By Peter Sterlacci

You are NOT Your Title!

Picture this. You are at a networking event. Business cards in hand. Ready to make new contacts. How do you introduce yourself? What is your conversation starter? Like most people it’s probably this: “My name is… I’m a… (fill in the blank with your job title!)

We often fall into the trap of identifying ourselves by our job title. While this is a valid representation of what we do, it actually groups us into the same category as everyone else doing the same type of job. Bottom line: YOU ARE NOT YOUR JOB TITLE. Your title actually ‘commodifies’ you and people don’t excited about commodities!

How can you avoid being a commodity and get people excited about you? Follow these 3 tips.

1. Sell an ‘experience’ not a title:

Remove your job title in your LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, About.me profiles. Sell an experience that will give people a reason to follow, connect, friend, or add you to their circles. Instead of saying you are a “psychiatrist” tell others you are “The Shrink for Entrepreneurs who want freedom, wealth, and sanity” (@PeterShallard).



2. Make it unique:

Find something that you are passionate about and connect it to your job. For example, I combine personal branding strategy with cycling imagery. I always thought of cycling as separate from my work, but my own 360Reach results showed that everyone identifies me by my energy and passion for cycling. Therefore, I decided to demonstrate this uniqueness by using a cycling image on my business card as well as the tag line: “Personal branding with a spin.” This unique card attracts people to what I do. They are intrigued by how I connect cycling with branding and want to know more.

3. Differentiate from others:

I love William Arruda’s “Same/Different” exercise. On a piece of paper, write down all the things in the “same” column that are similar between you and others doing the same type of work. In the “different” column right down what differentiates you. Finally, look at everything in the “different” column and mark all the items that are “emotional attributes.” These are the characteristics that provide the need and desire for people to connect with you rather than with others who have the same job or similar skill set.

Peter Sterlacci, founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand, , combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

By Peter Sterlacci

7 Creative Tools to Build Brand You!

With personal branding becoming mainstream it is really important to think of more creative ways to differentiate brand you. In the past simply securing yourname.com or starting a blog was a sure-fire way to stand out. Nowadays such actions are no longer the exception but the norm.

A recent example of an incredibly brilliant way to creatively brand oneself is what Philippe Dubost did to sell himself with an online resume made to look like an Amazon page. His approach led to over 200,000 hits a day, more than 30,000 Facebook likes, and more importantly numerous job offers.

To help inject some creativity into your personal branding efforts, consider one of the following 7 ways to package your personal brand.

1. Infographics – Have you heard of Piktochart? Easel.ly? Infogr.am? Visual.ly? These are just a small handful of the various tools available to create infographics. Infographics are brilliant for creating a visual story of your personal brand. Many of these tools have free versions with a nice handful of templates to get you started. Here is a great article highlighting these tools along with starter tips on planning your first infographic.
2. Pinterest – Create a board on Pinterest that communicates your brand. Pin images that show the story of you. Pin a video bio. Be a thought leader by pinning content relevant to your field. The opportunities are endless but go in with a strategy and create specific ‘boards’ related to your personal brand rather than just randomly pinning images. Here is a great article explaining how to leverage Pinterest for your personal brand portfolio.
3. Wordle – Wordle is a great visual tool where you can use words and phrases to communicate your brand attributes, your vision, or your brand story. I often see people use wordle for a manifesto or the about page on their website. Here is a great example of an ‘interactive’ wordle-type manifesto where each phrase is clickable and takes you to more information, images, videos, etc.
4. Paper.li – Content curation is an awesome way to gain visibility. If you can make it easier for others to find relevant and compelling content then you have saved people time and frustration. That is worth its weight in gold! Set up an account on Paper.li and filter the huge amount of information to share the best content with people in your niche. Here is a great article with 5 ideas to brand yourself with Paper.Li.
5. PowToon – If you are tired of using the standard PowerPoint or Keynote platforms to create a branded presentation, then check out PowToon. This is a fun DIY animated presentation tool that adds a very creative element to your presentations.
6. Present.me – Still committed to slide-type presentations and have no desire to muck with a new tool like PowToon or Prezi? Present.me is a great way to give your existing slides a personal touch. Present.me provides a platform to upload an existing presentation file and then record via your webcam an actually video image of you discussing the slides. Your slides and video exist side-by-side literally adding YOU to the presentation.
7. Vizify - Vizify is a fun new way to promote your brand via social media. Vizify collects and transforms all the fragmented data about your brand across your social media platforms into a one unified and interactive visual profile. TechCrunch has called it the “slick new way to present your personal brand.” Here is my own Vizify profile.

