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You Are Your Own Social Media Brand

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Social Media Brand

Hi there I’m Brian owner of blog engage and this is my first guest post here at the famous bloggers website. I want to thank Hesham for allowing me to have this great opportunity.

Let’s face it we all make mistakes when we first start into this new world of social media marketing and social networking. The key here is to take note of these mistakes and fix them as we move forward.

Just like a product or service you have to listen to what others are saying about you and fix the issues in which they are facing. When joining social communities it’s so important to keep the same user name and picture everywhere you go. Could you imagine how unsuccessful Nike would be if they didn’t use the same brand image when they created and launched new clothing lines?

So next time you consider creating a new website account with any of the popular social networks think twice about your personal brand and how it’s going to affect you. Trust me when I say using the same picture and user name will make the biggest difference in your brand management.

Things to consider when joining a social community

  • Same User name
  • Same Picture
  • Same Attitude

Try and keep things as consistent as you can. Consistency is one of the things all successful brands have in common. As the title says you are your own social media brand.These are just some personal and small social networking tips I would like to pass on and share with you all.

I remember when I first started building the Blog Engage brand. I signed up on some websites as bbrian017 and other website as blog engage. This was a huge mistake as many people started to get confused to who bbrian017 was and why I was representing blog engage.

This is the main reason I started doing everything online as bbrian017. I’m no longer sending my customers or members mixed communications about who I am or who blog engage is.

You might ask why I decided to use bbrian017 instead of blog engage. I had good reasoning and here are some reasons.

Blog Engage Brand

Blog Engage was going to be a big brand name already. We had over 1000 members about a year ago so I knew if I needed to work on anything it was going to be me and my own brand. Also if and when I decided to sell Blog Engage I would had been left all alone standing by myself. But now people know me by name and respect me for who I am and not what I represent.

Let me know your thoughts on the entire process. Do you like to be consistent? Do you use different user names and pictures? Join us in discussion and give some feedback on the whole idea.

Thanks,

Brian

Image credits:  Brand Identity

About

Hi There my name is Brian, I'm the owner of social network for bloggers named Blog Engage. I also own a personal blog about SEO and Marketing check it out if you wish.

