A Brand New World

As a Brand Architect in this day and age I am astonished at the number of brands I see on a daily basis within the commercial environment. Something even more astonishing is the proliferation of personal branding. In college I studied and learned the importance of branding to enhance profits and create customer loyalty but in this Brand New World it seems that even the average Joe must create promote and protect their personal brands.

This became clear to me when having a conversation with a business associate. I asked him if he had a facebook page for which he replied No, I don't get into stuff like that, later to find that a disgruntled associate of his had created a false page for him in order to tarnish his stellar reputation. In this conversation I encouraged him to secure all possible digital real estate he could with his name to protect his online integrity.

Think about how this could have turned out had someone tried to seek out information about him only to find this sabotaged character ploy, TRAGIC!

So in this Brand New World you must consider creating your brand even if you have nothing to sell right now because if you don't someone may just do it for you!

The rules of personal branding are not all that different from the rules of business branding. Here is a list of the things you should consider doing.

• Take inventory of how you want the world to see you.
• Develop your personal story.
• Register and secure your Name or some iteration of it as a domain name.
• Post your personal/professional resume to linkedin.
• Sign up for a facebook and twitter account even if you plan to never use them.
• Look into other social networks that you might be able to defensibly set up in your name.

The above list is a very defensive way to at the very least protect your brand/name. The cool thing is you can turn these actions into something that promotes you to another level within your social or professional endeavors.

You would be surprised how many people might be interested in knowing what you are up to and who could possibly aid you in your endeavors. If you take your personal story and decide to connect with others who have had a similar walk in life as you it could change your world over night for the positive. It's just a matter of telling your story and commenting on the stories of others you have a connection with and now you are a part of a new community.

In this Brand New World we live our lives out loud and online and creating and staying true to your personal brand is just as important as a company doing it for their brand. Don't take it lightly and if you need help believe me there are plenty of people that are capable and more than willing to aid you.

Make Money, Have Fun & Be A Blessing,

Cirilo