Personal Branding Blog – Dan Schawbel

People are drawn to media in many consumable formats. Whether it be audio, video, magazine, blog post or more, people are in tune with their preferences. If your blog only offers standard text posts, then those that consume media differently will be swayed to subscribe to other blogs that provide that service. If you’re hosting audio podcasts on your site and your readers are more visual, then you are losing that opportunity as well.

In light of this idea, I provide my readers with just about every form of media you could want, including a magazine, podcast TV series, blog posts and more. If you notice, each blog post will have some sort of visual corresponding to the text. I think a picture says more than a thousand words and it’s especially important for personal branding. As a brand, you want to communicate your brand message through many channels. If you are on-the-go, you’re more prone to take a magazine or newspaper with you, or a podcast on your ipod, than several blog posts. Some formats are meant for online and others for offline purposes. Either way, the more options you can provide your readership, the better.

I’d like to highlight Fast Company Magazine, Jeremiah Owyang using Utterz, ProBlogger for his blog posts and YouTube for their video sharing platform. Just about anyone these days, have the tools to tap into these formats and syndicate them through a blog. Whether you’re a programmer or a CEO, you can start a blog in just a few minutes using WordPress.

The biggest problem people have is that they write blogs taking their own preferences into account and not their readers. Why not just ask your readers for feedback or suggestions? Isn’t that what a blog is for? The conversation you have with your readers is the value-add to your blog, business or even personal life. Go ahead, give it a try.

Personal branding exists through content. Building content translates into building a community for your brand. We all have personal brands, but through our own preferences, we convey them to others differently. I may be more comfortable with a video, whereas another person may feel more comfortable twittering. Those that succeed at the highest level will manipulate multiple channels to convey their messages.