Peter Sterlacci, founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand, , combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

By Peter Sterlacci

10 Quick Fixes for Your Personal Brand

Is your personal brand in need of a pick-me-up? When was the last time you took a closer look at your social media profiles, your bio / about page, or your current online reputation?

Now is a good time to proactively upgrade your personal brand with these 10 quick fixes.

1. Refresh your headshot – Get a new headshot with a new look. Simply changing the color of your shirt, your hairstyle or even the style of your glasses can give you brand a boost. Just keep it professional and ‘on-brand’ for you.
2. Makeover your LinkedIn profile - LinkedIn has made some really big changes that have affected your profile. Familiarize yourself with these changes right away. Here is a great post by LinkedIn expert Donna Serdula on how to take advantage of LinkedIn’s new design with tips you can immediately apply.
3. Assess your online identity – Here at Reach we always recommend the free ‘Online ID Calculator’ to understand how your appear on the digital scale. Find out how the world sees you when they Google your name!
4. “Ego-surf” and manage your online reputation – After knowing your digital identity, make it a regular habit to Google your own name and proactively manage your brand online. Set up Google Alerts and open free accounts on Brandyourself.com, Vizibility.com, and Profiled.com.
5. Set up your ‘Google Authorship’ - What this does is link any content authored by you that shows up in Google search to your Google+ profile. This means your profile photos appears alongside content attributed to you as well as a link to more content from you as the author.
6. Build “me to the power of we” – Your personal branding success is ultimately determined by both your ability to communicate your unique promise of value AND your communities capability to magnify your brand. Join LinkedIn groups related to your expertise, search for opportunities to be a guest blogger, comment on blogs in your niche, sponsor a ‘blogathon‘ on your own blog, start an interview series and introduce thought leaders to your community.
7. Focus on real clout, not your Klout score – Don’t get lost in the virtual world of socializing and connecting. Make it a habit to schedule at least 1 in-person networking event per month in 2013. Find “meetup” groups in your area to connect with like-minded folks.
8. Create a compelling bio (video and text) – Create a bio in both video and text that demonstrates your character and tells your story. Video continues to be a game changer so find ways to communicate your character on video by using such platforms as videoBIO or ViewYou.
9. Set up your profile on Vizify -Techcrunch has called Vizify “the About.me on steroids!” Vizify collects and transforms all the fragmented data about your brand across your social media platforms into a unified and interactive visual profile. It is super cool, and free!
10. Build your ‘communication wheel’ – Once you have reflected on your success and challenges for the past year, create your plan to clearly, consistently, and constantly communicate your brand to the people who need to know you. Select a good balance of online and offline activities that you enjoy doing and will reach your target audience.

Peter Sterlacci, founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand, , combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

By Peter Sterlacci

Starting off 2013 ‘Prosperous’
Happy New Year from YOUnique! I hope this truly is a unique year for you. My year is already starting off with a bang. A big bang that I want to share with you all.

Last August I saw the announcement for a new online reality show called “Prosperity’s Kitchen” dubbed as the online reality show where entrepreneurs “grow, play, and win.” What really sold me was the show’s founder and producer selling it as “Hell’s Kitchen meets online marketing.” I wanted in!

And so my journey began. I applied for the first season scheduled to start January 2013. In October I made it past round 1 of eliminations along with 40+ others. Round 2 involved submitting a video explaining who I am and why I started my business. Visions of Simon Sinek’s ‘Golden Circle’ popped in my head. With my video submitted I waited to hear back.

Time to Play in the Kitchen!

The email I was waiting for came in late-December telling me I would be one of the 15 lucky folks to compete in season one! WOW! I am now going to be on a reality show. Truth me told I am a reality TV junkie and have had visions of being on a reality show myself. Yet, unlike all the shows I have geeked-out on, what makes me honored to be part of Prosperity’s Kitchen is the show’s manifesto.

“Prosperity’s Kitchen was born out of a need to shift the current paradigm of online biz learning. Specifically — all those fabulous info products out there touting roadmaps and recipes to overnight success.”

Play Along at Home

Tune-in for the kick off of the show on January 21st. Each week there is a live broadcast as we complete a new mission for 12 ‘webisodes’.

Now the really cool thing is that you too can play along at home and compete for cash and prizes. (But you will need to sign up to play along by January 20th!) Join the fun as you watch the 15 of us expose our success and failures for the world to see! Hopefully you will be motivated to apply for season two!

Peter Sterlacci, founder of BeYB – Believe. Become. Be Your Brand, , combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

By Peter Sterlacci

A YOUnique 2013 Preview!

