We are the experts on digital marketing for our clients – recommending new ways, through social media and networking, to connect their brands to their consumers.  In order to do this, we must have employees in place who are familiar with the digital world.  Employees who not only know the digital lingo, but can efficiently work their way through the maze that is the online world.  An up and coming, savvy advertising/marketing professional should be able to speak the social media language and navigate the digital seas.  And, for folks who have been in the business for a while, you should be quickly getting yourself up to speed, or Generation Y will quickly pass you by.

But playing in this online world means you are exposing yourself, both personally and professionally. You are displaying your personal brand. Are you a member of Facebook?  MySpace?  Are you reading and commenting on blogs?  Are you writing blogs?  If the answer is “yes” to any of those, then your online life gets tricky.   If the human resources director at your place of business Googles your name, what will come up?  How does the information about you available on the World Wide Web affect your personal brand?

To provide smart decision-makers for our clients, we in the advertising and marketing business have to encourage our employees, both current and future, to engage social media. Not doing so would be like hiring an art director with no portfolio. So go for it.  Start navigating through the digital world.  If you’re not out there right now, get out there.  If you’re already out there, great!

But be careful!  We want our employees to be the experts on all aspects of digital marketing for our clients and their brands.  But we also want employees who are professional and responsible with their own information.

So, what does your personal brand say about you?

Related Posts You’ll Enjoy:

1. Personal Branding and Social Media by Chris Brogan.
2. Ignore the Social Media Scoreboard by Ben Yoskovitz
3. Are Blogs the New Thought Leadership by Valeria Maltoni
4. Having Your Accounts Hacked is a Hard Way to Learn About Protecting Your Online Identity, from Dan Schawbel on CommonSense PR
5. Wait Till the MySpace Generation Hits The Workforce by Jeremiah Owyang

[tags]personal brand, personal branding, social networking, privacy, professional, etiquette[/tags]

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Crystal will be guest authoring on the subject here soon as she and I are working together to develop a spring presentation she will be giving to a group of area young advertising professionals. As we at Doe Anderson begin to develop both company policies and advice on the matters for our clients, I’m sure we’ll discuss, debate and converse about them here.

The primary concern for me was from an employee standpoint. Though mindful of the agency position and protective of its clientel and reputation, it has been my position that what someone does in their personal life, even online, is not the concern of their employer. Regardless of the open-mindedness of a given company, however, Crystal makes a valid point that HR folks, managers and other decision-makers will apply unwritten prejudices if they happen to know what is on a certain MySpace profile or Facebook wall post.

“Whether people want to admit it or not, the prejudices are there,” she told me.

And she’s right.

I began blogging about this issue on my public relations blog, The Straight Pitch. Several links are below for those interested.

We are interested in your take on the matter, too. Where should employers draw the line between someone’s personal life and the public forum of the Internet. Is not connecting yourself to your place of work online enough? Will employees with passionate opinions or those in need of a creative outlet have to resort to pseudonyms to self-publish in the Web 2.0 world? What are the Web 2.0 rules when it comes to business and whose job is it to write them?

We’d like you to tell us.

Related Links:

1. Paul Gillin Weighs In On Networking Debate – The Straight Pitch
2. Is “Friend” A Four-Letter Word On Facebook – Strategic Public Relations
3. Are You On Facebook? – Blog Till You Drop!
4. Facebook, LinkedIn Should Differ – The Straight Pitch
5. Facebook vs. LinkedIn – ConverStations

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