Chapter 3

Chapter 3 in Social Media for Strategic Communication was all about personal and professional branding. There are many different things to consider when making your brand and they can make or break your online profile. The important components of a personal brand consist of personality, consistency, and expertise. All three of these can help you keep a positive brand and make sure you look professional on your sites.

Bryan Kramer says that there are six different types of personal brands consisting of Altruist, Careerist, Early Adopter, Boomerang, Connector, and Selective. The Altruist brand depicts how the individuals are committed to helping others in the community and actions speak louder than words, an example of an Altruist is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. With a Careerist brand, you are more interested in professional advancement over personal achievements, an example of this type of bran is Gini Dietrich or Jay Baer. The Early Adopter brand is where individuals tend to be the first to share something to their followers and friends and are dedicated to being independent of each other, an example of this is Carlos Gil and Rosanna Pansino. Boomerang, the fourth type of personal brand focuses on individuals that share content to generate a reaction from others whether it be positive or negative, an example of this is Robert Scoble. The fifth type of personal brand is a Connector which are people who are the ultimate networkers and try to make sure everyone knows each other, an example of this is Deirdre Breankenridge. The final type of personal brand is Selective where individuals only share relevant information to a select group of people and are usually exclusive in their networking, an example of Selective is Jason Falls.

It is important to know what kind of personal brand you are shooting for because there are many benefits associated with establishing a strong personal brand.