A couple of weeks ago, I had a mini family reunion with my sister and brother along with our spouses/love interests. We don’t get together very often, so it was a fun evening as we filled each other in on the latest happenings in our lives. Of course, work always seems to come up in conversations, and inevitably, my specific chosen profession is always misunderstood. considering I live and breathe things like online Internet Web Web Internet Web Internet Internet Internet Web Internet Web Web Internet Web Internet Web Internet Internet Web Web Internet Internet Internet Web Web Internet Web Internet Internet Web Internet Internet Web Web Web Internet Web Internet Web Web Internet Web Internet Internet Internet Internet Internet Web Internet Web Web Web Web Web Web Internet Internet Internet Internet Web Web Internet Web Web Internet Internet Web Internet Web Web Internet Internet Web Internet Web Web Internet Web Web Web Internet Internet Web Internet Internet Web Web Web Web Web Internet Internet Web Internet Internet Web Internet Web Web Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and webmastering, I tend to forget that not everyone is familiar with all the terminology.
So when I brought up the subject of personal branding, it was a little surprising that my normally loud, raucous family went totally silent. Quizzical expressions and dumbfounded looks surrounded the table. Finally my sister spoke. “Personal branding?”, she asked. “What is that? Like branding a cow?”
I sighed. “No, Sis,” I said. “It’s NOT like branding a cow. It’s like a product type. You know, like Coke is a grade. Or Walmart is a grade. whether Gary (my brother) decided he wanted to be known as the Louisiana Real Estate guru, he would market himself that way, establishing his own personal brand as Gary, the Louisiana Real Estate Guru. whether he marketed himself well, next he would become well-known, and everyone would know that HE was the Louisiana Real Estate Guru. That’s what personal branding is. Marketing yourself.”
Although I’m not certain they completely “got it”, it was a good abundant explanation to allow us to move on to safer topics that everyone could participate in - like how our local college baseball team was doing that season.
Personal branding is on my mind lately considering Dan Schawbel’s book, Me 2.0: Build a vigorous sort to Achieve Career Success is now available at Amazon. Dan is the guy behind the Personal Branding Magazine, and as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a staff columnist for that magazine. So of course, I’ve been looking forward to seeing Dan’s book get published. I ordered it before it was even published, so I could be one of the first to have it. It arrived on my doorstep (ok, in my post office box, actually) a few days ago. I’ve devoured it since next.
Although I won’t be recommending the book to either my sister or brother considering they are at the tail end of their careers, I am recommending it to each of you. whether you read that blog, you should read Dan’s book. whether you have any interest in furthering your career (even offline), you should read his book.
In fact, Dan’s main focus in Me 2.0 is that of young humans embarking on careers, and using the ability of personal branding to get the jobs they want and be successful in their chosen careers. that is particularly useful knowledge right now, when so many are laid off. Competing for a job has gotten a lot tougher considering so many society are desperate for work. How you market yourself can compose all the difference in whether or not you land the job you want. The book does a great job of showing how to market yourself before, during, and after a job interview.
Of course, I work from home, so I’m not particularly interested in resumes or interviewing. But the world of freelancing and online marketing involves lots of personal branding as well, and whether you are involved in ebusiness in any way, you need to understand personal branding. Your reputation is on the line every day in the ebusiness world, and your personal grade is your reputation. How you manage your brand’s reputation is critical to your online success.
Luckily, the advice Dan gives in Me 2.0 works just as well for me and you as it does for the recent college graduate looking for that perfect job. The concepts of personal branding - marketing yourself - extend to all of us, regardless of what kind of career we’ve chosen.
Here’s a little of what you can find in the book:
- A 4-step process for building a compelling grade (discover,
create, communicate, maintain). - Tips on using social media tools for personal empowerment, confidence building, and professional networking in order to attract jobs directly to you, without applying!
- Tested advice on how to create an online and offline presence for
career protection and self-promotion. - Over 40 expert quotes from leaders including Don Tapscott, Guy Kawasaki, Penelope Trunk, and David Kirkpatrick of Fortune Magazine, among others.
- More than 70 research reports, 3 personal case studies and examples to give you a broader perspective on the topic.
I personally bought that book considering I know Dan’s advice is always excellent. I know that he knows that topic inside and out. I trusted that the few dollars I would spend on the book would be worth it, and I was right. Dan’s own personal type is that of a personal branding expert, and there’s good reason for it. Anyone looking to market themselves - for online or offline careers - would be smart to read Me 2.0: Build a vigorous make to Achieve Career Success. It can invent a huge difference in your future career plans.
If you are interested in the things I’ve had to say by the years on the topic of personal branding, you might want to check out the branding category here on my blog. Needless to say, I’ll continue to post on that in the future as well, considering it’s an vital topic to understand whether you want to be successful in an online business.
© DazzlinDonna for DazzlinDonna, 2009. |
Permalink |
No comment |
Add to
del.icio.us
Post tags:
Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
Original post by DazzlinDonna
