Online Branding

What is an Online Brand? A Brand is the association connected to product, service or person and an Online Brand is taking that same establishment but developing it for the Online world.

Branding is a way to be remembered and have impact upon perception.  It’s also another way to claim separate identities and claim ownership.  The best example of this is back in the day Cowboys would brand their herd with their own signature trademarks to claim as property and to establish from the rest of the packs out there.

So why would you need an online brand?  Well it’s quite simple you need to..

• Establish your Online Identity
• Set yourself apart
• Claim ownership of your Identity
• Build awareness and recognition
• Exposure

To get started in your online presence and branding the easiest way to begin is to claim your online identity first

Hey Zero Cool what is your handle?

You may of noticed with my Blog image header that its a picture from the movie Hackers.  Most notable was the Online Handle “Zero Cool” from the movie.

Hackers for example have a way of standing out or becoming known in the online world by their calling name or Online Handle.   An Online Handle is a username/nickname or online username that is used when referring to oneself other than their real name.

AOL is another big hit example where Screen Names took off and once again pushed online users to develop an online id other than their real names.  Screen Names took off with unique handles too during the Punter & Prog Age in claiming online territories.

Blogs, Social Media and Social Networks like Twitter all require a Username of some sort and by now more than likely you have a couple user names floating out there.  

The best way to develop a nice and consistent online branding is to have a conisstent user name throughout your Social Media sites out there.

Below is an Online Tool to check your Username throughout all Social Media websites.

Usernamecheck.com

Website usernamecheck.com is a simple site that searches over 65+ different Social Media websites out there to see if your online username has been taken or is available for use.

This is a great tool to seize the opportunity in shutting out your competition or claiming your online identity ownership.  After setting up your profiles in these Social Media websites, I would suggest in also staking your claims below

• E-Mail domains like Gmail, Yahoo & MSN
• Gamer Profiles like Second Life, MMORPGS
• Instant Message clients like AIM

Be creative –  Be unique.  You will find that it will be harder to claim ownership in online profiles if its a very common name and it will important more than ever to claim ownership early.

So go out there, develop an online identity and stake your claim in the digital world.

Post from: Social Media Vision

Social Media Online Branding & Establishing Presence With An Online Identity

Online Identity

Your online identity or brand is the representation of yourself in the online world.  The easiest way to establish your online identity is first by establishing a username or handle.  Your username is vital in leaving digital footprints in the online world.

A great way to check the availabilty of a username is by going to www.usernamecheck.com here you can just plug in a username you would like to use to see what is available.  With over hundreds of social media websites out there it can be very difficult to keep up and I think that usernamecheck is a great tool to check for this.

Securing an online brand

If you are not careful you can lose your online identity or have your identity tarnished in a blink of an eye.  You must secure your online identity or brand.  Claim your name everywhere.  

Many people love to domain park or online id park.  What this means is a person would simply buy a domain name or register at a social networking site simply as a place holder so the original host will buy the name.  Some people have cashed in big time this way like when pizza.com sold for 2.6 million 

Harmless claims can happen too.  This happened to Darren Rowse a.k.a the problogger.  He recently created a new site called twitip.com.  Well he registered the domain name but didn’t register the twitter name.  Having an online identity in part is being recognized everywhere in every avenue.  You don’t want false misrepresentations or misleading avenues.  So Darren was on a mission to secure the twitter name and eventually did. (Article)

Mark your territory

There is no wrong way or certain way about going about this concept.  The idea is to claim your online presence everywhere and the next step is to have a lasting memorable presence.

You can create an online brand by having:

• Slogan/Motto – having a catchy, unique or memorable slogan can increase your presence.  What stands you out from the rest?  There are millions of users out there and why should I remember your name/company/website etc.  For example. My name is Justin and there are tons of Justin’s out there.   When I was trying to get Realtors to send me business I wanted a catchy name to stand out and hence the logo of “Just-In-Time-Loans” came out

• Logo/Trademark – Along those same lines having a great logo or trademark can also stand you out from the rest of the crowd.  Think about how many people use the same theme on websites, or blogs or any other platform.  The real difference in many platforms is the logo.  Once you have created a unique logo it doesn’t matter if plenty of people have the same product or platform you will be different just by your logo.
• Unique Username – Don’t just assume that by using your real name is going to be your username.  First of all its not that unique and if you are going to do this then you will need a unique name like Guy Kawasaki. Second of all, if you have a common name then its no use.  For instance if your name is John Doe then chances are you will not be able to secure any of the websites out there.  Try variations.

Post from: Social Media Vision

Secure A Powerful Online Presence By Claiming Your Online Identity