Personal Branding Blog – Dan Schawbel

Today, I spoke with Sean Percival, who has written a book on MySpace and Second Life, both of which we haven’t discussed on this blog.  I don’t use either of them, so I can’t give you advice, but Sean certainly can.  From this conversation, you’ll notice that these social networks work better for some people, rather than others.  Your best bet is to join the social networks you are comfortable with and where your friends already are.

Sean, even though there are thousands of spam accounts on MySpace and countless advertisements, why should someone sign-up for MySpace?

The number one reason you signup for MySpace or any social network is to connect with friends. Those friends may be people you’ve known for years on new ones you’ve just met. While there are of course many social networks out there, MySpace still remains the largest so your friends are likely to already be there. Spam is also becoming much less of an issue on MySpace than it has been in the past. So if you build a quality social network there with your friends, you aren’t likely to be too bothered by the marketing.

Who is the typical MySpace user and what types of people can actually benefit from establishing a profile?

While a lot of users have successfully used MySpace for personal branding (Tila Tequila for example), many other types of promotions still do well on the site. Let’s say you are part of band or any other entertainment related profession, MySpace is going to be one of the best places to have a presence on. Here the users are heavily engaged in the network and activity of their own friends.

For promotions that are regionally based (concerts and other events) you can easily find and connect with your demographic using the basic search tools of the site. Finally, MySpace is just one more destination online where people can learn more about your offerings and form a connection with.

What are some strategies for getting thousands of friends on MySpace? How can this be translated into business or at least build an audience for your personal brand?

I’ve always felt that quality was better than quantity in your MySpace social networks. For my clients I would also try to connect them with around 5000 highly targeted friends. This way their promotions were seen by the right people and offered a greater return.

The best way to build any network is drive new friends to your profile from outside of MySpace itself. Include links to your MySpace profile on your website and in all marketing communications such as email newsletters. Offering your existing contacts a way to connect with you on MySpace can be the very valuable. These folks are after all already interested in your offerings.

I’ve actually never used Second Life, but my company has successfully recruited there. What are the benefits from creating an avatar there and spending precious time interacting/building with others?

For personal use, Second Life can be a great way to interact and create like never before. The 3D landscape can be both a challenging and inspiring place for any designer or hobbyist. Before you know it, you’ll be approaching design and communication itself very differently in both first and Second Life. Whither this type of immersion is the future, its hard to say. But for right now it’s a lot of fun to experience and enjoy.

How can in-world success translate to success out of world? This could be monetary, getting a job, etc.

Becoming savvy with Second Life can open a few doors, or at least add a few notches to the ol’ resume. One real great application of using Second Life is the ability to rapid prototype anything, be it a product or entire building. If your career involves any type of product design or architecture Second Life can be a wonderful canvas for you.

If nothing else it’s a great skill set to have for getting jobs in new media or emerging technology of any kind. While your boss might not always understand virtual worlds, your understanding can get you some much deserved technology cred.

What are some tips you have for using Second Life to establish a personal brand?

• Personal branding in Second Life is done through your avatar itself. Make sure to take the time and even financial investment to create a compelling avatar.  You’ll want your avatar to stand out from the crowd and be a good expression of yourself or business.
• Build personal relationships with other avatars to find out where you can purchase the best outfits and avatar shapes. Use the same virtual relationships to find out who the big players are in the various industries of Second Life.  Reach out to them as well when you are ready, you’ll find most of them are glad to listen.
• Finally start blogging about your experiences and connect with other Second Life bloggers. A majority of the personal branding in Second Life takes place outside of the virtual world on blogs and other social networks.

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Sean Percival is the author of MySpace Marketing and Second Life In-World Travel Guide. He is a web developer with 10 years experience in Ecommerce, Internet Security and Internet Marketing. Being one of the first 3000 users of MySpace his experience and expertise has been compared to that of a Social Network Savant. Percival was included in the June 2006 issue of Forbes Magazine with an article that featured his personal success of tripling sales for his website customeuroplates.com with Myspace marketing.

In Second Life, his name is Sean Voss, an explorer with a perfect physique from Landmark Island. He has his own private island and drives an even nicer German sports car.