You may not have given much thought to this question until the recent popularity and emergence of social media touched the masses. Beyond the social implications of this new media, social networks and social online tools play an essential role for all professionals, entrepreneurs, and business people. Posted content and images either add or subtract from your desired brand.

With over 800 million profiles on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn, and millions more on micro social sites, a mug shot or profile avatar has quite a bit of brand power.

Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Associate Professor and Mervin Bower Fellow in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School conducted extensive research on the subject of social media and images. His findings indicate 70 percent of all social media actions are related to viewing pictures or other peoples’ profiles.

The day when only authors, rock stars, celebrities, and other gurus needed to consider their photo images is gone. Today everyone has a new stage on which to shine or look like a goofball.

And this is not limited to online social communities; the same goes for speakers at conferences. Regardless of your professional status as a speaker, if you are contributing to the program and the organization is promoting you on a Web site, your image counts. This also applies to printed association directories and what you put on your own Web site.

Your mug is your surrogate persona and a voice for your brand.

Don’t fall victim to the crappy, old, and tired photo thing. You can control this part of your brand.

If your goal is to build an online footprint that supports your professional substance and brand, here are some tips I recommend to get the biggest bang from your mug shot.

1) Consistency is key.
Use the same image of you in all of your social communities. This will build equity in your visual mark and strengthen the memory factor.

2) Production quality says a lot about you.
Grainy, wrong, and low-resolution images scream cheesy, unprofessional, and that you are foreign to the online environment.

3) Project your true you.
If you are a creative soul, let your photo image convey that. Cropping, adding a compelling prop, and the right facial expression can achieve that.

Are edge and risk part of your brand? Then demonstrate this with the style of image.

Are you serious, conservative, or highly intelligent? A traditional portrait may best suit you.

For any of these personas, consider your wardrobe, accessories, and the background. All of these elements project a message.

4) Keep your image current.
There is nothing worse than meeting someone who is 25 years older than his or her published photos. Update your photos every couple of years, unless you look pretty much the same—and good for you! This can be a trust issue too.

5) Invest in your brand.
Using a group shot where others were cropped out of the original, or posting a poorly-lit image with no contrast to feature your brilliance are often the product of being cheap and not valuing your brand. Your photo image is often the first thing people associate with you and your qualities.

Remember, first impressions only happen once and people make immediate judgments based on what they see.

As noted on front page of Oddpodz, we are experiencing some changes to our site. Our plan is to re-launch in the next 30 days with better social dialogue tools, more blog contributors, and useful tools to help you grow your business.

During our transition, some items in the Community section of the site are not functioning properly. We are working on all of these.

Thank you for your patience!

About the author: Karen Post, a.k.a. The Branding Diva® is an international authority on branding, marketing, and entrepreneurial matters. She has been featured as a business expert in print publications; on TV, radio, and on Web channels. Karen authored the best-selling book Brain Tattoos Creating Unique Brands That Stick in your Customers’ Minds and she is co-founder and CEO of Oddpodz.com.

(The following post is by Sarah Guinot, Oddpodz newest team member).

I was until this week, when I attended Social School in Tampa.

I just joined the Oddpodz team as an intern. I’m finishing my MBA at the University of Tampa and I am thrilled to be working with such an exciting, young social media company. To learn more about me and connect, my Oddpodz user name is sarenka. I’d love to hear from you.

Part of my contributions to the company will be helping the Oddpodz community members and attracting new ones through social media.

My first assignment, get in the social media grove fast.

Lucky for me, the Oddpodz offices are located in www.Walkerbrands.com, a super cool place to work. Not only is it a design-centric, creative environment, the office culture has also lots of means for collaboration and learning via our roommates, tools and events.

This week the office hosted Social School. It was lead by Nancy Walker, President of Walker Brands and a super savvy, branding and marketing pro, and Julia Gorzka, a social media enthusiast and consultant.

The event attracted a diverse group of business people, all like me, hungry to get on the social media train.

So what is this international phenomenon sweeping the media, business and people’s lives?

It’s the “world’s largest cocktail party where everybody is invited”, explained Julia.

