Managing Your Personal Brand

Personal branding was fairly simple before the Web became part of our everyday existence.

You developed a solid resume and work portfolio, networked through social events and marketed yourself or business through traditional methods, word of mouth and newspaper ads, for example.

Today, it only takes a few keystrokes for someone to check out you and your business in deciding whether to pursue a business arrangement. What they find in those first few minutes of a Google search could be flattering or disheartening, and the impact could have long-term consequences.

There are some free and easy steps you can take to keep tabs on your Web image.

I recommend using the Online Identity Calculator to measure your personal brand online. In my case, it shows previous job titles, online profiles and some posts involving genealogy, one of my hobbies.

The volume, quantity and quality of the Google hits provide a snapshot of you and your business and, obviously, shows the level of your online presence. If you've done a good job of managing your personal brand, through social networking for example, it should be reflected in such a user search.

Generally speaking, three pages or more of hits means you have a presence on the Web.

As for the quality, I offer this: Whatever you do should be treated as though your family and friends will read it -- and potential customers and clients.

Everything should be kept as professional as possible. Save the really personal stuff for your private e-mails and carefully monitor your privacy settings at profile and social networking sites.

Another useful way to track you and your business in the virtual world is by setting up Google Alerts that allow you to monitor by e-mail whenever your name or business is searched via Google.

Sometimes there are "false hits" if common or similar names are involved but, for the most part, this is a worthwhile customized tool. It just requires a few minutes to set up, change or delete.

As for me, I practice what I preach in this blog and at writenowworks.com.