Branded Bio | Peter Sterlacci | Believe. Become. Be Your Brand

Vlogathon Day 13: Is Your LinkedIn Profile Hurting Your Personal Brand?

September 13, 2012 By Donna Serdula 6 Comments

Vlogathon Day 13: September 13th – Donna Serdula

Donna Serdula LOVES LinkedIn and she has established herself as one of the leading experts in optimizing LinkedIn profiles for career success. Her book LinkedIn Makeover: Professional Secrets to a POWERFUL LinkedIn Profile is an amazing resource of tips and strategies for creating a LinkedIn presence that stands out and gets noticed. I recently interviewed Donna as one of my ‘mechanics’ of personal branding so I was thrilled when she also said she wanted to be part of my 30-day Personal Branding Vlogathon. In her video below, Donna asks a critical question: Is your LinkedIn profile supporting or hurting your personal brand? She follows this with 5 tips to ensure your LinkedIn presence is supporting your personal brand. These tips are like GOLD so use them and you will start to see immediate results. Visit Donna’s site and get your copy of her book. It is worth it!

Enjoy Donna’s video and let us know what you think by commenting below. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Branded Bio, LinkedIn, Online Identity, Personal Branding, Personal branding tips, Vlogathon Tagged With: Donna Serdula, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Makeover, personal branding, Vlogathon

Vlogathon Day 1: Video – Your Personal Brand’s Killer App

September 1, 2012 By William Arruda 16 Comments

Welcome to the 30-day Personal Branding VLOGATHON!

Every day in September I will post a daily video from a different thought leader expressing their views on personal branding. You will be treated to 30 awesome videos that are sure to give you amazing content through the power of video.

I personally love sharing content via video as it builds immediate trust, credibility, and likeability! I guarantee you will love what you see. So please make sure to visit this blog every day in September for a new video and share, comment, and spread the word!

Vlogathon Day 1: September 1 – William Arruda

I could not be more pleased to have my mentor William Arruda kick off the 30-day Personal Branding Vlogathon! William is “the man” when it comes to personal branding and I have benefited so much from knowing him, being certified as a Master Personal Branding Strategist through his company Reach, and working with him as his Editor-in-Chief of Reach’s bimonthly newsletter, YOUnique. William predicted back in 2010 that video would revolutionize personal branding and as he shares in this video post, it truly is your personal brand’s killer app!

Enjoy William’s video and let us know what you think by commenting below! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Branded Bio, Personal Branding, Personal branding tips, Video, Vlogathon Tagged With: videoBIO, Vlogathon, William Arruda

Personal Brand ‘Mechanic’ Interview: Donna Serdula

August 29, 2012 By Peter Sterlacci 2 Comments

“Success on LinkedIn is getting off LinkedIn!” says Donna Serdula

I am so pleased to finally interview Donna Serdula. While there are many specialists and experts out there on how to use LinkedIn, Donna truly is the foremost expert in LinkedIn profile optimization. She founded LinkedIn-Makeover.com where she helps individuals from around the world brand themselves successfully using LinkedIn. Her book LinkedIn Makeover: Professional Secrets to a POWERFUL LinkedIn Profile is incredibly useful and extremely practical. I have applied many of her tips to my own profile and have been absolutely pleased with how my revised profile has led to new connections and business.

In this interview Donna shares why she ‘loves’ LinkedIn, how she got started, and her top 3 tips for a more powerful LinkedIn profile. You don’t want to miss this one! Enjoy her interview and stay tuned for the 2nd edition of her LinkedIn Makeover book being released this October.

Connect with Donna on LinkedIn [Read more...]

Filed Under: Brand message, Branded Bio, LinkedIn, Personal Brand Mechanics, Social Media Tagged With: Donna Serdula, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Makeover, personal branding

7 Ways to Capture Your Personal Brand on Video

July 21, 2012 By Peter Sterlacci 2 Comments

We all know the saying that a picture says a thousand words. Video takes those words one step further and makes them real and memorable. In the world of Web 2.0 people want information in bite-sized chunks. Video is a perfect medium for establishing your visual identity on the web and delivering your personal brand in a clear and concise way.

Only a couple years ago using video was going beyond what was expected in personal branding. Today it has become the norm. Consider this fact. In July 2011, ComScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, reported that 180 million Internet users in the US alone watched online video content. This averages almost 19 hours per viewer in a single month! For 2012, personal branding guru William Arruda says that video continues to be a major trend in branding through DIY (do it yourself) and professional platforms. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Branded Bio, Personal Branding, Personal branding tips, Video Tagged With: Gabby Wallace, Get Storied, Kimberly Bordonaro, LinkedIn, Pecha Kucha, personal branding, videoBIO

Your Branded Bio: The First Sentence

June 30, 2012 By Kirsten Dixson 6 Comments

30x30x30 Blogathon Post #30: June 30th – Kirsten Dixson

The final day has come and I couldn’t be more excited to have Kirsten Dixson bring the 30x30x30 Blogathon to a close. Kirsten is considered to be one of the top Personal Branding Strategists and original thought leaders in online reputation management. She has successfully helped hundreds of professionals market themselves for new careers since 1997. Her best-selling book Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand (Wiley 2007), co-authored with William Arruda, is considered one of the leading books in personal branding.

