I was recently asked the importance of personal branding, and today, I want to talk about Why You Need a Personal Brand. Whether you are a business owner, or a job seeker, there is something to be said for the level of professionalism that you project to potential clients and/or prospective employers.
As a personal branding strategy, I would advise that you acquire your own personal email address (e.g. you@yourname.com), in addition to a website hosted at the domain of your name for both you, as well as for your business, if for no other reason than to be proactive, rather than reactive about what’s available about you on the web.
I sought to script a better narrative about me on the web, by first creating my own personal web portal, then by using blogging, podcasting, and the other social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, that I already had in my arsenal.
Within three months, I was able to change the search results for my name from obscure references from several years ago, to what you see in today's search results, which more than likely point you to my personal web portal, or one of the many blogs, online communities, or publishing platforms that I'm associated with, most of which still probably link you back to my personal web portal.
As a business owner, its important to me to script a proper narrative about myself and my company, and in this economy, I would think it would behoove the savvy job seeker to put their best foot forward and use the web as both a business card and a resume so that potential employers can learn about you from you.
And I don’t just say this because I have created a Personal Branding Special at my company SSS for Success (EASY Brand Marketing Specialists), because I created the Special to specifically meet an immediate need I saw in the market.
Having your own personal brand is important because it helps you take control of much of what's available about you on the web, since you put it there. I've also found that I love when people contact me and quote stuff off of my blog or personal web portal. It tells me that what I’ve put out there to be found in Google searches is working, and that people are learning a little bit about me ahead of time, so when they call me, they’re already “warmed up”, and this is a valuable asset.
Also keep in mind that as a business owner, you can use your personal web portal as a compliment to your businesses' websites, and provide yet another way to feed people to your business blog or site.
Reminder: Within the next few weeks, I’m going to have a podcast episode devoted entirely to questions and answers from you, my listening audience, so please submit your Small Business Branding Questions for that upcoming episode. You can visit our website sss4success.com and go to the Contact Us page to submit your question, or reach out to us via email at “podcasts @ sss4success.com”, or finding us on Twitter (@sss4success), or leaving a comment below. Don't forget to stop by our Facebook Fan Page and let us know you LIKE what we're doing.
Finally, if by chance, you would like to learn more about how EASY Sales can help your bottom line, then give us a call at 615-336-4325.
Have a great day!
Kindra Cotton
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