My RSS Feed has a consistent personal brand on, well, personal brand and career topics. Maria Elena Duron has Just Posted the Following on her blog:

Your personal brand is other people’s perception of you. I think branding naturally occurs because most of the time, we give off lasting impressions to other people. Whether it is good or bad, the other person then automatically relates you to that image that you just showed him/her. That is why it is imperative that business owners and other professionals maintain a good image of his self. Social media has become really popular with businesses nowadays. Business owners have put up their companies’ profiles in different sites like Twitter, and Facebook for marketing purposes. It makes perfect sense because networking sites like these practically won’t cost you anything, and still the potential income is maximized. Since we are speaking of Facebook, here are some tips on how to use the site to engage your personal brand.

1. Create your profile. For casual Facebook users, creating a profile might seem too easy. However, this is not the case for professionals who are hoping to attract clients. When creating your profile, make sure that you put in important details. However, you may also want to leave some information out and write something like “For more information, please contact us.” This way, you’ll have an image of exclusivity. We all know that people sometimes are attracted to the exclusivity of a group/company.

2. Build a page. Building a Facebook page is really helpful for business owners because this way, they can easily publish their profile without even having to add random people as their friends. I still think that the saying “Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.” holds true even for professionals. If you are friends with more than a couple hundred people, but you are on that particular networking site for business purposes, then it says a lot about your credibility already. At least if you already have a page, you get to create your personal brand without risking your credibility with your connections.

3. Avoid too many applications. There are currently tens of thousands of applications available on Facebook. You may not believe this but applications on your profile can also affect your personal brand. How, you ask? Well, you might notice that these applications appear more than once on your profile. They appear under your picture as text and as icons, and then they also appear in the main body of your profile as expandable windows. So if let’s say, you are in the real estate business, and then you have an icon of a barely clad lady under your picture, I think that it might be enough reason for some people to pass judgment to your character. So if you are really serious about creating and promoting your personal brand on Facebook, then may I suggest that you stay away from too many applications? Besides, having too many applications will only make your profile look cluttered. (which again, would make a negative impression on potential clients)


Plus, do you really want some of your best clients to receive a "martini" application. Leave the applications alone - especially if you would like to exude your professionalism.

4. Join groups. Facebook groups are made for people who share the same interests. So if your business is in the fashion industry for example, then it might be beneficial for you to join groups connected in the fashion industry. However, you still need to be careful about joining groups. You should just join groups that already have a good reputation with other people. Always remember to make the “right connections”. The things I listed above are only some of the basic things that you need to know about using Facebook to engage your personal brand. After you’ve already done these, you might want to ask other people to take a look at your account and ask them what they think about it. Remember that you only have one chance at making a good and lasting first impression so don’t blow it. Spending time on your Facebook account will soon be worth every effort.Maria Elena Duron, CEO, Buzz to Bucks, broadens the network of busy people through effective social marketing strategies. Buzz to Bucks provides online profile management services, social management and reputation management - helping key employees to establish higher visibility and provide consistency in branding as well as establishing the expertise in their industry for entrepreneurs.


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