It is hard to believe that 8 months and 16 issues have passed since I took over as Editor-in-Chief of YOUnique. It has been a great ride so far and I am really excited about 2013. What motivates me every month to launch each issue is simply the incredible content and thought leadership shared by our amazing authors. I am excited to announce that in early 2013 we will launch ‘YOUnique for iPad’! In partnership with tablet publisher Readz, YOUnique will be available as an iPad app for an interactive and ‘full touch’ reading experience. For more details see this issue’s article from Readz CEO, Bart De Pelsmaeker. In addition, I am thrilled to welcome 5 new columns to YOUnique from January:

1. Ditch. Dare. Do! by William Arruda and Deb Dib: Practical challenges based on their new book Ditch. Dare. Do! to help you advance your career. (Stay tuned for the launch of this new ground breaking book after the New Year!)
2. Fresh Grads – Stand Out! by John Antonios: Helping new graduates stand out from the crowd and take control of their career legacy.
3. Digital Identity Essentials by Robin Bramman: Branding plus design tips and tricks to stand out online
4. The Brandtastic Diaries by Tanvi Bhatt: Short video interviews celebrating iconic Reach Certified Strategists
5. The Resource Report by Maria Elena Duron: Reviewing books, tools, websites, blogs and gadgets to help you exude and engage your brand online and offline.

Finally, are you interested in joining a growing global team of close to 300 Reach Certified Personal Branding Strategists? Check out Reach’s certification program starting January 15th. Register before December 31st and save $500! For more details see this issue’s interview with Kirsten Vernon. From all of us on the YOUnique team, have a happy and healthy holiday season. See you in 2013!

Peter Sterlacci, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

Editor’s Note

By Peter Sterlacci

Build Your Brand, Not an Image!

We all have role models, heroes, or leaders we look up to for inspiration, motivation, and guidance. We aspire to be like them and maybe even have dreams of actually being them.

In the last issue of YOUnique William reminded us of the importance of being authentic. While it is great to have role models you can never really be them. You can buy the same clothes, drive the same car, or talk the same way. But in the end, you are still you! This demonstrates the difference between branding who you authentically are versus creating a superficial or fake image of who you are not. Continue to look to your role models, heroes, and leaders for inspiration but in the end simply be yourself. Here are 4 things you can do to build your brand, not an image:

1. Get Feedback

The 360˚Reach Personal Brand Assessment enables you to gather data regarding everything that define your brand. The process begins with a self-assessment and is followed by requesting feedback from others so you can compare how you view yourself with how you are currently perceived. The results will enable you to identify areas that you want to accentuate and areas you want to diminish as you develop your brand.

2. Focus on strengths

Capitalize on your strengths rather than improve your weaknesses. Save time by taking what your are strong at and make it superb instead of wasting time on your weaknesses. When you focus on your strengths, you demonstrate passion and drive. When you focus on your weaknesses, you show frustration and stagnation.

3. Tell your story, not someone else’s

Michael Margolis, founder of Get Storied, says, “Your story is your brand. You have to get others to believe and identify with your story. When you can do that — the need to persuade, convince, or sell disappears.” We all have a unique story to tell and our story is what makes us authentic. Of course others can relate to our story because it may be similar, but it is never exactly the same. Each story is unique. Fellow Reach Master Strategist Walter Akana refers to this as your “brand DNA” and to discover it you need to unravel your life stories to find the themes that make you unique.

4. Be real online (and off)

In an interview last year, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said “The social web can’t exist until you are your real self online.” Just like in the real world, being yourself online takes courage. It takes the willingness to be transparent. Use social media to portray the real you. Avoid nicknames and avatars and use your real name and a professional head-shot. Don’t just brag and boast. Listen and engage others as well.

Peter Sterlacci, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

Editor’s Note

By Peter Sterlacci

‘I’ to the Power of ‘We’

How many times have we heard the expression, “There is no I in team!” Well, I recently saw this funny drawing where the ‘I’ in team has been found!

But seriously folks, how can you have a team without the diversity of each person, of each ‘I’? In their book The Start-up of You, LinkedIn Founder Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha say that ‘I’ versus ‘We’ is a false choice. It’s really both, or what they refer to as Iwe – “I to the Power of We”. They say,

Your success depends on both your individual capabilities and your network’s ability to magnify them.

Personal branding can often be misinterpreted as simply pumping up our egos and placing the interest of ourself ahead of others. In reality, however, our personal brand cannot flourish without the community and network around us. William Arruda says that our brands are held in the hearts and minds of others. I would add to this that our brands are then validated only by the power of others to spread the word.

I tested the Iwe concept last month when I hosted a 30-day Personal Branding Vlogathon on my own blog. Each day a different thought-leader shared a brief video post on the topic of personal branding. Individually each video was powerful. But the power of each video was then raised exponentially by the network of the other vloggers, followers, and supporters who took each video and spread the word. One of the Vlogathon contributors Runa Magnusdottir proved the power of community in her post “A Twitter Success Story: How 1+1 Became 246,999“.

