William Arruda
President
Reach Personal Branding
Does Your Brand Pass the Test?
Successful personal brands have certain characteristics in common. When building your brand online make sure it passes the ten C test. Great brands are:
Clear
They are sure about who they are and who they are not. Ensure you understand what makes you unique and separates you from your peers, colleagues or competitors.
Consistent
They are always the same. Your brand is your promise of value to your customers, clients, managers, peers, etc. The key to having a strong brand is remaining consistent in all that you do.
Constant
They are always there - visible and available. Strong brands don’t go into hiding. You must remain visible to those people who need to know about you and can help you reach your goals.
Correct
They are accurate and authentic. Successful branding is NOT about creating a false image for the outside world. So be true to yourself and your brand will shine.
Concise
They can be described in one or two sentences. Strong brands are usually known for one thing. They are not all things to all people.
Compelling
They are appropriate and interesting to their target audiences. They are relevant. You must ensure that you are communicating your message such that it resonates with your target audience.
Clever
They are highly differentiated and unique. You should strive to create intrigue among your target audience.
Connected
They are part of the appropriate communities. Your brand community – or network - extends your brand for you. If you’re clear about your brand and communicate it consistently among members of your community, you will ensure that they can convey your message for you.
Committed
They are in it for the long-haul. You must focus your brand on your goals and stick with them. Successful brands are built over time. Coke was not the world’s strongest brand when it was created in 1886.
Current
They are based in today with room to evolve for tomorrow. Although the core of your brand will never change, don't let your brand get stuck in the past. It should be flexible to accommodate the dynamic environment in which we live.
Not sure what your brand strengths are or what you should be communicating? Ask others for help! Check out www.reachcc.com/360v4register to register for 360 reach, (it’s free if used within the first 15 days) a tool that lets you poll other people to see what they think about you as a brand.
Manage Your Online Brand
November 2009
If you’re like everyone else on the planet, you probably already have some kind of online identity. Maybe it’s your profile on Facebook and Linked In or maybe you write a blog. Once your information is out there for all to see, it can be overwhelming to maintain and build your brand. Personal branding pioneer, William Arruda offers five steps to help you get the most out of your online identity.
Step 1:
Define your objective
Now that you’ve been online for a while it’s essential to step back and determine why you are there. What is your main objective? Are you looking for a job? Looking to move up the ladder in your current organization? Trying to develop new business? Determining a clear goal is key. Then, before updating your Twitter account, posting photos to Flickr, or taking any new action online, ask yourself if it supports your overall objective. For example, if you want to appear as the savviest finance executive in the healthcare industry, writing a book review of your favorite romance novel might dilute that goal.
Step 2:
Measure your online presence
Once you understand why you have an online identity, you want to assess what’s already out there and find out how you are showing up to those searching for you on the worldwide web. Start with these two useful measurement tools:
| Addictomatic.com Type your name or company name in quotes to generate a cross-section from all the different search engines and see where you appear online—from YouTube to Wordpress to Google and more. It will also help you identify where you don’t show up so you can add more relevant content to those areas. | |
| Onlineidcalculator.com Create a customized graph that shows you where you stand with regards to online volume and relevance—meaning how much info is out there about you and whether it’s the right kind of info. For people who’ve been out there working on their online identities for awhile, this is a great way to determine how you are doing. You can check back frequently to see how your online profile has changed. |
Step 3:
Turn real world activities into virtual world visibility
Let’s say you’re giving a talk to your local American Marketing Association chapter. Most people would spend time creating their slides, go to the event, talk to a few people, and then go home. However, thanks to the web, you have nine million more opportunities to get value from that one event by making it visible to people who can’t attend. You’ve already done the bulk of the work creating the presentation. These additional ideas build on that work and don’t take much time:
- Write a press release prior to the event and publish it to a free press release search engine such as PRLeap.com.
- Publish a post on your blog about the event and discuss what you’re thinking about addressing in the presentation. Ask for readers’ advice and input to make the presentation better. This helps you build community with your readers.
- Update your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn statuses saying where the event will be and when. Have your presentation video-taped so you can post video clips of yourself to YouTube later.
- After the event, upload your PowerPoint slides to SlideRocket.com and promote them with a tweet.
Step 4:
Connect everything
Your goal is to make it as easy as possible for someone searching for info about you and your brand. Building your own website, even just a basic one using Wordpress or Typepad, can be beneficial because it can be your main link to all your information. Once it’s up and running add links to your Twitter and Facebook, as well as to your blog or any other accounts you have online.
Step 5:
Integrate your online identity into your everyday life
Maintaining your online identity may seem like a lot of additional work, but it’s really all integrated if you work and think smartly. It’s not just about what you create online, it’s about creating those connections back and forth between who you are in the real world and who you are in the virtual world. And look for tools that make managing your online identity quick and easy—download apps for your cell so you can tweet while waiting in line at the supermarket or try www.hellotxt.com, a site that lets you send the same update to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn all at one time.
William Arruda is the CEO and founder of Reach Personal Branding and author of Career Distinction. Visit him at www.reachpersonalbranding.com or www.williamarruda.com