Building The Brand Called YOU.

You have a LinkedIn page, right? Perhaps you’ve signed up for Twitter and one of your colleagues invited you to join Flickr or another business social network like Ryze. More and more online business networking opportunities are sprouting up every day. You may have even designed a personal Web page or started a blog.   That’s a good start, but constant web communications is only the beginning of establishing, building and spreading your own personal brand. 

What is a personal brand? 

When it’s an organization’s brand, it is the emotional connection, believes and qualities associated with the organization’s name.  When it comes to individuals, it’s the emotional connection, believes, and qualities associated with the person.  When you hear the name Coca-Cola what do you think and feel --  Thirst?  Happiness? Fond childhood memories?   What do people think and/or feel when they hear your name?  What do you want them to think or feel and how can you influence that?

Be Memorable.

Marketing executives know that building sales leads and enhancing one’s company brand are paramount to company success. Top executives, the ones who are consistently emulated, quoted, and asked to partner with other executives, do one thing well. They promote themselves and their expert opinions.

Creating an online profile in a number of is definitely important, but if you ignore your real-world presence, you’re selling yourself short. Busy business people pour through hundreds of e-mails and view scores of web pages each day. Your digital footprint might get passed up. BUT, meaningful, memorable interactions will stick with them.

Be a Thought Leader.

You can generate this sort of interaction and attention in a number of ways. However, the three ways that have the biggest impact and are often a catalyst for more opportunities are:

1.             Participating in industry trade groups and associations

2.             Speaking at prominent industry events

3.             Writing well-crafted, by-lined articles in trade publications

Trade/Industry organizations could be your entrance to bigger and better things. Everything is cyclical – a trade article could lead to being selected for a speaking engagement, which leads to being quoted in a news article, which leads to a panel opportunity, which leads to being interviewed on television as an industry expert. Keep the cycle moving by continuing to move within it.  You certainly don’t have to attend every conference or event.  But you do need to get involved, be involved, and remain involved. 

Make it Matter.

When you meet new contacts, have the kinds of conversations that will make people remember you. . Be genuine. Be thoughtful. Contact them to give them something, not just ask for something – namely their business.  And, I’m not talking about bringing them coffee and donuts.  I’m talking about sharing poignant, relevant information, ideas, and strategies they can use to better their business.  Find ways to help clients and potential clients, and they will find ways to help you.

Lastly, networking is not about collecting as many business cards as you can. It’s about quality over quantity.  Make the time you spend at those networking events really count.  Whether you are a car washer or an orthopedic surgeon, you are a solutions provider.  Find those 1 or 2 individuals at the networking mixer who have problems you can solve, who need help you can provide.  After you have engaged in conversation with someone, they should be requesting your business card, rather than you offering it.