Well it was only a matter of time before we saw it again.

People seem to easily forget that celebrities and CEO’s are human too. That means a small percentage will also do things that surprise the rest of us.

This time it was Scott Thompson, now former CEO of Yahoo, the beleagured internet company, uncovered as having lied on his resume.

His claim was to have a double degree, when an unhappy investor discovered that one of those degrees was not even offered by Thompson’s school until after he had graduated!

Three things that Thompson did that accelerated his downfall;

1. He first of all pleaded ignorance.
2. Then he lied, blaming it on of all people his headhunters.
3. Finally he did not apologise

It now has been reported that Thompson may be suffering from thyroid cancer, my empathy to him if that is the case. But his actions have now damaged a leadership brand that previously had been held up as a technology success and likely a strong factor in his being hired for the Yahoo position.

Hopefully you will never be in this situation or something similar, but if you are follow the ABC (Always Be Contrite) model;

Admit all that you know about the situation. Come clean. People will react badly for sure, but not nearly as much or for as long if you drag things out.
Be truthful. Do not lie. This is worse than trying to hide the truth and could damage your personal brand for the long term.
Apologise unreservedly for any errors or mis-judgements that are yours.
Cop for the offence. Take full responsibility and accountability. This is likely your only hope for keeping your job, but be prepared for the inevitable that you might have to resign.

Thompson may not be concerned about working again, although reports say there is no severance package and Yahoo may be asking for $7 million in damages. But most of us are likely going to have to and want to work again. So if you do have to, do it on your terms, do not leave it to others to fire you. Falling on your sword when it is entirely your doing really is the only honorable thing to do

Want to see who else in senior levels of responsibility (including the current vice President of the United States) have been in a similar position? See this article.

Do you think Thompson handled this the right way? Would you have done things differently?

Paul Copcutt Paul Copcutt first identified with personal branding after reading Tom Peters’ ‘Brand You 50’ in 1999. Now a sought after speaker and media resource, he has been featured in Forbes, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and Elle. He works with entrepreneurially-minded people to help them design YOU Inc.

Is it Only Passion that Drives Your Personal Brand?

I have always considered passion to be the main driver for my work and my mission to pioneer a personal branding culture shift in Japan.

We always hear it is our passion that enables us to ride the roller coaster called “entrepreneurship.” But is it only passion that pushes us forward, or is there something else at play? We can be passionate, but also casually sit back and hope things will change. Our passion might get us out of bed in the morning, but is it what keeps us going throughout the day?

So I decided to look around for some insight on what it is that keeps us going and all signs seem to point to one word: Tenacity!  Without tenacity all the passion, intelligence, motivation, and desire to kick serious butt will just be lip service.  Here is what others have said about tenacity.

1. Leonard Brody – “Pure unadulterated tenacity”

This clip by Leonard Brody at World Entrepreneurship Day sums it up is perfectly. There still needs to be a true passion within you to lead your own charge. But this needs to be matched with what he calls “pure unadulterated tenacity”. I love what he says about being willing to take 10 punches to the stomach and get up ready to take the 11th!

2. Garr Reynolds – “Anything of real worth will take much struggle and perseverance”

In Japanese there is the saying “Fall down seven times, get up eight”.  It is a proverb that demonstrates Japanese resilience and tenacity – you continue to get right back up no matter how many times you get knocked down.

Garr Reynolds wrote about this in his Presentation Zen blog last year after the huge earthquake and tsunami devasted the Tohoku region of northern Japan. Garr reminds us that

“there are no quick fixes in life and anything of real worth will necessarily take much struggle and perseverance. Success does not have to be fast – what’s more important is that one simply does their absolute best and remain persistent.”

3. Steve Ballmer – “Don’t have passion, have tenacity”

A recent Forbes article by Brian Solomon offers billionaires’ tips for new graduates from the likes of Oprah, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others. The one that jumped out for me was what Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, had to say:

“Passion is the ability to get excited about something. Irrepressibility and tenacity is about the ability to stay with it. You get some success. You run into some walls. You try a formula for a new idea, a new innovation, it doesn’t work. And it’s how tenacious you are, how irrepressible, how ultimately optimistic and tenacious you are about it that will determine your success.”

