Posted January 8, 2010

January marks the anniversary (or shall I say, blogiversary) of trishskram.com. One year ago, this month, I took the plunge and dove in to the blogesphere, knowing nothing about it and/or where I should go with it. My fellow social media and marketing companion, Ron (who is also my boyfriend), helped me spearhead the process, bringing it to life. It’s somewhat a slow-going process and I’m still looking for better measurement and feedback but it has come a LONG way since January 2009. I thank you, Ron, for your unwavering support and encouragement in the process—if it weren’t for you, I would’ve never taken the leap. Thanks, love!

I also thank my loyal twitter followers, Facebook fans and subscribers for continuing to read my posts. I’m honored to be a part of a community where my ideas are respected, encouraged and most importantly, a place where I can learn and grow from those who know the profession better than I do.

To celebrate, I’ve revamped this site. I’m always up for change and growth―especially when it comes to sharpening my brand. I think the new look provides a better space for you, my readers, because it has a cleaner image, easier navigation and a few new things in store.

As I embark into 2010, I vow to devote my time to 3 new goals: write more frequently, look for and encourage guest blogging and continue to engage in online conversations and learning from each one of you.

If you’re interested in being a guest blogger, please email me at trishskram@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you and share ideas on how to make this site GREAT!

Cheers to 2010!

Image courtesy of http://istockphoto.com

Technorati Tags: blogging, building professional relationships, my work, PR and marketing, public relations professionals in Wisconsin

Building a personal brand

What is a personal brand anyway? You are, your personality, your characteristics, your strong points, weaknesses, expertise … it’s all part of your brand. Everyone is online these days and social media is a great tool for creating and communicating your personal brand.

So, where does Trish brand herself?

Got Facebook?

Let’s face it, everyone’s on Facebook. If you’re not, you’re WAY behind. I started Facebooking in college, BEFORE it was available to the public. I never thought it would be one of the most widely used social media networks in 2009. Simply enough, Facebook is a start to making yourself visible to those around you. Other than the fact that I love to poke people, update my status and make fun of what my friends and I did the night before as we painted the town red with our shenanigans … Facebook has helped solidify my brand by helping me reinforce my personality. If you look me up, you’ll see that I’m social, I like to try new things, have great family and friends, travel and enjoy a drink or two. Some people will tell you that those “party nights” will reflect negatively on you, but I disagree. I think that’s one of the better features of Facebook.

Connecting on LinkedIn

Resume online? What a fabulous concept. I am a recent college graduate, but I wish I would have found LinkedIn sooner because I think it would have helped me network the system a bit better, more easily. When people request to “get connected,” they are able to view my work experience, educational background and professional assets. This helps build my brand as a knowledgeable, ambitious PR/marketing professional. And it has helped me land some pretty great gigs as a freelancer. Amazing platform, really.

Building rapport with tweeple

Have you heard the saying, “you are what you eat?” and “you are who you associate with?” This holds true to some degree. On Twitter, I am able to associate with and talk to people of similar interests all over America, even globally. Twitter is serving as my top link to my blog, TrishSkram.com. In fact, in just three months, I’ve acquired over 130 followers … not bad! I’m using Twitter to brand myself by connecting with people who have similar interests, people who I can learn from and vice versa. It’s quite a twitterific idea!

TrishSkram.com

This is my only my second blog post. To be quite honest with you, I should have started blogging years ago. My goal for 2009 is to make TrishSkram.com my top tool for building my personal brand. I want to write about my personal experiences, interests, life and most importantly, write to connect with my readers. TrishSkram.com will help improve my writing skills, while a build a brand as well. The best part? People have noticed my experience with social networking because of my accounts. Executives and fellow co-workers have even asked me to explain the process, what it is? Etc. I’ve gotta be doing something right, right?

So I pose to you, out there in the blogsphere of social networking. How have you built your brand? Better yet … how has personal branding affected your career or professional aspirations?

Let’s talk. And if you’re new to the professional world, still a student or just want some pointers, I’d be glad to help you get started.

Email me at trishskram@gmail.com

Technorati Tags: blogging, facebook, linkedin, personal brand, trishskram, twitter