When people think of you, how do they describe you?

If you own a business, what do your clients and customers have to say about it?

How does your presence on social media reflect your brand?

Definition of Branding

According to the American Marketing Association Dictionary: A brand is the “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s product distinct from those of other sellers.”

Often we think of logos when we think of a brand, such as this logo of the University of Wisconsin- Madison where I went to college.

But a brand goes far beyond a logo.

Entrepreneur.com had this to say about branding:

“Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.”

Social Media and Branding

One of the great things about social media is that the various social media platforms provide you numerous ways to brand yourself.

Keep in mind that not all branding is business related. In the broadest sense, branding is about your personal reputation and what you bring to the world.

Someone who is an experienced and knowledgeable gardener could rotate a variety of garden related photos as a cover photo on her or his personal Facebook page.

If you are on LinkedIn, there is a section called Skills and Expertise in your profile. Just today I noticed that more people have endorsed me for Social Networking than for any other skill that I have listed.

Here is a link to that profile so you can see how LinkedIn features my 10 skills that are endorsed the most frequently: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=5566300&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

To me, that shows that people recognize me for my abilities and knowledge in the use of social media, and I am very pleased about that.

Even the “boards” that you create on for your Pinterest profile and the items you “pin” to those boards give a clue to your personal brand.

Back to You

Are you using social media effectively to showcase your brand? Which social media platforms are the ones more suited than others to do that kind of showcasing for you?

It would be great to hear from you about what you have done to brand yourself and your business, should you own one.

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel, Founder of Boomers’ Social Media Tutor, helps people relatively new to social media to become more effective and comfortable in their use of this medium. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com