Your personal brand is the collective impression people get not only from you and your marketing efforts, but from their interactions with you. By adding a social branding component (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc.) to your personal brand as part of your job search, you can leverage technology to promote yourself in a viral way by expanding who knows you related to on-line referrals and the search capabilities of the web. To enhance your personal brand with social branding technologies, consider incorporating these 4 ideas:

1. “Become What You Want To Be Right Now.” Who you are and what you want to be is as unique as a fingerprint. Act as if you are already a specialist in your area of expertise and you will become that person.

2. “Speak Your Message In Their Language.” Everyone in the virtual employment marketplace is talking at once so your brand has to rise above the noise. Your message, the nutshell of who you are and why people need what you have to offer, has to be short and shareable.

3. “Look The Part And Be The Part.” Your visual identity is a symbol that carries the weight of 1000 words. It’s a combination of elements you own (your name, logo, tagline, etc.) as well as elements you come to own through repeated use like writing/speaking styles and even the way you dress. Consider UPS. The color brown is part of their brand.

4. “Branding Is A Process, Not An Event.” Peoples interests change and technology tools change. Social branding is a dynamic process requiring you to be aware of what’s happening in your field. Become a student of your employment marketplace to ensure you know the latest trends and what your competitors have to offer.

Study the concepts of personal AND social branding and leverage them to reach your employment goals. Now more than ever, you need to be remarkable or you’ll be invisible.