RE:THINK

Dan Schawbel has recently finished his book “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success”

Given the title of the book, I wanted to explain what this means for YOU 2.0.

We have all heard of Web 2.0, and we all know the 2.0 stands for the 2nd version of the web right?  WRONG.  This is part of the story, but the interesting thing to know is that the 2.0 also means there are now 2 people in the conversation.  Web 1.0 was all about direct advertising, and pushing messages at you with little engagement or consultation.  As consumers, we now demand more than this, we want to be engaged, involved, listened to, and asked of our opinion.  Web 2.0 is all about the online tools that allow for this interaction - like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and blogging!  Media now needs to engage others, and involve them in the conversation…if you doubt this, just spend a moment to reflect on Barack Obama’s recent successful Presidential Campaign!

So what does this mean for YOU 2.0?

Not only does the media need to reflect the values of Web 2.0, but so too does your personal brand!  Like any successful web 2.0 and Social Media campaign, you should be considering how your personal brand delivers on the four essential stages of the 2.0 world!

1.  LISTENING - what are your target audience talking about, and what are they demanding from your personal brand.  Do they need you to be available or knowledgeable or to simply respond when they ask a question…either way, you need to be listening to you target audience (this is difficult if you do not know who you target audience is!)

2.  TALKING - do you encourage conversation about your skills, talents, products or services..what are you selling?  How do you encourage this conversation.  Do you take 2 or 3 customers to lunch on a monthly basis, do you introduce your network to one another?  You know your personal brand is powerful when others do the selling for you!

3.  INVOLVING - when was the last time you asked a customer or prospect for feedback on your services and your brand attributes?  When was the last time you asked friends or colleagues to explain you in 3 words or less.  If you ask for this feedback, be sure to thank them for it, and then demonstrate how you have taken this feedback on board.

4.  SUPPORTING - you know your personal brand is super effective when your prospects and customers are now solving one another’s problems, and speaking to one another about your services in a positive light!

5.  ENGAGING - the final stage in the YOU 2.0 process is the engagement of your target audience in the process of product and strategy development.  Who developed your last product or service..your customers or you?

So, how are you going to start listening to your target audience?  Think about these 5 steps and how you can integrate them into you business or life.  You can be assured that by following these 5 steps, you will find your personal brand will engage others, and draw them to you.

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