We are in the age of social media, it is sink or swim. A few months ago I found myself debating the purpose of Twitter, I had to jump on the bandwagon or forever get lost in the gap of technology. I chose to create a Twitter, tried a few tweets and then didn’t log back on for a few weeks. This sounds pretty typical of 90% of Twitter users, you know the saying “10% of Twitter users produce 90% of the content”.  I decided to give it another try after seeing other professionals finding usage of the tool.

Nowadays, I am on Twitter everyday, attend “Twitter” events around town and have increased my personal network both online and in person. This tool might suck up some of my time online, however the benefits have been astounding.

One thing I have noticed is how people utilize Twitter to brand themselves. This micro-blogging tool encourages brevity and personality to show. I have seen some good examples and some absolutely terrible examples of how people portray themselves. Perception is reality, right? One thing people need to learn is to keep personal and professional at a balance (we could all benefit from these tips).

After some research around the web from resources like Media Bistro and Mashable, I found some need to know tips to positively brand yourself.

1. Discover your brand and then create it: Your self-impression = How people perceive you
2. Claim YOUR Profiles: create a Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and any other social media tools. This will promote consistency and increase your SEO.
3. Personal Hub: Make sure you have a blog or personal website to link back to. This will align your brand with other outlets (social media profiles) and will show your expertise overtime if maintained consistently.
4. Consistency is Key: Update your social media profiles on a regular basis – engage your audience, post interesting content, show personality.
5. Build Credibility: It takes time, but if you follow the basic rules of social media and personal branding you will build up your own credibility. This does not happen overnight.

Building your personal brand takes time, actively engaging your local community and following these tips can help. One thing to remember is to be yourself. Surround yourself with the right people and you can learn a ton. Set-up that coffee date with someone interesting, go to that Twitter event, be ACTIVE!

Referenced: Mashable “Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand” by Dan Schawbel