Your On-Line Reputation: 3 Things You Need to Remember

Your Online Reputation: Three Things You Need To Remember

So you’ve read all our articles here at Brand-Yourself.com about how essential it is to maintain your online reputation and personal brand identity. You’ve successfully set up your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, emphasizing your individuality, visibility, consistency, and desirability as an employee.

The battle doesn’t end there, however. Maintaining a personal brand is continuous work and will continue for the remainder of your working life – perhaps even beyond retirement.

In order to cultivate your identity and your online reputation, keep three things in mind:

Be smart, not paranoid.
This is the age of the World Wide Web and, although you should exercise basic common sense and abstain from releasing information like your social security number to the general masses, there is no need to be paranoid about your information being online. Visibility is key, and it is up to you to take advantage of the accessibility of the Internet. Although you obviously shouldn’t provide, say, a blueprint and a detailed aerial shot of your home, don’t make it difficult for interested employers to contact you, either.

Use your name as often as [logically] possible.
Look at your various websites and social networking profiles as web footprints. Your online personality should be unique to you, but a clever, intelligent website means nothing if people have no idea who owns it. It is crucial that your name be prominent on any work you post online – not only in titles and bylines, but also headings, URLs, etc. – so that there will be a higher chance of your page[s] receiving hits. Exercise discretion, however. Sprinkling your name unnecessarily will look cheap and desperate, but thoroughly linking your work with your name shows that you are proud of what you can accomplish.

OWN YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION.
It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to own your personal brand identity. If you haven’t already, do a quick search of your name and see what the Web says about you. If you find there are people who share a similar name, you must work hard to differentiate yourself from those people. Always keep in mind all those professional and personal traits that make you desirable to prospective employers, and protect this image with everything you’ve got.

Remember, your work isn’t finished once you’ve established a personal brand identity. You must also work hard to regularly manage the impression you make on the rest of the world, ensuring now only that you remain individual but also that your brand remains true to who you are. Your online reputation is how people will differentiate you from the masses.

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Gabrielle is a recent graduate from Syracuse University, where she studied fashion design and fashion communications. She occupies her time with photography and creating her own comic book, and she plans to return to Syracuse in 2010 to pursue her Master’s Degree in art journalism.

www.brand-yourself.com

The Gap Between Google and Rivals May Be Smaller Than You Think

It’s no secret that even with their recently-announced alliance, Yahoo and Microsoft will lag well behind Google in the hugely profitable search and search advertising business. How far behind? With a combined 28 percent of the American search market, Yahoo and Microsoft could double their usage and still trail Google, which accounts for 65 percent of the market.

But by another important measure, the two sides are much closer. ComScore found that for the combined Yahoo-Microsoft, “searcher penetration,” or the percentage of the online population in the United States that uses one of those search engines, is 73 percent. Google’s searcher penetration is higher, but not by that much: at 84 percent.

The difference between the two ways of measuring is frequency of use. Users of Yahoo-Microsoft on average searched just under 27 times in a month on those sites, whereas users of Google searched on average 54 times a month, or twice as often.

Of course, when it comes to making money from search, it is the number of searches, not penetration, that matters. But the penetration figures suggest that Yahoo-Microsoft could close the gap with Google if they persuade their existing users to use them a bit more often.

“The challenge will be to create a search experience compelling enough to convert lighter searchers into regular searchers which is generally easier than converting new users,” Eli Goodman, comScore Search Evangelist, said in a press release. “Though clearly easier said than done, if they were to equalize the number of searches per searcher with Google they would command more than 40 percent market share.”

That suggests Microsoft may want to spend more of its money improving Bing, rather than on marketing Bing. Spending on both, of course, can’t hurt.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com

Asterisk Creative Client, Mitch Yellen, is making strides in a stagnant market

Colorado Springs, CO (PRWEB) August 22, 2009 -- In a time when most people are finding it difficult to afford life's daily necessities, Mitchell B. Yellen of Colorado Springs, CO is not only sustaining personal financial stability and planning for long-term wealth he is helping others to do the same.

Having 18 plus years of experience in the financial services industry, Yellen has had a chance to work with some of the best financial advisers in the business, study the mistakes and traps of conventional financial thinking and discover the true principles regarding what it takes to acquire wealth. After years of observing the devastation of fiscal misinformation, Yellen decided to forgo the traditional methods of financial planning and launch two advisory groups (Wealth Wonks and IBPro llc.) utilizing his own ideologies on ways to obtain wealth and consult with clients.

"People need more than a financial product," said Yellen. "They need to understand what wealth-building processes and enlightened strategies build true wealth. So many people with real wealth potential are still languishing in the shadows of traditional financial planning, however, we are blessed to have the answers these people need. It is my passion (and my calling) to lead others into this light that has so profoundly changed my life."

By establishing a personal relationship with each client and implementing customized strategies, the results desired are almost always guaranteed. Mr. Yellen sees financial planning as more than just a monetary projection. It's about helping clients understand the dynamics of various financial climates, pitfalls and wealth building as well as encouraging them to be their own bankers and invest in themselves. His expertise have helped everyday professionals as well as corporate CEOs and Presidents. "I found the services to be extremely helpful in planning long term growth and a secure retirement," said Dr. John Trowbridge, M.D. The President and CEO of Credit Union said, "It didn't take long to see that we could accumulate more wealth with better money management." Mitchell B. Yellen is well on his way to becoming one of the United States' premier financial planners.

