Welcome to Social Networking 101! In this series of lessons, we are going to teach you how to establish your presence in the vast world of social networking. Whether you are just starting out, or if you are a social networking maven, we hope to share some unique methods and tools that can save you time and give you a more visible web presence.
In this lesson, we are going to look at what makes something a brand, and how a personal brand differs from a national or corporate brand.
I am sure you already have a pretty good idea of what a brand is, and whether you know it or not, you also know the importance of branding. Every time you go to the grocery store the stuff you purchase is influenced by how well companies have established their brand in your mind.
You are probably familiar with the famous Coke vs. Pepsi taste tests. Number 2 soda maker Pepsi wanted to prove their cola tasted better than their competitor's. So they filmed people tasting both without knowing which was which, and (of course) showed people choosing Pepsi in their commercials. What they didn't show is that the actual split was very close to 50/50 when the taster has no idea which cola they are tasting. (This has been verified in independent tests.)
But here is what is interesting: when researchers told people which was which FIRST, 75% chose Coke over Pepsi. I am not going to get into the subtleties of brand imagery here, but both Coke and Pepsi spend oodles of money on branding. To be sure, they are both well-known and successful brands, but, for whatever reason, Coke seems able to out-market Pepsi for the all-important mindshare of the consumer.
More importantly, however, if I were to ask you to name other brands of cola, could you? (Kudos if you immediately thought of "RC Cola." For a list of many different brands, go to this Wikipedia link and scroll all the way to the bottom.)
Personal Branding vs. National or Corporate Branding
Corporations depend on branding to establish themselves in the mindset of their consumers. In the case of Coke and Pepsi, the two companies fight hard and spend lots of money for even a fraction of a percentage of market share.
Your personal brand establishes how others see you. It can involve everything from how you dress, to the places you go, the car you drive, etc. People "brand" themselves in order to help their careers stand out. In some cases, such branding can blur the line between the individual and the brand they create. Such is the case with Donald Trump, who uses his last name on the skyscrapers he builds and the products he endorses. For what it's worth, the term "Personal Branding" is thought to have first been used by Tom Peters in a 1997 article.
For our purposes, however, we are only talking about your online presence. If all you want is to have a Facebook or MySpace page, then all you need is an email address. In that case, move along, there's nothing to see here. But if you want to explore the vast array of opportunities other social networking sites offer, then you should establish a "personal" brand, which starts with the user name you choose.
Why Establish a Personal Brand?
Establishing your "brand" is the single most important thing you need to do before you delve into the world of social networking. First, think about who you are. What defines you as a person? Is there any one word or short phrase that describes you? If so, consider using that as your personal brand.
Years ago, while working for Apple, one of the developers with whom I worked coined the term "The Chuck" in reference to me. It stuck, and I started using it for a variety of things, including my Mac-dot-com (now MobileMe) email address. As social networking sites became popular, it was only natural to use that as my online identity. (For more on how I became "The Chuck," Take a look at the Home Page of my personal web site.)
User Name = Brand
Your user name is like the front door to a business or the headline of a newspaper. Your web presence will be partially defined by the name you choose. People will form a first impression based on the name you choose, so it's gotta be good.
Choose something easy to remember (for both you and those who will be viewing it), and, if at all possible, descriptive. But be careful: choosing something like "pizzaboy2009" might seem cute and descriptive now, but might that moniker be just a bit too limiting? What if you decide to participate in an online community of people trying to lose weight? And in 2015 that "2009" on the end of the name is going to seem pretty dated.
Personal, Professional, or Both?
As I started becoming familiar with more and more social networking web sites, it became apparent that I would be interacting with people on both a personal and professional level, and the tone of those interactions were likely to be distinctly different. Its not that I didn't want business associates, clients, or potential clients seeing my personal site, I just needed a place where business communications could take place without the distraction of my personal life.
My personal interactions would be with either people who already knew me, or people with shared personal interests, such as New Orleans, Jazz & Blues, and good food. My professional interactions would be with clients, or those who shared my career interests in Macs, iPhones, Internet, and being more productive in their work environment.
For most, this isn't an issue. If you have a regular "9 to 5" job, your professional life is probably defined by that, so all you need is one user name for your personal online presence. But if you make part of your living in the virtual world, consider having two online brands: one for your personal life and another for your professional endeavors.
That is what I did. I use the "MacChuck" for my business stuff, and "TheChuck" for my personal stuff. I even have two distinctly different web sites to support each: macchuck.com and thechuck.me for my personal stuff.
Summary
- Your online personal brand defines how others perceive you, and as Tom Peters said, "Perception is reality."
- Your user name is the prime access point to your personal brand. It is like the front door to your business, a web site's home page, or the headline on a newspaper.
- You may need different "brands" if you want to share both your personal and professional lives with others online.
ASSIGNMENT: Come up with at least 5 user names for your personal brand. Don't worry about whether they are available or not, we'll cover that and see how you did in the next lesson.
EXTRA CREDIT: If you want to separate your personal and professional identities on line, create 5 more user names for your professional persona.
Next Lesson: Choosing A User Name