Social Networking and Your BrandLike any other industry (but perhaps even more so than some) the virtual marketing industry has its celebrities. What I’ve noticed is that the guys at the very top, like Aaron Wall of SEOBook, Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz and Danny Sullivan of Searchengineland, and bloggers of huge import–OK I was going to name a couple here but I fell into that trap yesterday and was reproached for not (at first) mentioning all the greats. Here’s my list of Red Hot Bloggers (scroll down a bit). It’s not complete–I couldn’t include everyone who I consider exceptional.

All these are nice, friendly, and very approachable people. Then there’s Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki who are both towering personalities of the marketing world, online and off, and they still manage to be nice to everyone they come across.

Beginning to see a pattern? Because I most certainly have.

Then there’s a strata in all these niches that consists of individuals who prematurely think themselves great and too-good-for-the-rest-of-us, and behave like (put celebrity name here) chasing paparazzi with a shotgun every time someone not in their clique comes near.

Branding Yourself as a Nice Person

Just like anyone else I understand the constraints of juggling an ever-expanding professional life with life in general. The more successful (and therefore busier) you become, the more people will naturally seek a chunk of your time. But personal branding is a very important part of becoming good at what you do. You only have to take a look at Britanny Spears to know that this is true. If you don’ t know how to treat people your success will die a premature death.

Now let me tell you about someone who I now know is even better than his personal branding suggests, and who actually exceeds his legend.

I’ve been a fan of Guy Kawasaki for years. I have several of his books and even though his expertise is only loosely applicable to the SEO industry, I try and make time to read his latest.

Don’t Underestimate Twitter

So it was with interest yesterday that I discovered he’s on twitter. I hurried to follow him, hoping that I might catch some of his wisdom through his tweets. And yes, this is a major reason why twitter is just so popular. In fact, that’s what I love best about it–you can absorb small nuggets of knowledge from so many people of your choice without any effort.

When I woke up this morning, only a few hours after following him, I found that Guy had actually bothered to follow me back. My jaw hit the floor. Now THAT my friends is personal branding in style. You can’t tell me that Guy has loads of time on his hands. Although I have read from him that he tries to make time for what he considers the important things in life, following people he’s never heard of on twitter can’t be one of those. I never for one moment expected him to follow me, I would have been more than content to here what he has to say. But he followed me and now my opinion of him is indestructible!

Then there’s Darren Rowse, who has to be another one of the busiest people on the planet. Yes he just published this list of ways to contact him on his blog.

If you want to make it in any walk of life you have to be nice to be near. And I’m not talking about personal hygiene. Those who don’t like giving as well as taking should resign themselves to mediocrity, where they belong. It’s just not good enough to be nice only when you want someone to scrape up a few extra follows for you on twitter, (and then you don’t even bother to follow them back or help them out), or when you want a few extra Sphinns or a stumble but you’re not prepared to do the same in return (off the top of my head here). Business is all about reciprocity no matter what your line.

Twitter is just one of the social marketing sites that you can use to successfully brand yourself in so many ways. Being nice to those you meet along your way is only a small part of it all, but it can also be a major contribution to your success. It pays to remember that often the people you network with are potential customers, and if that’s not the case, then they almost certainly rub shoulders with potential customers of yours. Someone like Rand Fishkin, who always answers his email and isn’t too high-and-mighty to hob-nob with those who are still trying to make it in this business, will be my first choice for a recommendation, unlike those who have been rude or mean to me, or who have been unwilling to return favors.

Sure, upsetting just one person online won’t put much of a dent in your bottom line. But if you make the huge mistake of considering yourself an island, you can kiss goodbye to those big profits you’re dreaming about.

Rant over!