4. Steve Jobs – “Stay hungry. Stay foolish”

Steve Jobs’ reference to this message in his infamous 2005 Stanford University commencement speech capsulizes tenacity in my mind. By staying hungry we push ourselves to achieve great things, and by staying foolish we throw caution to the wind to take the calculated risks needed to continue on our path.

Be Tenacious and Leave Your Mark

Tap into your passions to believe and become your personal brand, but more importantly have the tenacity to leave your mark and be your brand in everything you do.  Even in the face of criticism be ready for that 11th punch in the gut, get up 8 times after falling down 7, be irrepressible, and always stay hungry, stay foolish!

Peter Sterlacci, Founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success

As a personal brand, it’s important that you manage all your social media accounts well, to ensure that you continue to engage with your audience as well as monitor what people are saying about you and how they’re reacting to your updates and posts.

This is where social media dashboards such as HootSuite come in handy. With HootSuite, you can easily manage multiple social media accounts, schedule posts and tweets, track mentions of your brand, as well as analyze reports on your social media campaigns, to see if your current strategy is effective or not.

What makes HootSuite stand out is that it’s incredibly user-friendly. The interface is intuitive and easy to use, and the basic plan that already offers some nifty features is free. You can access HootSuite easily in your web browser, unlike other social media dashboards wherein you have to download software.

Full disclosure

I’m a huge Hootsuite fan! And, because of that I’m a Hootsuite Partner. Full disclosure here that I loved the tool so I offer it now but I offer it because I love it. I hope that makes perfect sense!

It’s easy to monitor, engage, and track activity within the HootSuite platform. In the dashboard, you can create streams of content for the accounts, newsfeeds, and brand mentions you want to monitor. You can even create customizable tabs, so it’s easy to manage and monitor everything.

Know who you’re talking to and whose talking about you

One of the best things you can do on HootSuite is to measure the success of your social media activity. In real life, it’s easy to “hear of” or even physically see who is speaking about you. You know who they are, where they work and how you know them – even if it take a little homework that information is generally accessible. Yet, in the online world you have the “whole world” who could be speaking about you. How do you know who is, what about and who they are.

Hootsuite has an excellent analytics feature where you can create custom reports so you can easily see what conversations are happening. By seeing the results of your, you can reach out and join in on the conversation making you a better listener and more engaged.

Is automation against personalization?

There are some people who are against the automation process provided by social media dashboards. They think that this lessens the connection that people feel with the brand, since updates are planned beforehand, not spontaneous.

Scheduling a post shouldn’t stop there – it doesn’t mean that just because you schedule a tweet, a Facebook update, or a blog entry to go live on a certain time and date, that you’re free to go on vacation and not worry about your social media accounts. That’s not the right way of automating the process.

Social media dashboards such as HootSuite are excellent for automating the process, but it’s still your role to engage, connect, and build a relationship with your audience. Scheduling posts is a great idea since you can plan your posts and updates beforehand, but you should also consider scheduling the post to go live only when you’re available to reply, respond to comments, and react to what others are saying. This ensures a give and take relationship with your audience, so they don’t feel that they’re being ignored after they’ve commented and replied to your post.

It’s a great way to set a theme for your conversation.

When using social media management tools, it’s essential that you automate the process, not the relationship with your connections. Avoid using the auto-reply when someone follows you, always take the time to reply to people’s comments, and make sure that you continue to post content that’s relevant and timely.

Remember, that it’s still essential that you connect and engage with your audience as personally as possible. Keep the “social” in social, use the tools wisely and build a great relationship with your contacts!

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops – taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy.

Facebook came up with an algorithm called EdgeRank, which determines what people will see in their newsfeeds. Basically, the most important thing to note here is that only about 16-17% of your fans will typically see what you post. The lack of good response from your audience regarding your updates will mean that your posts will not be seen by most people.

Yes, even if you have 500 people who have “liked” your page, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your updates will appear in their newsfeeds. And if your updates aren’t appearing in your audience’s newsfeeds, then how will you engage and connect with your audience?

Maybe those who are truly loyal to you will be willing to go the extra mile to visit your page regularly and check your updates. Most people aren’t likely to do this – if they don’t see you on their newsfeeds, then they assume you aren’t posting, and they forget about your brand.

