The Dos and Don’ts of Building Your Brand On-line

1. Take a stand.
   Strong brands have something to say and they say it with passion and conviction. If you build a me-too site, no-one is going to pay attention. So don't be timid; use your web site or blog to clearly express your opinion. Caution: don’t be too controversial, you don’t want to alienate everyone.
   
   
2. Watch where you tread.
   Avoid visiting and commenting at sites that contain questionable material. You leave a virtual fingerprint everywhere you go. Don’t build an on-line identity that could come back to haunt you.
   
   
3. Go for quality over quantity.
   If you can only invest a small amount of money and time to your web site or e-portfolio, go for one or two pages with quality images, stellar copy and easy navigation. Often, your web identity IS your identity. It’s OK to leave them wanting more, just don’t turn them off.
   
   
4. Link back.
   Ensure that all of your postings, articles, comments, reviews, etc. point back to your web site with your contact details. There's no building interest if you don't give people a way to get in touch with you.
   
   
5. Build it over time.
   If you write and e-publish one article every other month, you will have six by the end of the year. Again, shoot for quality. One page of google results that leads to a series of high-quality experiences with your personal brand will propel people to take the next step to learn more about you.
   
   
6. Be consistent.
   To build a solid reputation, you must be known for something, not a hundred things. So build your on-line identity around who you are and what makes you relevant and compelling to those people who need to know about you. Don’t try to be all things to all people. The right people will find you on the web and all kinds of opportunities will emerge.
   
   
7. Watch what you put in your Blog.
   Badmouthing your current employer or revealing corporate information could get you sacked. There have been numerous firings over Blogs in the recent months. A survey from the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that 3 percent of companies had disciplined employee bloggers.
   
   
8. Call in the professionals.
   If you don’t have the skills to build a quality web site or blog site, hire someone who can. This is an investment in your career or business. When it comes to managing your reputation, don’t be frugal. Remember, to some, your on-line identity IS your identity. Make sure it says something positive about you.
   

You must understand your brand - your unique promise of value - before you get to work on your on-line identity. What's your brand? Find out with the Reach Brand Discovery Workbook.

Do you want to know how others would decribe you? Check out 360Reach.

Learn more about the Express - the Brand Communications Phase of the Reach 1-2-3 Success! Personal Branding Process.