Enjoy Kirsten’s valuable insight as the final post of the Blogathon! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogathon, Brand message, Branded Bio, Personal Branding, Personal branding tips Tagged With: 30x30x30 blogathon, branded bio, Kirsten Dixson, personal branding, twitter

Content is King But Originality Trumps Everything!

June 11, 2012 By Catharine Fennell 2 Comments

30x30x30 Blogathon Post #11: June 11th – Catharine Fennell

Day 11 of the Personal Branding Blogathon features Catharine Fennell, Founder and CEO of videoBIO. videoBIO is redefining video creation with a flexible, multi-service platform to build your brand. Here is my videoBIO that was produced with a videoBIO producer in the comfort of my own home in Japan via their ‘distance record’ option. They also offer a cool ‘do it yourself’ platform, videoBIO D-I-Y, where you can create and share your own videos in less than 3 minutes! Video has become one of the most critical ways to expand your personal brand’s visibility and Catharine is leading the way with the best platform available by far. So of course, Catharine’s post for the Blogathon is in video!

Enjoy Catharine’s video post and see her special offer below the video! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogathon, Brand message, Branded Bio, Personal Branding, Video Tagged With: 30x30x30 blogathon, branded bio, Catharine Fennell, personal branding, videoBIO

Be Brandtastic! 5 Golden Rules for an ICONIC Personal Brand Experience

June 8, 2012 By Tanvi Bhatt 8 Comments

30x30x30 Blogathon Post #8: June 8th – Tanvi Bhatt

We are entering the second week of the Personal Branding Blogathon and Tanvi Bhatt kicks us off with her post on Day 8. Tanvi gives us her 5 Golden Rules to be ‘BRANDTASTIC’! In addition to being the only Certified Personal Branding Strategist in India, Tanvi is a corporate etiquette and grooming coach. She runs Panache Studios where she specializes in helping her clients create a branded, polished and professional image.

Get ready to be BRANDTASTIC and enjoy her post! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blogathon, Branded Bio, India, Passion, Personal Branding, Personal branding tips Tagged With: 30x30x30 blogathon, Brand SOUL, Brand VOICE, Brandtastic, iconic, Icons, Tanvi Bhatt

Brand Yourself ‘PechaKucha’ Style [Video]

April 18, 2012 By Peter Sterlacci 1 Comment

Imagine giving a presentation about yourself using only 20 slides that run non-stop at 20 seconds each? Once the presentation starts, you have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to get your point across. You cannot stop, you cannot pause, you cannot turn back. You are at the mercy of the PechaKucha Style of presenting!

PechaKucha is an excellent way to present your personal brand. Originally devised in Tokyo in 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public, it has turned into a worldwide phenomenon with ‘PechaKucha Nights’ happening in over 500 cities around the world. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

I recently presented at a PechaKucha Night in Nishinomiya, Japan on personal branding. Enjoy the video of my actual talk to see PechaKucha in action.

Have you experienced PechaKucha? Do you think you can brand yourself in 20 x 20? Let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Be your Brand, Branded Bio, Japan, Personal Branding, Presentation Tagged With: 360Reach, About.me, branded bio, Japan, LinkedIn, PechaKucha, Simon Sinek

Is Your Personal Brand in Full Bloom? [Video Tips]

April 18, 2012 By Peter Sterlacci Leave a Comment

Spring has finally arrived in Japan and with it comes cherry blossoms. With the explosion of pink blossoms we all know that the winter weather has finally passed. Japanese are drawn to these trees and are compelled to sit under them to enjoy the blossoms while they last. Unfortunately, the extraordinary pink color is short-lived as the blossoms disappear after a week or so. The cherry blossom tree becomes ordinary, indistinguishable from any other tree.

The cherry blossom reminds me of our personal brands. Our personal brand is what makes us extraordinary. It separates us from all others who offer something similar. Like a cherry blossom our personal brand allows us to stand out and attract people to our promise of value. But unlike the cherry blossom we do not want our personal brands to be short-lived. Strong brands deliver on their authenticity all of the time. If our brand is present for just 1 week and then disappears, we become ordinary and interchangeable. We become a commodity.

Let Your Personal Brand Blossom

How can our personal brands blossom and stay in full bloom? Watch this video to learn 5 quick tips to ensure your brand does not disappear.

Do you have any other tips or advice for helping our personal brands blossom and stay in full bloom?

Please share your comments.

Filed Under: Be your Brand, Branded Bio, Personal Branding, Personal branding tips Tagged With: 360Reach, About.me, Japan, LinkedIn, online personal branding, personal portals

Personal Branding with a Spin Videos – Become Your Brand: Gears 7 to 10

December 13, 2011 By Peter Sterlacci Leave a Comment

I am happy to share two new Personal Branding with a Spin video tips in my 5-part series discussing Stage 2 of the BeYB personal branding process – Become Your Brand.

To become your brand you need to shift through 10 gears. These 10 gears will enable you to develop the communication tools you will need to express your personal brand. All 10 gears are listed on my Stage 2 checklist so make sure to subscribe to my newsletter on the right to receive a FREE download of all three checklists to believe, become, and be your brand.