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{ 65 Responses }

  1. raksamuda says:
    good morning brian, In my opinion, they are able to build a big name who will get success, steps that you show is very nice, the image becomes an interesting topic, since from there one can recognize the individual / owner, also a model, image plays a very important
  2. John says:
    Hi Brian, All the tips you had mention in your article are really very helpful, i had seen many people while doing these mistakes. For any brand building we need to follow these guidelines, i am agree with you
  3. Patsy says:
    Hmm Blogengage has become more like an article site for how to blog/seo/twitter
  4. Jason Jumat says:
    "Same username", "Same picture", "Same attitude". I like this saying and it's quite essential whilst building your own brand online showing that people may trust you.
  5. James Pruitt says:
    Great post on branding. Sometimes I am surprised that people do not take better advantage of branding themselves. I use the same user name almost everywhere I go, and I have the same picture on my avatar everywhere including my Gravatar. It is also the same picture that I use on my About James page on my blog, so that people can instantly identify it as me when they recognize my picture from my social profiles.
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi James thanks for posting a comment and sharing your personal experience. I'm glad it's working out for you. The picture is very important. I don't have one on my about Brian page I might consider doing that. Thanks for the idea.
  6. SEO Company says:
    wow ultimate points for making good brand reputation, i also use same picture same user name in my profile as my company profile...
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hey SEO Company thanks for the kind words on my article I really appreciate it!
  7. Colleen says:
    Using the same picture is a good point. I've seen too many folks switch avatars from platform to platform and this practice distorts the image somewhat.
    • bbrian017 says:
      Thanks for the feedback and comment Colleen. I'm a huge fan of people using the same images when marketing online.
  8. Dan Keller says:
    Brian, Solid post and sound advice. In fact, about a month ago I started to shift away from commenting as "tycoon blogger" and I have been using my own pic for my Twitter profile, etc. I agree, If I ever sell my blog I still want people to know who Dan Keller is in the blogging world.
    • Hesham says:
      This is Great Dan, it's the first time I notice your personal image on the comments, pretty nice step ;)
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Dan I'm loving the new brand your representing I think ti's a huge step in the right direction.
  9. Dennis Edell says:
    It's good to know I got it down to a science. My name, DE logo/avatar, and attitude go EVERYWHERE. It definitely works, I can wholeheartedly vouch for that. ;)
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Dennis thanks for posting your experience and letting other know the method can in fact work when done correctly.
  10. Nabeel says:
    Yes I agree. Consistency is the key. If you make different user names in forums, in social networks, in blogs, then you are just not building your brand. People find it a lot more irresistible to click when the same brand/name is reinforced in front of them. Even is offline examples, you can find 'persuasive advertising' where the main aim is to reinforce the brand image, as there is nothing more than a 'Coca-Cola' name on the ad, no description, no nothing, just the name. This helps to reinforce the brand, and we subconsciously let it enter in our minds. -Nabeel
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Nabeel great points you have added to our discussions.. Your example are just right on and target to what we are talking about. Branding is so important and at times it's under estimated.
  11. Asad says:
    Brian you made good pints about branding and example of Nike was very good.Your brand is your identity and you should never change because it will certainly decrease your brand value and your brand awareness will be effected.
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Asad thanks so much for posting a comment and stopping by. I'm happy you enjoyed the article and support what had to say. Branding is so important in today's industry.
  12. ZK says:
    Impressed with your future thoughts. As now your are bbrian017 and under this you will be able to promote many other projects not only blogengage. Good ...
    • bbrian017 says:
      Yup that's the plan ZK and I have start a few projects under bbrian017 and it's working great.
  13. Julius Kuhn-Regnier says:
    Nice article Brian. I agree with you consistency is important if you want to brand yourself online. And I think you have done a great job branding yourself. I have also made the mistake of using different user names among other things. But I think it's much more important for you to be consistent then for the average blogger because of your social media community.
    • ZK says:
      Consistency is one thing which is common in all top bloggers and I think this can be one of the most important point along with great contents.
    • bbrian017 says:
      Perhaps you are right and the average blogger doesn't need to be so consistent. But I don't think it would bad just practicing these suggestions. In the long run you will always benefit more from continuing the same brand name.
  14. Henry says:
    Gravatars was a big leap towards keeping that brand image with you everywhere you go. I love it! What are your thoughts on building your brand separately from the brand of a company you own and actively promote? ~Henry~
    • bbrian017 says:
      Actually Henry Gravatar was an amazing idea. It allows you to easly manage multiple brands while using any given e-mail. I think the idea was simply brilliant. Thanks for posting about that for the readers to see!
  15. Felix Albutra says:
    Wow! You did a great post Brian. I thought that big time bloggers are not allowed here. Hehehhee just kidding. But anyway, this is a great information I ever have. I also have an account in blogengage and also joined of Hesham. - Felix Albutra
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Felix , thanks for the nice compliment. I also enjoyed your joke I laughed when I got the comment reply e-mail haha! I' glad your part of the blog engage community hopefully we will see more of you soon. It's funny but I don't recall your name but I do however recall your image. nice branding bro!
      • Felix Albutra says:
        Thanks that you that you remember my gravatar icon. I created a group in blog engage called, Young Blogger and Entrepreneur Club. It is not so popular but I will invite more friends to join in... I also receive good referral traffic from BE that's why I love it so much... - Felix Albutra
  16. marcus says:
    Greta reasoning for not keeping blog engage as your brand name. Even if you never sell blog engage you might want to "engage" in other ventures and your brand can help with instant credibility.
