Not that we should all be absorbed with how famous we are on search engines but to know whether your business and your name (if that is important to you) are showing up when people are looking for you is integral to all your efforts to spread the word, and get more clients, or more exposure for what you are doing. Simply looking up your name or that of your business should bring up a page of results - make sure your website shows up there as well as your social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. If you have blogs online or are part of a membership organization or even your university alumni then you should be seeing those pages pop up as well. Now here is an added step you can do, especially with it being the beginning of the year. Go ahead and click on your account on each of those search results that pop up and change your password. For your security. Accounts are easily hacked these days so please do not include your name or birthday or combination of your address and license plate as your password! Have different passwords for different sets of accounts, don't just have one awesome (or at least, that is what you think of it) password for everything...if somebody hacks into one account, then you are done for! This exercise may take a while especially considering how much of an online existence we all have these days but don't let that discourage you from doing what needs to be done. Good luck!

Not sure about you but I am a bit of a social media person and try to use social media as much as possible for my personal and professional pursuits. If you'd like to connect with me then check out the Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin icons at the top right corner of the page on the masthead. I am sure we can connect on one of those media.

Meanwhile, new entrant on the social media scene - Vizify! I just got my invitation and set up an account. Click on the image here and you should be able to see my page. Let me know your thoughts. 

I am also doing an article for an online mag about Vizify and how that affects the social media playing field, if it is useful or not and how you see it affecting social media overall, and at the user level. So if you have any inputs to share, just mail me on [email protected] and who knows, maybe I will use your quote and send some reader love your way :)

Yesterday I attended a session on social media branding held as part of Digital Atlanta. The presenter was Kelly Quattlebaum and she focussed quite a bit on LinkedIn, which does make sense for professionals. Here are some of my takeaways from the talk:

Showcase your work experience by mentioning prior positions and recommendations. Use keywords to build your brand and locate prospects, use them the most in the headline, current experience and past experience areas so they can be searched easily.

In your summary, start with your role and not your name, and make sure you list out all your specialities. Ensure your headline also specifies your role or designation. It is best to keep your profile public so it shows in search results.

Provide links to your portfolio site or blog. Where you have the option to add links, choose 'other' and mention the name of your site rather than choosing the 'my company' option that is already provided.  

You can also drag and drop the different category boxes so use summary first followed by your skills and then your endorsements from other professional contacts. 

This one is something I don't do much but it does make sense to try - use the events schedule to show where you are headed if people want to network with you.

Use apps like Slideshare, reading lists, and box.net for sharing tips etc. 

Status updates are the latest new feature, you can link this to Twitter for simultaneous updates, or share it on groups and even comment on updates that others share. 

Hopefully some of these pointers help you!