1. Set yourself up with a profile on the high traffic social networking sites that are relevant to you. You want to make sure that if someone Googles your name that you will be easily found.

2. Ensure that you fill out your profiles as completely as possible, remembering to include a head shot photo.

3. Put some time aside to familiarise yourself with the bigger social networks. They can be very powerful and useful for you in terms of progressing your career so a little time investing up front could pay dividends later. Quite literally!

4. Always use a professionally taken photo. You have to look your best remember. Ensure that your photo is a recent one so that you are recognisable. And, aim to use the same photo across all your profiles, to build consistency. The photo needs to be close one, as the images often appear quite small. We want to see your face!

5. When choosing a username for sites such as Twitter, pick a name that is obviously you – i.e. your name, or variations of. Using cryptic names or using lots of numbers will in time begin to look quite unprofessional. They are also much harder to remember, which means you are unlikely to be found.

6. Try to use the same username across all sites. This can be hard so take some time to find a username that is likely to be available. Consistency in username means that if people connect with you in one site or network, that they are more likely to find you in others.

7. Buy your name as a web domain. You might not want to do anything with it, but at least no one else can use it to create negative or irrelevant content. Managing your digital reputation is about damage limitation too.

8. Decide what you want to be known for. This is a big one and not to be rushed. Once you put information online it stays there so only put things up that you’re happy with and that enhance your career and life prospects.

9. Engage in the rich tapestry of the web, don’t just stand from the sidelines and watch – no one will see you there. Comment on other peoples’ blogs, maybe write your own, but take part!

10. Set yourself up with Google Alerts to track instances of your name online. This enables you to find out quickly if some negative content is doing the rounds so you can sort it out. You might also want to track key words in your area of expertise or your industry. If you blog this helps you to blog about subjects as they arise and can help you to be perceived as a thought leader.

There are many more things that can done, if you have any more that you’d like to add, please pop them in the comments section. Thanks!

I’ve been very fortunate to be working with Guy Rigby @guyrigby in the lead up to his book launch. His book “From Vision to Exit” is the definitive entrepreneur’s guide to building and selling a business and is based on his years of experience advising entrepreneurs and their businesses. Guy now works for London city accountancy firm, Smith & Williamson and heads up the Entrepreneur team.

Guy hired me to help him to build his digital presence to ensure that he had a web presence that supported his book launch. You can see the results here: Guy Rigby’s personal website.

In my time working with Guy, I was amazed at how well connected and well respected he is and I was surprised to learn that he has built this incredible following of people who know, like and trust him in only 3 years! So, of course, I had to ask him how he did it. Guy was only too happy to share with me his secret; he has four mantras that he lives by in business and he believes it is these four cornerstones that have helped him to build his personal brand.

So, without further a do.. here they are!

Who cares, wins!

Always exceed and do more than people expect. This is about delighting your customers, whether they are true customers in the traditional sense of the word, or people for whom you are doing something. If you care about what you’re doing and who you’re doing it for, it will show and they will appreciate you for it. And, happy customers are happy to share their experiences so this can quickly become fantastic word of mouth

If you turn the same handle, you will get the same result.

If something isn’t working for you, try doing something else. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. It reminds me of the definition insanity: doing the same thing and expecting a different result! So what does he mean by this? Be innovative. Approach your problem from another angle. Look at things differently.

Also, always look for new people to connect with. Don’t always hang out with the same people but find new places to go, new events to attend, new networks to tap into. You never know who you’re going to meet.

It means always looking for new opportunities and ways of doing business.

If it isn’t broken, break it!

This is about never accepting the status quo and always questioning what is before you. There’s always a better way of doing something, so look for it. If you can’t find it, you’re not being creative enough!

If you’ve got nothing to do, polish the church pews.

Don’t sit around doing nothing. If you’re constantly engaging in something, then something will happen. An interesting person may wander into the church and so begins a fruitful relationship. If nothing else, you’ll have well toned arms!

Guy’s new book “From Vision to Exit” is definitive entrepreneur’s guide to building and selling your business is now available to buy.

With a forward by Luke Johnson and fantastic reviews by countless other well-known entrepreneurs, this book is definitely one to read if you’re an entrepreneur.

You can buy your copy of “From Vision to Exit” here.

How will you present yourself?

You will want to ensure that you present a consistent version of yourself, so try to avoid, recording videos straight after getting up in the morning before your shower. Remember, this is going out TO THE WORLD! So, before you press record ensure you putting across a version of yourself that you’re happy being seen by anyone that you’re trying to impress.

What’s in your background?

Remember to think about what your environment is saying about you. Does your background include a grubby dressing gown hanging on the back of a door, or a dirty pile of washing stacking up on the floor? Eugh! Think about what’s behind you.

What kit are you using?

The kit you use will make a huge difference to the quality of your video. Now, you don’t have to go and spend a huge amount on your video kit, but essentials you need to think about are the audio and visual quality. People will be a lot less forgiving with rubbish audio quality – if they can’t hear you they certainly won’t be watching you! So do some dry runs to listen to your kit.