When you aren’t seen, then you aren’t heard. Your great content misses out on a lot of opportunity to engage your viewers, simply because no one’s seeing them.

So what do you do?

The key here is not to focus on the number of likes you have or the number of likes your page has. People find it very easy to simply click the Like button on Facebook, but it doesn’t mean that they’re really interested about what you’re posting.

What you need to do is to compel these people to interact with you… to like your posts, comment on them, interact with other fans, and share the content you put up on their newsfeeds. The more people who do this, the more likely that your updates will appear in your audience’s newsfeeds, since Facebook’s EdgeRank will consider your post “worthy” of being shared. The algorithm is based on affinity, weight and time decay. The more a fan interacts with your page, the more a user engages with your brand, the freshness of your content… all of these play a factor in helping people see your posts.

So how do you ensure that your posts are seen and that your personal brand is heard on Facebook? Here are some tips:

1. Update regularly

Facebook likes regular content that’s fresh and new. Try to update around once a day or at least three times a week. If you’re going to be away for some time, you can use an app where you can schedule posts on Facebook (like Hootsuite).

2. Time your posts

There are certain times where your posts seem to get the most attention from your audience. Tuesday and Thursday updates, for example, seem to get more attention than posts on other days of the week. Weekend posts also get great engagement, probably because people are at home, relaxing, surfing the net and checking their social media accounts.

3. Tell them what to do

Sometimes, your audience needs a bit of a nudge before they do what you want them to do. So you can include something like, “Click like if you agree!” or “What do you think? Tell us in the comments.” This puts a call to action on your updates, which some people will find themselves compelled to respond to.

4. Post photos and videos

Facebook also places a lot of importance in photo and video posts on your page, so make sure to regularly post a nice photo or video related to your brand.

5. Ask engaging questions that comes across almost like a contest

Nothing gets people buzzing more than a little fun competition and a chance to share with each other! So use this to your advantage to help get more viewers and conversation/engagement happening on any of your social networks.

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops – taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy.

Recently, my fellow Reach colleagues have shared along these lines. Richard Anderson’s post on this blog reminds us that an overused strength can become a weakness. In a recent issue of YOUnique, William Arruda says it is not all about strengths because if you have weaknesses that will impede your success, you need to resolve them.

Critics See Your Brand Through Their Own Lens

What you see as driving your brand may very well be criticized by others. Your critics will see your brand through their own lens of reality and make a judgement call.

• If you are driven by confidence, will it be seen as arrogance?
• Will your natural or gifted ability label you as a doper or cheat?
• Can your resilience be laughed off as being “washed-up”?
• Is your determination causing others to say that you simply can’t let it go?

Critics exist for a good reason. They actually help us to reinforce in our mind WHY we do WHAT we do. The real challenge we face is not giving in to their criticism. Once we do, we let the critics win and we pedal off-brand.

Embrace Criticism and Your Brand Will Be Stronger

I recently came across a great site by Lori Deschene called Tiny Buddha, simple wisdom for complex lives. Lori wrote an excellent post called, ‘How to Deal with Criticisim Well: 25 Reasons to Embrace It’. Here are 5 of my favorites taken directly from her post, but take the time to embrace all 25 and your brand will be stronger.

1. Learning from criticism allows you to improve. Almost every critique gives you a tool to more effectively create the tomorrow you visualize.

2. Learning to move forward after criticism, even if you don’t feel incredibly confident, ensures no isolated comment prevents you from seizing your dreams. Think of it as separating the wheat from the chaff; takes what’s useful, leave the rest, and keep going!

3. Receiving feedback well reminds you it’s OK to have flaws—imperfection is part of being human. If you can admit weakness and work on them without getting down on yourself, you’ll experience far more happiness, peace, enjoyment, and success.

4. Certain pieces of criticism teach you not to sweat the small stuff. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter that your boyfriend thinks you load the dishwasher “wrong.”

5. Your critics give you an opportunity to challenge any people-pleasing tendencies. Relationships based on a constant need for approval can be draining for everyone involved. It’s liberating to let people think whatever they want—they’re going to do it anyway.

In the end, let’s remember what Lance says in this commercial – “They can say whatever they want. I’m not back on my bike for them.” Be your brand for yourself, not your critics.