    • bbrian017 says:
      Himarcus , that was my exact opinion when I made my decision. I still have the twitter user name blog engage but I do not use it much because I'm busy branding myself.
  17. Shirley Osei-Mensah says:
    I got myself into the branding mess myself, Brian. It was with my Twitter username. I use Shirleyom everywhere, it's a combination of my name Shirley and my surname's initials. But I used shirleyszone on Twitter as my username and built a brand around it there instead of using Shirleyom but I wanted to be recognized by the Shirleyom username cos the shirleyszone username was in relation to my blog. So just last week I switched the usernames around and now everything is back to normal. I didn't lose any followers or anything. I just switched the usernames :). I think branding is a really important thing everyone must take into consideration or else I wouldn't have gone through this long process of switching usernames :). Great post :).
    • ZK says:
      What about other social networks such as facebook or Digg. What user name do you use at their. I highly recommend this post to every newbie who want to start blogging or internet business.
      • Shirley Osei-Mensah says:
        Hi ZK, On Digg I use Shirleyom too but on Facebook I use shirleyszone cos when Facebook made the usernames available for the first time someone got hold of the Shirleyom name before I could. I just couldn't believe it, hehe :D. And everywhere too I use Shirleyom except for FriendFeed where I use shirelyszone. So I think I've got hold of my personal brand more than enough :). Want to clap for me? :D :P
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi there Shirley I'm glad to see you eventually sorted it all out and started increasing the power of your own brand. Congrats many people never catch on it's good you picked up on it.
      • Shirley Osei-Mensah says:
        Thanks, Brian :).
  18. Ryan says:
    Hi Brian, Thanks for the helpful tips. Consistency is important if people are to familiarize themselves with you. By seeing the same name and face on different networks and blogs people will start to say...."This guy's all over the place, what's he up to?" Hence the click through to learn more and your brand grows. Ryan
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Ryan thanks for posting and supporting my guest post. Your absolutely right with your statement. branding is so important!
  19. Gera says:
    Branding today is so important in every aspect of your life: for yourself, for a company, for a government, even for countries. The same rules apply to bloggers who engage in the social media area. These are solid tips! Stumbled this article. Cheers, Gera
    • bbrian017 says:
      Gera thanks so much for the stumble! I'm really happy you enjoyed the article. I think your are dead on right when you commented on how important branding really is.
  20. Kharim says:
    ٩(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾) Very great article Brian... BlogEngage rocks :)
    • Hesham says:
      Who is that on the left? LOL!
      • Kharim says:
        lol nobody special :)
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Kharim thanks for the support and nice comment.
  21. Dana says:
    Great simple tip. One brand name in entire of our online activities surely will live up our brand name.
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Dana I'm really happy you enjoyed the article! Thanks for stopping by and supporting the cause and posting a comment.
  22. Hesham says:
    This is a very useful post Brian, it's great to share mistakes so other could learn from it as a live example and personal experience of yours! I had the same problem when I started promoting FB and my other sites, but I discover it fast, I created different Twitter account for FB so it will start alone, and I am using my personal account on social media and bookmark sites, so probably you will find me as Hesham or hishaman not FamousBloggers! I even changed my avatar I was using before to my personal image, I thought this will be better for branding! Also one of the most hateful things is when guest bloggers use their company logos or whatever brand instead of their own personal image! I really don't like that and I contact them all the time asking them to change that image because you don;t have to write here because someone else is paying you ;) I keep telling them that FamousBloggers is a blog to brand and promote yourself not a company! Thanks again Brian for this awesome entry
    • bbrian017 says:
      First Hesham I thank you for this great opportunity to blog here amongst so many friends and familiar faces. I've enjoyed my friendship with you over the past 2 years. It's amazing how fast that time has gone by. I'm happy you enjoy my article friend! Thanks so much.
  23. Tola says:
    I didnt realise how true this was until I started visiting a number of communities and started seeing similar pictures and then it would click, hey! I saw you on famous blogger! or blog engage! And it makes me want to engage or assist that person almost immediately! It really does go a long way... Nice guest post Brian...
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Tola thanks so much for the retwer and comment here on my guest article. I think many people underestimate the power of their own brand and should start focusing on getting out their own personal message. The example in your comment is the exact reason I like to think of myself as a brand and not only a person. Thanks so much for adding that to our discussion.
  24. Nasrul Hanis says:
    Yeah, I agree. Using too many brands/names is a big mistake and I did that. Now I realized that it's blocking my own brand to grow. Use same name, same way, same brand especially if you're running more than one sites or you yourself will get confused!
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hey well at least you started noticing many people do this and keep trying to have success but fail. You have to create a brand everyone will talk about. One name one person!
  25. element321 says:
    Brian, good to see you guest posting over here. Great post. Blog Engage is still one of my top 5 traffic making bookmarking sites. As for your post, I agree with you. If you are using social media to promote your website, buisness, your brand or anything else that is important, then you need to have one image that everyone on all networks will know you by...
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hey James thanks for stopping by and comment on my guest post I really appreciate it. I'm happy you enjoyed the write up. I've been writing a lot on the subject lately! I'm also happy you're enjoying the community of blog engage hope to see you active for days to come.
  26. Dev says:
    Hey Brian, Glad to see you here man. Blogengage is one of the best social bookmarking site. Your hard work is paying off :). Keep it up man. Thanks for sharing this post. ~Dev
    • bbrian017 says:
      Hi Dev thanks so much for the positive feedback and support! We love having you as a member as well. I hope to see you counting your support and using the community.