Branding yourself is a term used to describe a process. It is the process of uncovering your unique and valuable strengths as an individual. We all have strengths, never sell yourself short. Everyone is an expert in something. To brand yourself, you then use your unique strengths to establish yourself as a well-known expert in those areas. By identifying yourself as an expert, you create a niche, or single area of focus. The purpose of finding your niche and branding yourself is to develop a following of people interested in your specific area of expertise. You want to present yourself as a reliable source of expert information in your brand.

What are You Good At Doing?

The first step to branding yourself is of course to discover what you are good at doing. If your strengths are not obvious to you immediately, ask some of your friends and family what they think you do well. They will likely have several answers. Consider which of these strengths you want to pursuit as your brand. Once you have discovered your brand, you should develop a branding statement. A branding statement for an individual is like a corporate mission statement. It is a clear, concise and well thought out statement of exactly what you plan to accomplish with your brand. The purpose of a branding statement is to allow you to see in black and white your goals and purpose. Consult your branding statement regularly to keep from losing track of your purpose as you develop your brand.

So How Do I Brand Myself Online?

Now that you have developed your branding statement, it is time to establish yourself as an expert. The best way to do this is online. The internet allows global users to see your work, your talents, and discover you as an expert 24 hours a day. There are several ways to be seen online including creating a website, or blog, writing articles, and commenting in other blogs, or forums. As you do this, remain focused on your niche. You do not want to include things in your writing, blog, or comments that are not within your area of expertise.

The Good and the Bad

Realize that branding yourself online takes time. The most common mistake is to rush. If you rush to publish articles, make blog posts or leave comments, you will likely make mistakes that lead to poor quality. If you want people to see you as an expert, you must continually make quality posts, quality comments, and quality writing. Take the time to develop well thought out work. Do not leave vague comments solely for the purpose of posting a link. This will discredit you online.

Using Social Media to Promote Your Brand

Social Media is a great way to help get the word out about your website, blog, and articles. There are numerous social networks you can use to promote yourself and establish your personal brand. Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, Digg and Myspace are just a few social networking sites where you can link and promote to your work.

When you use social media, it is best to begin with the accounts you are already using. If you have a network of Twitter followers already established go ahead and promote your online content there. You will want to clean your online profiles of any information that isn’t specifically related to your brand. But, using already established social media accounts will help you kick-start online promotion of your brand.

It is important to participate in these social networks rather than simply using them solely as a method of promotion. You can also answer questions on answer websites such as Yahoo answers or Answers.com to establish yourself as an expert and refer readers to your online content.