Such a definition makes it clear that social media challenges the “old school” marketing thinking. As most of the audience, you might find social media intimidating. After all, there are so many social tools out there, where does one start? How do you find your markets in this new World? You heard about Twitter and might wonder who is this new animal. But have no fear. The good news is that it is completely possible to understand social media and, even better, to make great use of them in order to support your brand and its delivery- two essential components for business success.

Here are some of the highlights I took away from Social School.

1) The first step is to define your brand. A brand is not merely a logo or a catchy slogan anymore. It’s what customers think, feel and expect about you, which is earned at every touch points, every contact with your customers, from product and signage to employee training.

2) Then, once you have a coherent and strong brand essence, it’s time for delivery. You are now ready to hit the social media universe. What are your goals? Is it brand awareness? Discoverability? Finding new leads?

3) Remember that in the World’s largest cocktail party (social media), the communication style is very conversational, helpful and educational and definitely not about hard selling. If you’re focused on mere transactions, you will be quickly black listed and your efforts will be a waste.

As Julia explained, “It is not as much about advertising anymore anyway, when companies were pushing their messages. It is about giving your customers something to talk about”.

For more on how social media can help your business check back, we will be posting other gems gained from the class. If you are interested in attending a future social media class go to social school.

Also we’ve posted and reviewed some great FREE social media tools and resources in Oddpodz FREE Biz Findz.

(Updated 05.07.09)This list grows, thanks to our communities contributions.

Most businesses can gain from standing out from the pack. People too can benefit from being different in the crowded world of bodies and brains. When ever I speak to audiences I always preach “Be distinct, standout and own a space that’s unique”. There is often a big sigh, HOW can we not blend in?

Here are some ideas to help you be unique in your industry. Apply them to one or several brand attributes or touch points. My goal is to assemble a list of 140 soon, all clearly stated in less than 140 characters for the new language of tweet tongue. I’ll be tapping my social stream for more ideas and be updating the list everyday. Have a contribution? DM at @brandingdiva on twitter.
1. Make up a word as your name
2. Leave something out
3. Use different ingredients
4. Sport an odd uniform
5. Do it faster
6. Save the earth while you are at it
7. Cop an attitude
8. Add humor
9. Package it in the unexpected
10. Combine extreme opposites
11. Infuse a foreign language
12. Give something big away
13. Slow it down
14. Jazz it up with a tune
15. Birth a new holiday
16. Hide something
17. Introduce an unbelievable guarantee
18. Splash a wild color
19. Involve younger minds
20. Gift often
21. Start earlier
22. Never close
23. Dispense it from a vending machine
24. Invite animals
25. Be exclusive
26. Create a mascot
27. Blow up a common practice
28. Use the earth to build it
29. Display it on a building
30. Mix in minis
31. Charge a lot more
32. Take alternative payments
33. Reward loyalty with living gifts
34. Start a new way
35. Slice it up
36. Get social
37. Remove technology
38. Add chocolate
39. Make a metaphor
40. Rearrange it
41. Sacrifice something important
42. Break the rules
43. Require tickets
44. Mash up weird things
45. Always have a deadline
46. Partner with an unusual suspect
47. Conduct an annual poll
48. Create controversy
49. Add a feminine touch
50. Be obnoxious
51. Super-size it
52. Get nostalgic
53. Exaggerate
54. Simplify the process
55. Reverse the order
56. Take a pause
57. Sing it
58. Scream it
59. Always whisper
60. House it in a remote spot
61. Sprinkle spice on it
62. Fast forward
63. Get glamorous
64. Dress it down
65. Get folksy
66. Make it low fat
67. Start a trend
68. Infuse a scent into it
69. Make it see threw
70.Make it edible
71.Be an expert
72.Be independent
73.Make it more durable
74.Turn it black and white
75.Add serenity
76.Incorporate cool
77.Expand its dimension

Most people hang in jobs they hate for years. Work for bosses they despise and accept an easy career path instead of pursuing their dreams and passions.

OK, collecting an unemployment check may make life a little tough, but at least you are one big step out of a gloomy career rut.

The world is changing at the speed of sound. This recession will end and it does have an upside. It is producing many new business sectors, start ups are emerging, and your pink slip may actual be your big pass to an opportunity of your lifetime, it’s just in total disguise.