Mitchell B. Yellen is the Founder and CEO of Wealth Wonks and IBPro llc. Information and resources regarding his companies and ideologies can be found on the Wealth Wonks and IBPro websites respectively http://www.wealthwonkspro.com/ and http://www.ibprollc.com/default.asp.

News From the Mecklenburg Times!

Social Media is not just for reconnecting with old friends. It is a tool to grow your business and create a greater footprint in your market. The article below explains that. Don't get left behind!

Full-time Facebooking

By Austin Light

CHARLOTTE — Twitter grew a staggering 1,382 percent in the last year. Since starting in 2006, it’s picked up more than 8 million users, according to Nielson Online. Facebook has attracted about 65.7 million users in five years.

With numbers like that, it just makes good business sense to be where the people are, said Brandon Uttley, hired recently by Charlotte marketing firm Wray Ward as the company’s first social media strategist. But that’s often easier said than done.

“Sixty percent of people that sign up for Twitter become inactive after 30 days,” Uttley said. “The LA Times found that that same percentage of people don’t even know what Twitter is…but you’re seeing more companies use it.”

Brandon Uttley, social media strategist, Wray Ward

Twitter is a Web-based communication system, using messages of 140 characters or less that are sent via phones or computers.

Accordingly to Uttley, the high drop-off rate comes from people knowing they should be on Twitter or other social media sites, but not knowing the lingo and culture associated with them. That’s where he comes in.

Uttley is part of a growing profession that helps companies monitor, use and market with social media. Their job description is simple — “connecting people to other people online” — but according to Jason Keath, a prolific Charlotte social media strategist and head of SocialFresh.com, it isn’t a simple task.

Keath maintains that social media management is fast becoming a full-time job as opposed to a low-priority task that can be passed off to an intern.

“I think it is as big as when e-mail came along,” Keath said. “Everyone uses e-mail; it’s expected. There’s etiquette, legalities, even laws associated with it. I think social media is going to be integrated like that into almost every business. Clients will start demanding it.”

Roy Morejon is the founder of B2WE, a social media marketing agency in Charlotte. He said businesses have three options: Hire one person full-time to manage it, hire an agency or third party to manage it, or use existing staff to figure it out.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of them, whether they need their hand held or I’m training a marketing manager in-house,” Morejon said. “[Social media] is not the same as traditional media. It’s more about conversation and less about campaigns.”

Uttley said a company’s best bet is to hire someone or use an agency.

“You can now have a presence in a lot of different places, and they are free or very low cost,” Uttley said. “So the biggest investment here is time.”

Keath maintains that even though social media services are free, businesses shouldn’t skimp on the time they invest to maximize on-line opportunities.

“A lot of people think it is free and they move to it to save money, but if you are going to do it correctly, you have to invest in it time-wise,” Keath said. “Can you afford to invest that time?”

Keath’s SocialFresh.com is working to increase social media awareness among businesses and help them develop skills to use it in a positive way. Social Fresh will host its first conference Aug. 24, a one-day event for marketing professionals with social media speakers from Rubbermaid, Best Buy and other companies.

“It’s quickly becoming a more legitimate industry. From people like myself that are individual consultants all the way up to large companies,” Keath said.

Duke Energy is among several Charlotte corporations hiring social media managers, including GMAC and Bank of America. Duke Energy is providing information through its Twitter feed DukeEnergyStorm, which keeps customers informed of power outages and restoration efforts.

“On Twitter, just from the anecdotal, we’ve got good replies back,” said Michelle Pearson, Duke’s social media director. “We’re still working to formulate where we go from here, and an important part of that is listening to our customers and other important people out there.”

As businesses attract more followers, more will be asked of them when it comes to interaction.

“If you join Twitter and just blast out a bunch of messages about yourself and your company, it’s going to fail,” Uttley said. “It’s about empowering the consumer…they have more of a say in expressing their opinions and getting feedback.”

Monitoring and responding to that feedback can take serious juggling skills, not just because some social media strategists are monitoring multiple platforms — Twitter, Facebook, blogs — but multiple accounts on those platforms as well.

“It’s a 24/7 job. My phone is constantly beeping with updates,” Morejon said. “The Internet doesn’t sleep and people don’t stop talking. You have to engage them and listen to them.”

The job, Keath said, is rewarding.

“It’s a rewarding career path because I’m more or less connecting people and helping people,” Keath said. “I consider myself an idea guy…It’s a great outlet for someone with a lot of ideas to help people.”

http://mecktimes.wordpress.com

Key to Sucess: A Solid Marketing Strategy

"Without a solid marketing strategy, you will have no blueprint to follow."

In order to create success for your business, you need a plan. Organization helps you know when to hire new people, what functions to attend, where to spend money, and how to better develop your business. Learn how to create an effective marketing strategy with advice from this article.

Visit http://www.examiner.com/x-12418-NY-Market-Research-Examiner~y2009m8d5-Planning-Your-Marketing-Strategy-Quickly-and-Effectively

9 Ways to Pump Up You, the Brand

With the stressful economic times, everyone could use a breath of fresh air when it comes to their branding strategy. Get yourself involved in the networking community through new means of communication. Focus on relationship building. And venture outside your comfort zone. Here are some tips and tricks to help you pump up your brand.

Visit http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/30/9-ways-to-pump-up-you-the-brand/

Twitter 101: How to be a better tweeter

Okay, we get it. Twitter is all the rage. But what are "good tweets" and how do you get in touch with the right people? Who do you follow? Check out this article for a little Twitter 101.

Visit http://www.examiner.com/x-14552-Providence-Social-Media-Examiner~y2009m7d30-Twitter-101-How-to-be-a-better-tweeter