Developing a Personal Brand, Part Two

Last week in the Monster.com blog, Chris Perry, of CareerRocketeer, explained some personal-branding basics, in "What Is a Personal Brand, and How Do I Get One?"

This week, he answered more questions for Monster.com and from a Monster.com reader.

Monster Blog: How does someone maintain a personal brand--what are "personal brand 2.0" practices?

Chris Perry: First of all, consistency is critical--the more consistent all of your marketing efforts are, both online and offline, the more powerful and memorable your personal brand impression will be on all current and prospective stakeholders in your career. Therefore, it's key that everything you do and present to others professionally and socially is consistent and supports your personal brand.

Second, just because you have a job doesn't mean that you don't need to actively share your personal brand with others. Continue to network and conduct informational interviews with new contacts.  Find ways to contribute value to others--ways that support your brand.  You never know what opportunities will come to you despite not actively seeking them.

Lastly, don't just settle for maintaining your brand. Continue to build your personal brand and work to become a thought leader in your industry or area of expertise. You can do this by starting your own blog with a unique POV on your industry, getting quoted in the media by joining HARO (HelpaReporter.com), and contributing advice, experiences, and insights to writers and journalists seeking expert sources or finding ways to bring fellow industry thought leaders together on a project or at an event.

Monster Blog (submitted by reader Kumar): How about maintaining personal brand on social media--personal stuff versus professional stuff? Facebook versus LinkedIn? Should we isolate both or blend them?

Chris Perry: It would be challenging to completely separate yourself into two separate identities or brands, one for your professional life and one for your personal life. Your personality and social identity will naturally enter your professional career, helping make you the unique individual you are in an organization, and your more professional skills and strengths will naturally shape and support some of your personal, more social activities and efforts. 

Therefore, I suggest blending them by finding a middle ground where both parts of your personal brand can co-exist without compromising the other when you're using social media to promote yourself online. LinkedIn is more of a professional tool--but definitely inject some of your personality into it to make yourself stand out as more human. Facebook is more of a social-networking tool for friends and family; however, promote your education and experience and make sure your activities, contributions, and photos support your personal brand in the eyes of an employer, as they are watching and using your social-media activities as indicators of your value to an organization. 

Blogs and Twitter could go either way--but, again, ensure that everything you do supports your personal brand, regardless of whether it is directly related to your career or industry.

Chris Perry, MBA, is a Gen-Y brand and marketing generator, an ambitious entrepreneur, and a career-search and personal-branding expert. Perry is the founder of Career Rocketeer; its partner efforts, including Launchpad; and other online career services and communities, such as MBA Highway.

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