Here are some tips on building a web presence:
- Claim your name. Purchase the domain for your name, as well as claiming your name on Twitter and other sites. If you have a generic name that someone else has claimed, use a slight variation with your middle name or initial.
- Fish where the fish are. Focus on the key business social networking sites and build a presence there. If you can just be on one, make it LinkedIn since it has the largest business audience and active discussion groups on just about every topic, career interest, alumni association and company. After I put up my profile on LinkedIn, I have been able to reconnect with old colleagues and classmates, as well as a wide range of business contacts.
- Develop a strong brand image. What you put on your profile page of a social networking site and your own web site is something that you can control since you are the copywriter and create director. Make sure they convey a consistent and compelling message for Brand You. Have a professional photo not a snap shot – first impressions are powerful.
- Google yourself from time to time. Make sure you’re up to date on what the web is saying about you. After all, new people you meet will google you. You google people, don’t you?). Make sure you don’t put up anything you will regret. It’s not like Vegas. What happens on the web can be hard to remove later if it’s taken on a viral life.