Where are you looking?

This will depend a lot on the kit you’re using. If you’re using your webcam, then you need to be careful that you don’t record your video by watching the video of you on the screen. If you’re doing that, you’re not looking at the camera and it just looks a bit weird, like you’re cross-eyed. This is never a good look.

If you’ve got a free-standing camera on a tripod, great! This will make it much easier to look straight at the camera. Unless, you’re reading some notes off camera. If you’ve not managed to get hold of some auto-cues then make sure that any notes you’re using are behind the camera so that it still looks like you’re speaking to camera.

Are you using notes?

If you’re using notes, what ever you do, DO NOT READ THEM OUT! Did you get that? DO NOT READ THEM OUT! This is not only intensely irritating to listen to, but it definitely does not help you to convey your expertise. People who know what they’re talking about don’t need to read their notes. They might need prompts, to keep them on track, but that is it. If you need to read your notes word for word, then you need to question why you’re doing this.

Have you practiced?

Before launching into video blogs, put aside half a day of just faffing with your kit and getting comfortable with it. Get comfortable talking to camera and watching how you look. Look out for any weird on camera habits you may have [hair flicking, looking sideways, eye twitching, licking your lips, etc).

Have you heard yourself speak?

One of my main challenges with videoing myself was to slow down my pace of speech. I talk waaaaay too fast. So, one thing I’ve had to learn is to SLOW down. And the only way I’ve done that is by practicing. Some may say that I still do, but believe me, at least you don’t get out of breathe just by listening to me now! Listen to what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. You might have to cut out your colourful language (if appropriate) or stop saying “uh” and “you know” every other sentence. Ask a friend who’ll be honest to give you some feedback.

Are you aiming for recording your video in one take?

This is ambitious, so you’ll need to think about how long you want to speak for and what points you want to get across. Waffling does not score high points here. Sometimes, you’ll be able to pull it off in the first take, other times you’ll be there all afternoon!

Do you have an editing suite?

If you’ve decided that a one-take shoot is too much, then you’re going to have to edit. Make sure you have some good editing software to help you do a good job. Some cameras come with their own easy-use software, but watch out because these can be very limited in their scope. On the other hand you don’t want to get caught up using professional software, because you could waste a lot of time faffing.

1-2-3 Action!

It can be too easy when you’re recording yourself to talk to yourself in your head and count yourself in, usually while getting your words straight in your head and staring out the window. Then when you reach three: you flick your hair while taking a deep breathe while simultaneously turning your head toward the camera. Then you deliver your perfect video, finish off and quickly walk toward the camera, happy that you’ve done a good job. UH-OH! Your video is a nightmare to edit!

Before you decide to start recording make sure that you’re looking at the video for a few seconds. Then at the end, stay looking at the camera for a few more. This ensure that you have sufficient footage to edit your video without cutting it too short.

If you’ve got any more tips that you’d like to share, feel free to post them in the comments below.

Here is an interview I did recently with Hung Lee aka Wise Man Say.

Some of the things we talk about include

• Brand Creation vs Brand Discovery
• Brand Values = inflexibility? Or does it allow for inconsistency in life?
• Brands get ossified as they mature – harder to change as you go on – implications for young people?
• Transparency of social media – effect on personal brands
• Language – and the need to do better. Bring in your ‘personal capital’

The current debate on privacy here in the UK is an interesting one. A well-known footballer has been caught with his pants down. Literally. And so, in order to protect his reputation he paid in excess of £200k to lawyers for a super-injunction to keep this mess out of the press. Unfortunately, this didn’t keep it off the social networks and now it’s public knowledge. So, now not only has his misdemeanour come out, but it’s a hot topic on all media. Surely not what he had in mind when he coughed up his £200k.

This situation is quite complex so rather than get distracted in the privacy part of this debate I’d like to focus on the reputation angle.

If you are going to do something that damages your reputation, then you need to be mindful of the consequences. The transparency of social media has forced many of us to be more mindful of our behaviour. Whether it’s flirting around the boundaries of a relationship or showing a side of us that only alcohol reveals, we are all only too aware of the chaos that can ensue once it appears on Facebook.

So, to use the argument that a super-injunction is required to protect his reputation is a very weak one. The responsibility for reputation damage only lies with him! If he hadn’t acted like an idiot in the first place then he wouldn’t have anything to hide. And that is a lesson to us all.

If you do happen to act in a way that betrays your reputation, then surely on a personal level you need to learn from this. One of the first lessons of crisis management is to own up. Once you admit that you have made a mistake and that you are sorry, you are showing a human side. And that alone may gain you respect, merely for your honesty despite what you may have done. But trying to hide it, suggests that you are ashamed of your behaviour and that you know it was wrong. That is fuel for gossip and will only make things worse.

If we act is a way that is in line with our view of ourselves and reinforces what we want people to think about us, then there is no story.

So, has the transparency of social media affected how you behave? Are you more mindful of what you’re doing BECAUSE others have a window in on your life? Leave a comment below.