Whether you are thinking about birthing a new biz, rebranding you or merely finding an ideal company to work with, you’ve got to:
* Lose all the resentment
* Embrace the challenge
* And get focused on finding the career that you love, not a job that makes you sick.

Here’s 5 tips that can help.
1) Accept what is and work on creating what you want.
2) Do what you need to, to pay your bills and protect your credit. This may mean swallowing your pride and taking an “in the meantime gig” to bring in some short term cash.
3) Get out of your comfort zone. No risk, No nothing.
4) Be proactive. Most opportunities do not know where you live and won’t find your door step. Network every day. Reach out to people you don’t know and be clear on what you are seeking to do and how you add value back to them.
5) Hang around other positive people who have made the leap from recently unemployed to totally empowered.

There is only one person who controls your destiny. There is only one person who can make you feel great or like crap.

You are the lucky one because you have access to them 24/7.

Personal branding “Me 2.0″ style
Stop loosing opportunities. Be your strongest business magnet, exude authority, earn trust and enjoy more success today.

My friend Dan Schawbel’s new book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success is out today. It’s a great read for its dedicated audience of young professionals, along with us older folks who act all different ages.

Here are some pointers I soaked up from the book and some inspirational, insightful thoughts from a couple of my favorite business experts.

Dan professes, “personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers, and build self-confidence .”

He also suggests you ask yourself this important question before you launch off into your Me 2.0 initiative.

Does your career path make you happy?

If yes, great keep working it. Make the most of your talents and skill set to achieve maximum success.

If no, change it. Find the right path for you and focus on making it work.

If you’re unsure about your future—define it. Weigh all the factors that matter to you and find the career path that fits best.

Dan believes it takes a four-step process to build a powerful personal brand for a successful career:
Discover. In the discover step, you will learn about yourself, figure out what makes you distinctive, and learn how to develop the right skills.

Create. In the create step, you will build a complete marketing kit that you can use in interviews or when networking.

Communicate. In the communicate step, you will take everything you’ve created and promote it to others.

Maintain. In the maintain step, you will perform routine maintenance so that your reputation is monitored and protected.

A big chunk of his book is focused on e-Branding through social media and online channels. Here are some great tips.

When applicable
-Always include your name, picture, and personal brand statement.
-Always include personal information, not just professional experience, so that the user can get a feeling for your eBrand.
-Always keep your site engaging, user-friendly, and easy to navigate.
-Always use aesthetic choices (font style, background color, logos, etc.) that will capture and hold your audience’s attention without annoying them.
-Always use design choices, including a color scheme, that represents your personal brand.

Dan knows first hand about creating a personal brand. For being on earth for only a short time, he walks his talk. Personal brand requires hard work and dedication. But if you’re dedicated and create an online and offline brand presence that relates to the demands of your target audience and delivers what they’re looking for, they will embrace it. When this happens, you’ll be amazed to see how many opportunities for success open up.

Just consider these cool, smart guys quoted in Dan’s book who have certainly earned their top places in business and society through their strategic and persistent online footprints.

“I kicked off my un-keynote at the first PodCamp by telling everyone there that they were superheroes. Why? Because through their use of social media, they had the power to bypass hierarchies, discover and connect to meaningful two-way conversations, and build value and brand without getting permission to do either.” —Chris Brogan, cofounder, PodCamp

“People should do what they do/love as well as they can. For me, it’s blogging and speaking. My thinking is that if you do good stuff, your brand will naturally come out of your actions. But if you focus on ‘what makes me look good,ʼ you’ll just be a slick and shallow persona.”—Guy Kawasaki, managing director, Garage Technology Ventures

Keep up the great work gentlemen and congrats Dan on a solid, valuable book!

Puking Pink Slips? Jumpstart your personal brand today.

Unfortunately, a lot of smart professionals are seeing pink slips and hearing the dreaded news: “Your position is being dissolved.”

First off, don’t take it personally. Many of these dismissals are consequences of the horrific economy and companies being mismanaged; not individuals doing a bad job. A confident attitude will get you a new job. Beating yourself up will just delay the process.

You’ve got to focus all of your energies on steps forward; not being mad, resentful, or just plain peeved. Realistically, this life change could be your biggest opportunity in disguise.

