Madison Who’s Who Blog

Network strategies that employ blogs in building connections and community can provide an unanticipated boon for your personal brand. Who’s who in your online network? Are you? Do you want to be?

Darren Rowe at ProBlogger has several suggestions on how to promote your personal brand through your blog.

• build trust - increasingly marketers are finding that people want to know and be in some sort of trusting relationship with those that they buy products or services from. This is particularly true for a personal service like consulting…..
• be personal - building on the last point - one way to make a deeper connection with potential clients is to show something of who you are. This doesn’t mean blogging about your personal life, but show you’re human injecting humor, a photo or two of yourself and showing your personality.
• use story - I find readers respond very well to story on blogs. Stories of my own experience, stories of other clients (shared with permission as case studies) etc. Using relevant stories can help build credibility in your niche.

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To read the piece in it’s entirety, follow the link above - and bookmark it if you are developing a blog. You’ll find it a good resource.

Effective global networking requires a strong, distinguishable brand. If you are to make your mark as a solo operator and as a pro in your field of endeavor, you will have to perfect and finesse your personal brand or professional image.Trite as it may seem, that brand starts with appearance.

A networking acquaintance described the wake-up call she received on personal attire. You could call her an old hippie. She began promoting small local bands and climbed her way to representing some heavy weights in the music industry. She was particularly proud of her iconoclastic personal style, from her tattoos to her penchant for showing up at important client meets dressed as if she were attending one of her own rock events.

Finally a colleague took her aside after losing a big account and pointed out her flippant style no longer carried any currency in the business. It screamed a lack of professionalism.She hired a professional consultant and revamped her entire wardrobe. She is still amazed at the difference it has made.

Rica Duffus Cuff, president and founder of Etiquette Works Inc., offers the following suggestions,excerpted,in part, below.

• On the golf course or tennis court. For men, good quality, conservative golf and tennis attire is acceptable. Golf and tennis shoes should be well maintained.
• For women, the same general rules apply. Collared shirts are acceptable for the golf course. Steer clear of tight slacks or shorts and blouses that are sheer or have a plunging neckline.
• For black-tie or formal events. It may be worth your while to buy a tuxedo if you attend enough formal affairs (five or more per year).
• For women, simple, elegant, and tasteful is what you want to look for…Watch your hemline, and remember a general rule of thumb: show form or flesh, not both.

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Peer to peer networking is an excellent vehicle for perfecting the marketing of your personal brand. Networking sites are scoured daily by recruiters and your online presence must be distinct, informative and succinct. AN increasingly popular method of achieving this objective is the creation of a video resume. Along with it’s growing popularity are differing schools of thought regarding it’s impact and efficacy.

The comments on  ERE.net’s “The Video Resume
Has the time come?” delineate the different perspectives. One person feels there is too much exposure and risk given some of the security considerations in today’s world. One commentor indicates the stance many corporations are taking to safeguard against litigation.

“There used to be a company that promoted video resumes for sales people but our corporate lawyers wouldn’t allow us even preview a sample video because they were concerned about the barn full of potential lawsuits it would expose our company to.

With video resumes, managers not only get to discriminate by race, but instantly get to discriminate based on age, figure, hair color or style, facial expressions, voice tone, clothes and a thousand other things that have nothing to do with job capability or performance.“

Another comment raises the issue of a new generation coming into the workforce who automatically prefer video resumes.

“Ok - This is where I think we are going to see clear generational lines. Personally - I can’t wait until the day this is the norm. As a recruiter, I HATED reading a fantastic resume only to bring in a candidate that made me fall asleep during an interview. Then, you are stuck for 30 min’s or so trying to wrap it up without seeming rude. Imagine having a paper and personality all at once!”

It will be interesting to see how the evolution of the video resume evolves.

Recruiters are moving away from the career fair into the more informal circles of social networking, calibrating recruitment efforts to create a more personal exchange with business school students.

“In addition to the cattle-call information sessions that have long been mainstays of the recruitment process, smaller, more informal networking events are proving increasingly popular. At top schools, first-year MBAs interested in banking or consulting can expect to attend upwards of 20 dinners, cocktail parties, and coffee chats over the course of the fall semester.”

That is not necessarily a transition that will sit well with many students for whom the notion of networking at a cocktail party “can still strike fear into the hearts of even the savviest student.”

In the interest of assuaging such fears, Business Week produces “The “Do Nots” of Networking”. Below is the abbreviated version and this link will take you to their article in full where the following suggestions are fleshed out.

1. Don’t go to every networking event advertised
2. Don’t go straight for the big-cheese
3. Don’t chow down
4. Don’t just stand there
5. Don’t be a brown-noser
6. Don’t ask yes-or-no questions:
7. Don’t ask only work-related questions
8. Don’t confuse informal with casual
9. Forget the hard sell, but don’t forget your story
10. Don’t overstay your welcome

The guidelines for peer to peer networking are, for the most part, generic and the above will strike many as simply common sense. Be it as a student or a seasoned pro, the point in all networking is to present your personal brand in a memorable and authentic manner.