I can’t tell you how many jobs I’ve landed just by coming up in searches for my own name in Google. Since I am an Internet marketing professional having a web presence is a must. What if you’re not a marketing professional, is a web presence something you should work on and will it benefit you? The answer of course is…Yes!
As with any business your brand is what people identify with. If you are a freelancer or a consultant you are your brand. When you Google your name what comes up? How many results are of you? How many are of someone else? If someone wanted to hire you and learn more about you what would they find? These are important questions.
It should also be important to you that when a search is done on your name that information pertaining to you and your area of expertise shows up. Why? The top reason “people searches” are done on the net is to establish ones credibility.
Not having anything is almost as bad as finding something bad. Does your Myspace page show a picture of you flipping off viewers? That could be damaging and costly to your image and reputation. You can keep your personal profiles private, just don’t have damaging content or photo’s showing in your limited profile.
How To Brand Yourself
You can start by creating some profiles on some popular networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Google and others. A crucial factor here is to make sure you are active as well as making sure these profiles are completed with a bio, posts and photos of you. Don’t let these profiles collect dust.
You need to make it easy for people to find out who you are and what you do. A Linkedin profile for example will list recommendations from past co-works and clients as well as your resume. Savvy business people will quickly see if you are on there and if they are linked to you in anyway. They will also be curious to see what people have said about you and your work. So building this profile is a must.
Knowledge Is Power
How knowledgeable are you? How can people find out if you are? Can your contributions be found in a search? On the net you need to have a certain level of credibility before people will do business with you. If you are not sure how to share your expertise and credibility I will give you a few ideas.
Interviews: Reach out to websites, publications, blogs and other related outlets and offer your knowledge in form of an interview. Don’t be afraid to pitch an idea for an interview topic.
Webinars: Webinars are great because people can get more of a personal feel for you. It helps build your credibility because you can answer questions and offer advice.
Podcasts: Share you knowledge on a regularly basis. This is great for building a following and a future client base.
Guest Article / Post: Creating a guest article or post is a great way to tap into another sites traffic. Just be sure you ask for a link back to your site so you can benefit from the traffic and hopefully some link juice.
Video / Tutorials: Creating video is a great way to build yourself as an expert. Online video tutorials or slideshows help educate while helping you build your brand.
Create Your Own Blog: Creating a blog is a great way to build your own readership while building your organic traffic. It is also one of the best ways to build your credibility.
On any content you create or contribute to… you need to socially bookmark it. It doesn’t matter if it is on your site or not. Create accounts in all the major networks; Twitter, Digg, Linkedin, Facebook, Stumbleupon and so on. This will help increase your exposure to new readers and show how knowledgeable you are on a topic.
You should now have what you need to starting building yourself up as an expert and making yourself stand apart from the crowd. There is nothing like telling someone “Google me to learn more about who I am an what I do”. It works for me everyday and it can work for you.
Joe Balestrino is a Internet Marketing Consultant located in New York City and is available for consulting on all forms of search marketing and internet marketing.
