Creating a brand new you: Why personal branding is so crucial today

Most of my blogs so far have been about how I can improve myself as I step into the business world of PR.  As of right now, I still feel like I know nothing about that business outside of school.  I am still looking for an internship to help me know more about my chosen career before I have to just jump head first into finding a job in an economy that makes it near impossible.  In my quest to find out more about the PR world, I came across an article about creating your personal brand.  

Jerry Wilson, senior vice president of The Coca-Cola Company and president of the Global McDonald's Division, explained a few things that individuals need to know about branding themselves.  Most of his advice is for professionals trying to rebrand themselves within the PR world, but I got a lot out of what he said.  Given this economy, you really have to stand out.  He said that it's not just what you wear that defines your brand, but your personality as well.  Wilson stated that we can learn a lot about how to brand yourself by the success businesses have had with branding their companies.  The reason most of these brands like Coca-Cola or McDonald's are so successful is because they are so consistent with their brand and message.  "Consistency, especially in the PR world, communicates," Wilson said.  I believe that is important as well.  If you advertise yourself in your resume that you are reliable and always on time, you can't be late three days the first week.  It is inconsistent and your employer will see right through you.  You would not be branding yourself correctly. 

Something else Wilson said really struck me.  He said that you have to audit yourself.  In order to improve upon your best qualities and fix your worse, you need to be able to look at yourself with a crucial eye.  You have to pick out the bad parts of your personality even if it is painful in order to rebrand yourself.  I good way of categorizing your strengths and weaknesses, would be to do a SWOT analysis on yourself.  "People have to look through the eyes of another for SWOT," Wilson said.  It is the best way of getting the truth without it being contaminated by your own ego.

This article really helped me understand what I need to do to leverage my best attributes. I know what my weaknesses and strengths are.  Now I just need to figure out how to use my strengths to my best ability and to work on my weaknesses to get me at the top of my game.  

Engaging online knows no limits

More and more people are joining online social networking including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and much, much more.  With this rapid expansion online, businesses and professionals are starting to pay closer attention to everything they see on these social networking websites.  The lines between personal communication and professional communication has blurred.  Everything you post can be read by your future employers and the rest of the professional world.  

Barri Rafferty from Ketchum wrote that even every word counts.  Twitter is a prime example of this.  The poster's thoughts are limited to just 140 characters per update, so they have to be concise and to the point.  Rafferty also talked about a tweet problem is his own company.  a colleague fired off an offensive tweet about a client's hometown without actually using the name of the city.  Even though the colleague of Rafferty's didn't mean any harm by posting his thoughts at the time, he wasn't professional in his use online.  Everything can and will be seen by someone.  That colleague was unprofessional and unlucky enough to have the wrong person read what he wrote.  

Rafferty also mentions five things to keep in mind when posting online. His first insight was that the private is becoming public.  Like I stated earlier, nothing is completely secret anymore.  You can't post something online and expect that you will be the only one to see it.  "Our professional work as communicators can be impacted by a personal comment," Rafferty said, "so we must appreciate the convergence of the worlds in which we live."  His second insight was that context still matters.  Even though speech may be restricted to 140 characters or must be written at the speed of lightning, context should still be at top of mind.  The third insight was remember there are 360 degrees of connections. Rafferty just meant that the poster must not only think about who they are posting to, but who else might read it.  For example, by posting this very blog, I know that my classmates are reading it, but I also need to think about any public relations professionals that might come across it!  His fourth insight was that the stakes are higher than ever.  With communication at the speed of lightning online, every post has the possibility of creating a conversation.  With this possibility, every post has to be correct.  All the facts must be checked before they are posted! 

His last insight I found most important.  Rafferty stated that we're all accountable.  Every time we post something, it is under scrutiny by someone else.  Everything posted on Twitter or a public blog is public domain.  We should all remember that next time we post! 

To check out Rafferty's article, click here. 

Taking an Internship... it's important!

As I was browsing through the PRSSA website, I came across an article that staff writer Shanna Williamson wrote about taking an internship.  

You can view the article here: click here

I agree that having that experience will do wonders for your future!  For the last two summers I have participated in a great internship with a small company called Jay Geier's Scheduling Institute.  I worked with the marketing and advertising department to get real experience in this field.  There is only so much you can learn in a classroom!  At the internship, I got to put everything I learned to good use.  Since I got real world examples of everything I learned, I remembered it better.  In Williamson's article she stated that employers use intern's time as a learning experience.  They know that you are not a professional yet, but they still want to give you all the experience possible so maybe one day you will be qualified enough to take on a job like theirs.  While working a an intern, I was able to help put together marketing pieces for their potential clients and see how the whole process works.  It was very beneficial to me.  

Since I am majoring in advertising and public relations, I would love to take on another internship.  At this point in college I still don't know if I prefer advertising or public relations.  Hopefully I can find an internship for the summer that can help me decide.  Williamson said by taking an internship, she was able to "try on" all the different areas of public relations.  I think this is what I need.  I want real experience so I can make an informed decision.  I want a career that I love.  An internship is the ideal way to see if public relations is for me!