Peter Sterlacci, Founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success

Here’s some of what I learned/confirmed:

1.    I have a major work overload issue. I am well aware of it – and so is virtually everyone who knows me! It’s the negative side of my brand attribute of creative – where I have so many ideas and want to pursue all of them.

2.    Despite some efforts to focus on fewer things – including hiring another assistant, I clearly have not done a great job of it. I need to focus!

3.    I consider myself less international than I was in the past, yet others continue to see me as global.  When I was living in London and Paris and traveling internationally all the time, I felt more global. Being based in New York City and traveling only occasionally to Europe and Asia makes me feel less international.

4.    People can be incredibly kind. It’s humbling to read the nice things that people say. Some of it, of course, you hear from time to time. But I think many respondents use 360Reach as a way to say things they don’t get to – or choose to – say in-person.

5.    My positive brand attribute of ‘generous’ is also a negative brand attribute. Weakness feedback included: “Too generous. Gives too much time, energy. Can be taken advantage of.” And “He is so dedicated and so giving to others and I worry that sometimes he doesn’t take time to slow down and recharge.”

6.    Projective exercises are the best! Projective exercises refer to questions like “If I were a household appliance, which would I be and why?” Having had nearly a million people use 360Reach, we have received a lot of feedback about projective exercises. Some people feel they are frivolous; others feel they are fun. We include them because they make it easier for respondents and help validate the other components of the assessment. And again, I confirmed my belief that the projective exercises offer some of the most valuable feedback. Reading this feedback was my favorite part of the analysis. Here’s one of the most creative responses: “[William would be a] blender – always whirring around; taking good inputs and making them into even better outputs; able to bring things together and harmonize; always creating and innovating; an instrument of endless possibilities.”

7.    It really doesn’t matter who you ask for feedback – as long as they know you well. More than half the people to whom I sent requests for feedback for this most recent survey were not respondents in the past; yet there was remarkable consistency between my last report and the current one.

8.    I am becoming synonymous with my company, Reach. This is not my goal. Perhaps I have lost a little of my identity with such intense focus on building the brand of Reach Personal Branding. I have to make a plan to be separate from Reach. Some day, I would like to sell Reach and that will be hard to do if Reach and William Arruda are seemingly one in the same.

9.    I’m pretty self aware. When I look at the self vs. others comparison, there is a lot of consistency. In fact, the leadership competencies and team role I identified are identical to collective feedback from my respondents.

10.    I understand why 360Reach is one of the most popular offerings we have at Reach. It’s part validation, part valuable insights, part warm hug and part splash of cold water – all at once!

You can see my entire 360Reach report here: William’s 360Reach Report

And here’s my offer to you. If you are one of the first 25 people to read this and act, I am delighted to give you a complimentary premium 360Reach account. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/360New and use coupon code: AWARE. Only the first 25 people to use this coupon will benefit from this offer – so what are you waiting for?

Some people consider their personal and professional brand two different things. Their personal brand is more about what they do and enjoy, and includes their hobbies and sidelines. Their professional brand is their work, whether they’re an employee, a small business owner, or a service provider. They enjoy keeping things separate, with their personal brand in one corner and their professional brand in the other. They don’t work with their friends, and they’re not friends with their co-workers.

But is your personal and professional brand really two separate things? When you go to work, do you really leave your personal brand at home and transform into your professional brand? Are you a different person at work, and a different person at home?

Or isn’t that a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing?

At your core, you are really just one person. Maybe you appear stricter at work, and you tend to be more relaxed and happy at home, but you still carry the same values, beliefs and philosophies that make you who you are.

This is why even if you may keep your work and personal life separate, your personal and professional brand are one and the same. Job recruiters, hiring managers, potential clients and customers, these people don’t just want to know your professional image. They want to know who you really are, so they Google you, check out your social media accounts, and even talk to people who know you. This is why it’s essential that you control and manage your search engine results since this is what people will also consider before hiring you or getting your products or services.

You only have one brand, so it’s critical that you take care of it. Word of mouth marketing is what’s important nowadays, since people are getting smarter about what they buy as well as where they buy from. Whether you’re looking to be hired, or offering products or services, you have to maintain a consistent brand, and be someone people can like and trust.

