A prime example of this was Blog Action Day earlier this month, when thousands of bloggers worldwide wrote about poverty. Not only did this show a combined voice on the desperation of poverty itself, it also proved how social media – when used cohesively – can open up a line of discussion on topics that are so often ignored or swept under the carpet.

Also this month, it’s been National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While millions of people offline have been wearing pink ribbons to signify support, social media users have been showing support in their own ways. Twitter users have turned their profile pictures pink, while MySpace members have pink ribbon themes to offer their support.

Next month sees the annual Movember charity event, which highlights the importance of men’s health and getting regular check-ups. Of particular importance is looking for early signs, and prevention, of prostate cancer.

To support the event, men everywhere are being encouraged to grow moustaches – hence the name Movember (moustaches in November). I’m already getting my Twitter profile picture readied for the month, as are countless other men and women worldwide.

This is where social media is so inspiring to me.

Just making the small effort to change a Twitter profile pic (or any online profile), encouraging people to ask what it’s about, which in turn gets them involved. Strangers blogging about the same topic, offering a unified voice often more powerful than any newspaper or traditional media source.

Social media often gets cynical looks from people who don’t understand it, or who see it as a passing fad that will soon be replaced with the next big thing. While that may indeed happen, until then it offers a unique way for millions of voices to be heard and make a stand. Surely that’s something to applaud?

Using Social Media to Inspire originally appeared on Danny Brown - under a Creative Commons license.

In today’s business world, particularly with the proliferation of Web 2.0 resources for marketing and promoting your company/name/product, it’s becoming even more blurry to define what exactly a brand is.

One thing that is definable, however, is that if you do have an effective and immediately recognizable brand, your business will be better positioned to succeed over your competitors. So how do you build your brand today?

Build Your Experience

If your brand is defined by who you are and what you offer, then the experience you have is going to be crucial at backing up your brand claims. After all, why should a business entrust you with building their brand if your own isn’t all that impressive? On the flip side, make sure your experience is in the field relevant to the brand you wish yourself or your company to be known for.

Self-Promotion is the Way Forward

Although you may feel that self-promotion is akin to egomania, how else are you going to get your brand known? Sure, if you have a client or two that mentions your services to a professional colleague or business partner, that’s the best kind of promotion you can have. Yet as much as we’d like to think our clients talk about us even in their sleep, that’s not always a realistic view.

Instead, start pushing your name out there. However, make sure you keep on the right side of self-promotion – after all, no-one likes a show-off. Some excellent ways of self-promotion include:

• Setting up your own domain name (especially now that .me is available)
• Have an online as well as offline resume
• Set up a blog to share your views on the topic(s) you wish to be associated with
• Use web applications like MeeID to show short snippets of information about you

The importance of using these types of self-promotion can’t be stated enough. Google makes it incredibly easy for information on companies and individuals to be found – if your brand doesn’t stand up to the scrutiny of an online search by a potential client, you may as well kiss goodbye to any chance of success.

Offer Your Expertise

Similar to building your experience, becoming an expert in your niche (and sharing that expertise) is a proven way to build your brand – just look at Chris Brogan for a good example. After all, what could be better than having someone immediately thinking of you as “the go to guy” when it comes to a certain area of help or expertise being needed? Write free articles or white papers; offer to speak at local conferences or meetings; offer to write a regular column in your local newspaper. All of these methods will steadily help identify you as someone to come to, either from a business or professional point of view.

It’s All in the Relationships

One of the best and most effective methods of building your brand is via your relationships. As I mentioned when speaking about self-promotion, word-of-mouth is still the best form of promotion around. Therefore, the more contacts you have and networks you belong to, the more chance there is of being talked about.

When you meet someone and become contacts with each other, maintain that relationship. Keep in touch and ask how they’re doing, as well as offering tidbits of your latest news and successes. By looking after each relationship, you’re more likely to be recommended to other people than someone who just contacts someone when you need something.

Of course, building your brand is just half the battle. Keeping it is just as difficult – there will always be contemporaries and business competitors after the same target audience as you. This is why it’s so important to continuously strive to improve and strengthen your brand at every opportunity. Look after your contacts; look after your clients; increase your knowledge and never stop learning.

In answer to the original question, your brand is quite simply you. Make sure you look after it.

Today’s World and the Importance of Brand You originally appeared on Danny Brown - under a Creative Commons license.