10 Steps To Promote Brand “You” With Social Media

We live in one of the most exciting times in the world’s history where you can build a personal brand globally and faster than anyone has ever imagined. Most people are underestimating the reach and power of social media that has really only been available for barely 5 years.

Facebook marketing  is less than 2 years old and YouTube and Twitter have only been in existence for a few years.

The previous generation built their personal brands on television, radio, magazines and newspapers.

You now have the opportunity to build a personal brand utilizing the leverage and amplification of social media and blogs that can accelerate the process.

The potential of the web is still evolving and will continue to surprise us as it continues to grow and challenge established thinking and disrupt business models.

Employers and potential clients are now Googling your name to check you out before you even attend the first meeting and if they don’t find your presence online then you may be already behind in the race to secure that job or the new account.

So how can you be found online and spread brand “You” nationally and globally on the web?

10 Steps To Promote Brand “You” With Social Media

1. Identify your passion

Maybe you already are an expert in your industry and you are passionate about your area of expertise. If you aren’t, you need to identify what you can focus on so you can create and publish content relevant to your industry.

More reading:

How To Blog With Passion and Purpose

2. Get yourself a domain name in your name

If you can’t obtain it because it is already taken create another name that encapsulates what you are about. Gary Vaynerchuk created a video blog with the domain name tv.winelibrary.com to provide a platform to promote his passion about wine. There is no right or wrong about this but get started.

3. Start a blog using WordPress with your new domain name

Google loves blogs as they deliver new and unique content that keep Google’s search results relevant and recent.

More reading

105 Tips To Make Your Blog Rock

4. Write and publish unique content regularly

Choose your medium such as video, audio or the written word as some people can write, others are better on video and some can communicate their passion through speech. Video bloggers such as Gary Vaynerchuk transformed their business with a video blog.

More reading:

9 Secrets of A Successful Online Video Social Media Marketing Strategy

5. Create a Twitter account in your name

Twitter is a great marketing tool to communicate to a niche market ever invented. Open a Twitter account and secure your Twitter name today which is consistent with your blog domain name.

6. Engage, communicate and promote brand “You” on Twitter

Start following people on Twitter in your industry and  the Twitter etiquette of following back people who follow you allows you to connect, engage and then influence people in your target market.

More reading:

11 Twitter Essentials You Need To Pimp Your Blog

7. Create a Facebook “Page” with the same name and brand as your blog

Facebook with 600 million users provides a rich source of contacts to spread your content and get feedback and allow your message and brand to spread. Start a page today (not a personal profile)

More reading

How To Increase Your Facebook Page Fans By 1,000%

8. Create and optimize a LinkedIn account

LinkedIn with nearly 100 million professional members with an average income of $100,000 is a social media channel that will appear high in Google search results whenever anyone Google’s your name. On LinkedIn you can link to feeds from Twitter and your blog into your LinkedIn page that provides social proof of your expertise and authority

9. Publish content to other social media platforms

If you are a manager or a professional you no doubt will have PowerPoint presentations, upload these where appropriate onto Slideshare. Record videos of presentations or interviews and create a YouTube account  and upload those videos to YouTube. If you have great photos from events and seminars create an account and then upload the images to Flickr ( a social network photo and image repository). These social networking platforms appear high up in any Google search results when anyone searches your name.

More reading:

Google Becomes More Social And It’s Hurting Your Business

10. Make it easy for people to share and spread your content

On your blog make sure that you implement two features that allow people to share your content with 2 clicks. Install a Retweet and Facebook button that reduce the friction for anyone to spread your expertise to their Twitter or Facebook network with  a couple of clicks of the mouse.

More reading

How To Increase Your Blog Traffic By 55% With One Button

These are 10 key steps to start creating the brand “You” that will optimize opportunities and open doors that will surprise and amaze you. Go and have some fun with “Brand You” !!

Note: For another take on the importance of promoting yourself online and  taking control of your online brand here is a short video (approx 2 mins) from Fast Company that I found on Aaron Friedman’s Blog.

Image by Joe Pemberton