Maybe you work for a company, and you consider this your professional brand, since you’re helping the company grow and become better. On the other hand, the company is also helping your personal brand, since you learn a lot in your work for them, and you get to meet and network with other professionals. This network can prove to be invaluable to the success of your brand.

Truly, your personal and professional brand is one and the same. It’s not that one ends where the other one starts, no. Basically, you are your brand, and it’s up to you to manage it. You may represent a company or business, but that’s still you – you don’t transform into a robot when you join a company. You bring with you your beliefs, philosophies, biases and prejudices. It’s your brand at the core regardless of where and who you work for.

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops – taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy.

In Australian corporate circles recently there was a very public demonstration of this phenomenon. A successful CEO who had built his brand, and business, around being edgy, controversial, entrepreneurial and flamboyant went too far. On his Facebook site he had posted rants that were racist, sexist and highly offensive both to the business community and public in general. (Note the general public is his client base.)

When someone leaked this to the national media the backlash was instant. No amount of apology or justification could defuse the situation. Several major Sporting clubs dropped the company’s sponsorship, and the CEO resigned and sold off his 50% share before leaving the country to escape the media frenzy.

Ok, this is an extreme example, but it does show that in a world of instant media all branders need to be conscious of the fact that strengths can be taken too far. To keep yourself alert to the nuances of your brand attributes it is helpful to regularly ask yourself the following questions:
1. How will the groups or individuals who are important to me see my actions or comments (in this particular circumstance)? Could they be construed negatively rather than positively?
2. Can I adapt my message to suit this audience or is a “middle of the road” approach best for all?
3. Is there a development issue that I need to work on?

Many clients see branding as pushing the boundaries of personal promotion and they are concerned that they do not overstate reality. Though, in most cases I see clients actually understate their brand strengths!

The group that oversteps the mark is a small percentage, but we can all get the message confused at times if we put too much emphasis on a particular persona or attribute and fail to reflect on our (possible) impact on others. For example:
Confidence can become Arrogance
Humor can become Clown
Organised can become Controlling
Toughness can become Bullying
Generous can become Easy Touch

Richard Anderson, Managing Partner at Point Ahead delivers Personal Brand Strategy for mid-career executives wanting to take control of their careers. Richard works successfully with Australian organizations and individual clients in navigating the emotional and practical challenges of developing an engaging personal brand for both personal and organizational success.
Link: http://www.pointahead.com.au

This journey can be exhausting though, especially if you’re doing it alone. You need someone to hold your hand, to comfort you when things aren’t going well, and to tell you that, “it’s okay, there’s always another opportunity out there.” You need that kind of support, right?

Or maybe what you need is a good kick on the behind.

Kind words may be good for your ego, but it’s not exactly the thing that’s going to motivate you toward success. What you need is a dose of tough love, and one of the things that can give you that is an accountability group.

But what exactly are accountability groups?

These groups are people who will support you in your efforts – this may be in job hunting, selling, marketing your personal brand, letting go of your fears, and so on. But they’re not going to hold your hand – they’re going to support you emotionally and intellectually to help you achieve success in your plans.

Sadly, not all accountability groups are successful. There are groups that have been poorly conceived, with members who aren’t able to motivate each other enough. But there are also those who truly have been able to deliver the best of tough love, who have been able to support each other and rise to success.

So what makes a good accountability group? Here are some things you should look out for:

1. True accountability

A good accountability group will not pat you on the back if you decided not to pursue something that you committed to do. No, they will hold you accountable for your actions and they may even make you feel ashamed for not following through.

True accountability means there shouldn’t be any excuse. When you commit to something, you do it. A good accountability group will hold you to that commitment and will not tolerate flakiness.

2. Honesty

A good accountability group should be honest to its members – even brutally honest when needed. If your resume is bad, for example, they’re going to tell it to you straight. If you need help in the grooming department, they’re not going to hesitate to tell you about it.

This is why close friends and family don’t make good accountability partners or team members. These people usually don’t want to hurt your ego, so you end up being coddled. Brutal honesty is usually better when it comes to personal branding so that you can find out what you really need to work on.

3. Knowledge and experience

A good accountability group should include members who are knowledgeable and experienced. They should be an excellent source of information, be able to point out what you’re doing wrong, and stir you in the right direction when you need it. Think about it – an intern doesn’t mentor a fellow intern; it should be the consultant who mentors the intern.

