you want to do professionally

What is your dream job

Strengths and weaknesses

Your target audience

Your competition

How to use social media tools to brand yourself

First of all it is important to consider the 3 C's of personal branding

Clarity-be clear about who you are

Consistency- Steadfastly express your brand

Constancy- Strong brands are always visible to their target audience

Tools 

Twitter

Linked in

Facebook

Pod-casts

Blogs-Video blogs

General Social Media Branding Tips

Be more social and build your network

Keep your information consistent

Reserve your name on other networks

Join groups and conversations with others

Show your expertise in your area

Using twitter to build your brand

Profile- Give Honest information

Tweets-Retweet articles in your area

Privacy- Keep privacy low

Use Hashtags- Allow your readers to see your tweets

Share-Allow your readers to share your information

Follow- Follow experts in your field and have them follow you

Build your reputation

Linked-in to build your brand 

Fill your profile with true information

Headline- List the job you want

Summery - Gear this towards the job you want

Get your unique URL

Keywords-Let your posts come on top of the search results

Facebook to build your brand

Things to do-

Use privacy settings 

Be mindful of your comments

Update often

Be real

Things not to do-

Post anything unprofessional if you are friends with your boss

Post any unnecessary pictures

Central Hub

Keep all your information in one place

Blog

E-Portfolio

Personal Website

Conclusion

Personal branding is how you project yourself to the world. Social media sources like Facebook, twitter and linked-in enables people to brand them selves letting them to reach a quite big target audience. Therefore we can conclude that personal branding is very much effective through social media. 

Cheers,

Hasara :)