Personal branding is a more comprehensive idea that implies investing in a personal image. The primary goal is to leave a positive mark on both personal and professional aspects. It implies becoming known for something in particular, which inevitably leads to a legacy or an authority. People will remember the name through personal profiles, experience, professionalism and psychological connections. On a more formal note, personal branding also leads to gaining credibility, developing a reputation, gaining confidence and distinguishing from the competition.
From many points of view, personal branding is tightly related to Social media. In other words, more and more people assume that since social media networks are so widely related to search engines, they make great self-promotion Tools. Maintaining a solid and active presence is, indeed, the main necessity. They build new connections and offer access to multiple opportunities. If used correctly, social networks can lead to a top-notch communication as well. However, personal branding goes way further than that.
About.me
About.me is all about creating your own story. Everyone can register for free and come up with a personal page. The respective page is customized in small details and offers exclusive information about the owner.
Set your own motto, come up with a quote, write a short biography, arrange the text accordingly and set a wallpaper image. Add your workplaces and experience, as well as your current projects. Got a website or a blog? Put it up and About.me will grab RSS updates whenever they arise. As if all these were not enough, the page allows linking dozens of social networks, but it also lets people interact one with another.
Medium
People of all ages and from all parts of the world have a word to say at some point or another. Blogging is the modern way to do it, but it has to be done correctly. Medium is one of the best platforms for your own content. The community gives you the possibility to express your vision or just make some important announcements.
You can customize posts with videos, pictures and even in-line comments. Social media links are included as well, only for more notoriety.
Meddle
Meddle is developed to help amateurs and newbie advertisers gain some reputation and expose themselves to a broad audience by creating new content according to their readers' requirements. Curating content is even more challenging, especially since it works in a completely unusual direction – helping people in the exchange for visibility and reputation. With time, you “risk” becoming an industry influencer if you are truly good at what you are doing.
LinkedIn is not all about establishing connections and potential partnerships with other professionals in the same industry.
Instead, it is also about publishing content. The built-in blogging platform is free and gives users the possibility to share their content in the attempt to gain notoriety.
TweetDeck
TweetDeck is not an external tool, but an official plugin or application from Twitter. It can be installed as a separate plugin for the browser, while Mac users are able to download it as an application. Following too many individuals on Twitter can cause a lot of confusion when checking the feed. You do not want to miss any important details, so use TweetDeck to separate the news feed into a few different columns for hashtags, lists or keywords.
Mention
Mention is one of the most reputable tools to monitor your social network channels in real time and without too much hassle.
It becomes a solid partner in personal branding and management. Users can analyze statistics, perform deep searches and react within seconds only, whether it comes to themselves or their competition.
BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo gives users the possibility to track and follow their mentions, tags, references and “gossip.” Find out when, where and why your content has been shared. Analyze the influencing sphere around it and explore the new circles of interests around it. Understanding your readers in a more efficient manner and analyze their patterns from the shadows.
In the end, you do not have to be an expert to realize that social media management is imperative for personal branding and a solid online presence. It looks time-consuming, indeed, but the right tools will make it more appealing.