Start by asking yourself

Do you want to stay in your field or try something new?
The answer to this question will direct your personal brand action plan.

If you like what you’ve been doing and want to remain in your industry and find a similar position, your mission is to sharpen your authoritative profile and your brand as an expert in your space.

Or, do you want to shift gears, try a new industry or seek a different professional role?
Then your game plan should aim to transform your skill set, expertise, communications, and branding tools to say clearly: “Yes, I can do that, too.”

Here are 10 things you can do to strengthen your personal brand to get the ultimate career position you want.

1) Update your resume so it reflects your brand.
Make sure it’s concise and authentic to the real you. Address your experience, your points of distinction and your passions; what you love to do. If you are seeking a leadership position, highlight results and don’t blab on about small tasks. If grammar is not your thing, invest in a professional editor to proof your document. Has there been business publicity on you? Have you had anything published? If so, consider including these as “mentions” in your resume and have them scanned and ready to present professionally.

2) Be overtly mindful of your attitude; it’s one of your strongest brand messaging weapons.
No matter how upset you are about your recent career turn or how much you think your former company or boss did you wrong, a positive attitude will take you the distance. Whining or badmouthing anyone can kill your chances of getting your new opportunity.

3) Evaluate all your communication touch points and make sure they are “on brand.”
If you are a creative person, make sure everything echoes that style. If administration is your strong suit, demonstrate your organized management attributes with how well you write and have solved problems. Touch points include: how you answer all of your phones, what your email signature says and looks like, and what your thank-you notes say about you. Also, professional business cards that are consistent with your brand persona are a must.

4) Update all your social networking profiles and find niche networks relevant to your industry and desired career post.
Create a standard copy platform that tells your professional story accurately. Use the same photo on all your profiles; this is a great way visually brand yourself. And make sure it’s a flattering photo that is appropriate for your desired line of work. Also, do not post anything you would not want a potential employer to read.

5) Secure your own name URL.
Like karenpost.com for me. For a few bucks, this is a good investment. When people conduct a search on you, you can control what shows up on the top results page. This home page can be a simple contact page; positioning a bio and photo all consistent to your personal and professional brand.

6) Have your ideal career pitch down.
Be articulate, both verbally and in written form. When you are out at events, you should be able to state clearly what you are looking for with confidence, and the same goes in written communications. Have your friends pop quiz you.

7) Be at the right events and dress the part.
Identify the networking events where the potential to meet the right people is great. While you may be comfortable attending events with your buddies, unless your buddies are writing you checks, that’s a waste of time. Concentrate on the places your job prospects will be. Your wardrobe is part of your personal brand packaging—look the product that you are representing. First impressions are just that.

8) Follow up is a key opportunity to planting your brand further.
Handwritten notes show initiative and are another avenue for branded communication. Don’t rely on email for your follow up. The cost of stamp and personal note is wise investment.

9) Surround yourself with credible fans and ask for professional recommendations.
Brand-by-association is a reality. Your choice of friends and colleagues can add or detract from your brand status. Make sure you have a good collection of recommendations on your professional profiles like Linkedin. Then re-purpose these recommendations in your resume and other communication to hiring prospects.

10) Be proactive and goal focused.
It’s unlikely the ideal career opportunity will show up at your door. Be assertive and proactive. Ask yourself every day, are my actions aligned with my goals and on brand.
Finding your next career opportunity does not have to be like a root canal without Novocain.
Your personal brand has a lot of power. It can be the tipping factor with a referral or employment prospect. Your personal brand, just like those of products and companies, is the sum of all you do. Leverage your brand, who you are, your distinct attributes, your purpose, your personality and your promise. It can help pave the way the best career chapter yet.

About the author: Karen Post, a.k.a. The Branding Diva® www.brandingdiva.com is an international authority on branding matters. She authored the best-selling book Brain Tattoos and is CEO of www.Oddpodz.com an online community for creative-minded professionals and businesses. Her work has benefited large and small organizations in the United States and around the world. She can be reached at kp[at]brandingdiva[dot]com.

Contact: Karen Post, Branding expert, kp[at]brandingdiva[dot]com
Office: 813-250-1730
Cell: 713-828-0691