I have been coming across the term “personal brand” more and more these days. Most recently in a blog post by Jeff Bullas.  His post focuses on developing your personal brand in social media.  It is a great post that reminds me of some important criteria for developing a brand.  Here are two of my personal favorite take-aways on building a personal brand.

• What makes you different?  We all hear this message often, but sometimes it is easy to forget how important it is that you understand why you are different in a succinct way and then live that difference to its fullest capacity.  Boil down the reasons you are different to about 20 words and then carry them with you as a constant reminder.

• How do you embody your brand? To truly deliver your brand, you must live it.  I mean truly live it in all you do on a personal and business level.  Always keep the standards high to deliver value and promote the character of your brand sincerely. We have lots of tools to leverage our brands, but living it consistently is the first step in bringing it to market.  Once you live it in your inter-personal activities, promote it through Linked In, Twitter, Facebook, blogging, writing and other marketing activities.