What can we take from this? Obviously community is important, but let me add one more thing. The community you build needs to be genuine. Only genuine relationships will magnify your brand because they believe in and want to advocate for you. The relationships built out of my vlogathon are genuine because the ‘Power of We’ continues even after Day 30 when the vlogathon officially ended. Remember, personal branding is not just about ‘me’ but so much more about ‘we’.

Feel free to visit each vlog post from the 30-day Vlogathon starting with William Arruda’s Day 1 post and continue to spread the word by tweeting, sharing, etc. Or, just go here for a complete round-up of all 30 videos in one place.

To community and beyond!

Peter Sterlacci, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

Editor’s Note

By Peter Sterlacci

Presenting Brand You

We all know that people fear public speaking more than they fear death! It is scary to stand in front of a group and keep them engaged, interested, entertained, and alive! Yet, it is one of the most powerful tools you can use to demonstrate your personal brand and build your credibility and visibility. If your fear presenting and want to do something about it, here are 4 platforms to practice presenting your personal brand in a compelling way! Look for the local chapters and events near you.

1. PechaKucha Nights: Imagine giving a presentation using only 20 slides that run non-stop at 20 seconds each? Once the presentation starts, you have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to get your point across. You cannot stop, you cannot pause, you cannot turn back. You are at the mercy of the PechaKucha Style of presenting! Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, the presentation format is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. PechaKucha Nights are worldwide. Here is a sample of a Pecha Kucha talk I did earlier this year.
2. TEDx Events: Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. In my experience the TEDx forum is on par with a typical TED event and the exposure for your brand is tremendous.
3. Prezi Nights: Prezi Nights are not at frequent as PechaKucha and TEDx, but they are starting to grow around the world. The only caveat is you must design a deliver your talk using the Prezi platform. Prezis are really cool presentations but it does take a bit of patience and creativity to build a presentation using the Prezi dashboard.
4. Toastmasters International: Of course we cannot forget the classic organization that really started it all. Toastmasters enables you to practice different types of prepared presentations as well as impromptu speeches. At Toastmasters you also receive feedback from the general audience and focused input from ‘helper’ roles such as The Grammarian, The Ah-Counter, and The Timer.

All of these platforms are excellent venues to practice your public speaking skills. But, if you want to develop your ability to present more clearly and design better slides then you MUST add Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen and Nancy Duarte’s Slide:ology books to your collection. Garr and Nancy have transformed the way people present and are leading the way to rid us of the ‘Death by PowerPoint’ culture!

Peter Sterlacci, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

Editor’s Note

By Peter Sterlacci

Curating Thought Leadership

We all know that content is king. Yet, there seems to be a battle in the content marketing space about ‘curation’ versus ‘creation.’ Is curation compatible with thought leadership or is a thought leader someone who is always creating new content that delves into uncharted territory?

When I started exploring this a bit more, I came across a great post by Todd Defren called Seven Principles of Content Marketing. His first principle is to “Follow a 70/30 rule – 70% of content curated, 30% branded”. Todd’s reason for this is what sparked my interest. He says: “The rest of the world is at least 70% more interesting than your brand; and promoting external content builds social capital.”

I am sure people would consider Chris Anderson, the curator of TED Talks, as a thought leader and yet 99% of the content coming out of TED is certainly not created by Chris himself. Chris Anderson to me is the quintessential content curator and he has clearly built enormous social capital by promoting the external content of others. After all, under his stewardship, the mission of TED shifted to “ideas worth spreading”. It was the spirit of TED’s mission actually that inspired me to recruit 30 thought leaders in June to share their ideas about personal branding for my 30-day Blogathon.

Sure I could have created my own content every day for 30 days but how interesting would that have been? It would have been 100% about my content rather than external content which is likely to be, as Todd Defren says, at least 70% more interesting than my stuff!

My blogathon actually proved that by curating external content I could drive significantly more engaged traffic to my site in just 30 days than after over 9 months of creating and posting my own content. This engagement even motivated me to then publish the 30 articles into an official eBook that has now been downloaded from my site over 800 times in less than 3 weeks! (Click here for your own free copy of the 30x30x30 Blogathon eBook)

Reach is a great example of content curation. The Personal Branding Blog, Personal Branding TV, and YOUnique represent three ways Reach promotes external content. Granted, William Arruda’s own content is incredibly awesome, but the power of Reach is how it ‘reaches’ out to the world with curated content from the best thought leaders in personal branding.

Peter Sterlacci, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.