Nombray Offers a Solution to Unify Your Web Presence

December 4, 2008 at 12:35 pm | In Misc, Personal Branding, eBrand, social media | 3 Comments

Many of you are flustered with your web presence right now and are trying to make sense of it, as well as manage it. The problem is that it’s hard for people to understand your personal brand, when it’s scattered throughout the web.

A first impression on the web is equal to the website someone first enters to view your brand.

That first website becomes your personal brand to that visitor. A lot of people are putting up Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook logos on their blogs, in order to showcase their other web presences. There was never a service to unify your web presence, until now. The solution is Nombray, a new startup company, run by Chris Lunt, who I’ve spoken to on the phone once before.

Why is Nombray important?

1) It acts as a domain name check for your brand name.

You can type in your first and last name, as well as keywords into their search engine. The search results will be divided into two main categories, “available names on the web” and “not available (sorry!).” The type of results you will get will be the available and taken domain names, using your first and last name, and keywords you type in. The site will check with the registrar and return domains such as firstname.com, firstlastname.us, keyword-lastname.net, etc. If you choose to use this service, it will cost you $19.99 per year, and you get hosting with the domain.

I would recommend only purchasing .com’s and .net’s for whatever you can find for your brand name. For more information on how to select domain names, please see my complete guide. Whatever you do, do not use this service for a corporate website. It it purely meant for the individual brand.

2) It allows you to merge your web presence under your domain name.

Once you claim a domain name, it gives you a template you can use to showcase your online brand portfolio, including LinkedIn, Twitter, your blog and much more. Through this system, it’s very easy for someone to have a perfect understanding of who you are and what you do. It’s also beneficial for those who want to verify they have a consistent brand image, by going through each tab and ensuring images and information are identical. You can add any site you wish as a tab. Adding Facebook would not prove to be useful unless you made your profile completely public (see below).

Image from cnet.com

Who would I recommend this for?

The one group I would recommend this service for are the novices out there. If you are clueless on how to build a blog, a website or how to manage your social networks, this service provides an easy to use format, so you can start getting your name out there immediately. In the future, I could see this service being more important, as social networks open up and are less private. Also, as the number of social networks climbs, making sense of all of them and selecting which ones best represent your brand can be solved by this service.

Network Smarter to See Faster Personal Branding Results

December 4, 2008 at 12:24 am | In Book Reviews, Career Development, Interview, Networking, Personal Branding | Leave a Comment

Today, I spoke with Liz Lynch, who is a networking-a-holic and the author of a book about networking.  I always say “make your life one big networking event,” and Liz helps us figure out how to network online and offline, even if we’re lazy and hate the word “networking.”  Liz will give you a sense of how networking has changed, how online networking success leads to offline and how they are different and how all of this relates to personal branding!

Liz, there are a lot of books on networking/relationship building.  Why do people keep writing about this subject?  Is it because it has to keep getting pushed in peoples faces before they “get it”?

I think it’s the same reason there are so many diet books out there. We all know the best way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more, no mystery there, but we’re all looking for a new twist that will make diet and exercise more fun, more tolerable, and more effective for our specific tastes.

Hence you have the Zone Diet, the South Beach Diet, and the Frenchwoman’s Diet to name a few. I wrote Smart Networking for those who don’t want to put a lot of time into networking—they’re too busy, don’t like it, don’t want to do it all the time, etc.—but still want to be highly effective. They can learn to network smart so they don’t have to network hard.

Can you explain how networking success online leads to offline success and visa versa?

I don’t really see offline and online networking as that different. At the end of the day, the fundamentals of building relationships are the same. If you understand the fundamentals—that you need to be someone that people know, like and trust, and be interested in learning about others and adding value to their lives, instead of just pushing your own agenda—then you can do well in both, and make the transition from one to the other fairly easily. If you don’t get the fundamentals, then networking will be a struggle either way.

How has the internet evolved and facilitated the way we network now?  What is the major difference in networking in a web 1.0 world versus a 2.0 one?

Before the Internet made social networking sites possible, we were limited to networking with the people closest to us geographically, those we met face-to-face. Through web 2.0 tools, we can connect with people all over the world and get a good sense of who they are based on what they post and what others post about them, even if we never meet them in person.

“So while there is potentially more competition, those who have value to add have a greater opportunity to build a strong, global following.”

How is networking connected to personal branding?

Smart networking is built around the belief that networking is easier when people come to you, and having a clear and compelling personal brand definitely helps in that regard. When your contacts know exactly what you do and what you stand for, it’s easier for them to spread your message to their networks. Those who relate to your brand will find their way to you, and arrive already primed to do business with you without much intervention on your part.

What are your top 3 online and top 3 offline networking tips?

Online:

  • 1) Start building your online network with people you already know so you have a strong base of support.
  • 2) Get deeply involved in a few social networking sites than spread yourself too thin.
  • 3) Don’t spam your friends’ profiles with overly promotional messages.

Offline:

  • 1) Get to events early when it’s easier to speak to a few other early birds than try to break into a big group.
  • 2) Have an agenda in mind for every meeting you attend.
  • 3) Master the art of the “ask” because what’s the point of building a network if you can’t get help when you need it?

——
Liz Lynch is author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online. Her printed and audio products have sold on six continents, she’s been invited to speak at conferences and organizations around the world, and her writings have been translated into multiple languages.

Liz is also founder of the Center for Networking Excellence. Her bottom-line approach grew from her experience in corporate America working at some of the top firms in their industries—Goldman Sachs, Disney, Booz Allen & Hamilton, and Time Warner—to hone her strategic, analytical and financial expertise.

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