Manage Your Career Like a Great Brand with Guest Blogger Danielle Walsmith

This week, I thought I'd share some advice from Marketing Guru Danielle Walsmith. I've learned so much in working with her when it comes to managing my brand and hope you do too...

FROM DANIELLE:
Last week I saw this blog post on MarketingProfs Daily Fix about owning your digital identity. It talks about owning your own domain name, just like Maggie owns MaggieMistal.com, but also about owning your user names on social networking sites such as Flickr, Twitter and YouTube, so that others don’t end up owning your digital identity or making a mockery of it.

After reading it, I immediately Googled myself to check out my own digital identity – luckily most of what is listed is stuff I’m familiar with already. But some of it dates back five years or more, and that’s a good reminder of how permanent our digital identity can be. I also Googled Maggie, since I’m writing for her blog, and was relieved to discover that she owns her own user name on her Amazon profile!

Have you Googled yourself lately? It’s a good idea to do so on a regular basis to check in on your digital identity. If your user names are all over the map, or a variety of nicknames, it may be time to edit some of them. If your search results reveal info that is outdated or irrelevant to the personal brand you’re cultivating, you might consider some options for boosting more positive results. These include setting up a website on your own domain name, starting a blog under your domain name and posting often, Twittering frequently and posting thoughtful comments on blogs you read frequently.

Managing your brand online is just as important as managing it offline.

Danielle Walsmith is a small business coach in Los Angeles focused on working with female entrepreneurs launching or expanding their own businesses. She has over 10 years of experience as a communications professional with an emphasis on PR, marketing, strategic planning and personal branding. For more info about Danielle, you can visit her website at www.sweettalkconsulting.com.