4. A leader

There should be someone who takes the leadership during your meetings or sessions. This helps in ensuring that the flow of discussion goes smoothly and that there is someone who can take charge and be the rock of the group. The leader should be the go-to person for any questions that may arise, and should ensure that everyone takes part and is accountable for their actions.

5. A good number of people in the group

If there are too many people in the group, then there could be someone who isn’t given enough attention. On the other hand, if there are too few people in the group, there may not be enough discussion and opinion to go around. So it’s a good idea to have just the right number of people in your accountability group – maybe 5 to 10 members. This is just enough to get the conversation going and ensure that everyone gets their share on the floor.

Accountability groups are a good idea, especially if you’re feeling stuck with how to improve your personal brand and don’t know how best to sell yourself. Sometimes, some tough love is all that’s needed to help you focus and get you on the right track. Of course, these groups can have their disadvantages as well since some people may be adversely affected by the success of others in their group. On the other hand, it can also motivate them to do better when they see how others are taking steps to improve themselves.

The key is to choose a good accountability group that ensures you the right amount of attention and the right amount of tough love.

Maria Elena Duron, CEO (chief engagement officer), buzz2bucks | a word of mouth marketing firm, is skilled at making networks “work” and harnessing powerful online and offline buzz, she facilitates online visibility services and word of mouth coaching and workshops – taking companies and professionals from buzz-worthy to bucks-worthy.

The cherry blossom  reminds me of our personal brands. Our personal brand is what makes us extraordinary. It separates us from all others who offer something similar. Like a cherry blossom our personal brand allows us to stand out and attract people to our promise of value. But unlike the cherry blossom we do not want our personal brands to be short-lived. Strong brands deliver on their authenticity all of the time.  If our brand is present for just 1 week and then disappears, we become ordinary and interchangeable. We become a commodity.

Let Your Personal Brand Blossom

How can our personal brands blossom and stay in full bloom? Here are 5 quick tips to ensure your brand does not disappear.

Blossom Tip #1: Ask for Feedback

Feedback provides the water you need for your brand to grow! By asking others for how they see your brand, you are able to understand more clearly the attributes that define your promise of value. Informally you can do this by simply asking people who know you  well for a handful of adjectives that define you. For a more formal approach, use the 360Reach Personal Brand Assessment available online as this will provide comprehensive and anonymous feedback about your brand.

Blossom Tip #2: Get a Professional Headshot

Invest in your professional headshot. It is worth it! This photo will be an essential part of your brand identity on social media, websites, blogs, etc. The photo of your cat, dog, or favorite cartoon character may be cute, but it is not you. Your headshot is true and authentic to you. Make sure to consistently use this headshot across all channels as people will remember you. By frequently changing your photo your brand runs the risk of actually disappearing. Feel free to re-shoot your headshot down the road, but for now consistency is the key for your brand to be in full bloom.

Blossom Tip #3: Write your Brand Story

Tell your story in a branded bio. Your bio is not simply a summary of your job history and work experience. It needs to share your character and personality as this is what differentiates you from others and compels people to hire, promote, and connect with you. In one of my all-time favorite TED Talks, Simon Sinek tells us that “People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.”  When you can take who you are (your story, your why) and match it with what you do and how you do it, then your brand will always be seen.

Blossom Tip #4: Join Linkedin

All social media networks serve a valuable purpose, but Linkedin is the most important professional social network to be on. It is said that over 80% of recruiters are using Linkedin to find new talent. Your professional headshot and branded bio will have a nice home on your Linkedin profile and will be seen by those who need the value you will bring to the table.

Blossom Tip #5: Launch a Personal Portal

If you cringe at the thought of creating or investing in your own website, ‘personal portals’ are the solution. About.me and Flavors.me allow you to create a nice one-page portal for free that basically becomes your website and landing page on the web. They will both give you a vanity URL which can be used as your website address on business cards, social media channels, etc. These sites are easy to use and provide dashboards to check how often your portal has been viewed. Once again, your headshot and branded bio have a place seen throughout the year.

By following these 5 tips your personal brand is sure to blossom and stay in full bloom. What are some ways you have kept your brand in full bloom? Please share below.

Peter Sterlacci, Founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success