Guide to Personal Branding – 5 Worth-Reading Personal Branding Books

There are countless books available on a number of social networking or personal branding topics, with more and more hitting the shelves every week.  When I am looking for my next book, I look to my network for recommendations.  Sometimes I just take a risk and make a purchase based upon either the author or the material covered.

Over the past 6 months, I found myself reading more than I ever have before, trying to keep updated on the latest trends, technologies, and their practical applications.  The energy of the authors and topics discussed certainly keeps me interested.

I wanted to share with you a few books that are strong in both the personal branding and social networking spaces.  I am not ranking the books, just sharing five that I believe are very much worth reading.

Crush It (Gary Vaynerchuk) – It is all about following your passion and Gary is an absolute leader in following your passion.  Be passionate about you and what you choose to do with your life.  If you follow your passion and put everything you have into whatever that may be, success will come.  Translate this into your personal brand and become even more passionate about you.  Gary also provides great suggestions on ulterior sites to consider which may help you expand your presence into niche or emerging networks.

Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success (Dan Schawbel) – I am not a Millenial or Gen Y but I was able to learn quite a bit from this book.  Dan provides great insight into the “whys” of personal branding and, as you would expect, a “how-to” plan.  This is an excellent resource for anyone who would like to gain a better understanding as to where to begin or to further enhance your personal brand.

Trust Agents (Chris Brogan & Julian Smith) – Chris and Julian get straight to the point of social networking: build trust.  Everything you do online starts with building trust and engagement.  Before anyone will respond to you, you need to add value to your network before you ask for anything in return.  Same with your personal brand, establish your authenticity online (do not pretend to be someone you are not) and develop your brand into something that others will trust.

Socialnomics (Erik Qualman) – Erik provides interesting case studies into people and companies and how they leveraged social networking.  There is a heavy dose of Barack Obama and his use of social networking during his campaign, which is fine (though just a little redundant), but he includes other case studies as well.  Erik’s insight into using social networking for business, or elections, is highly useful and you are able to pick up techniques to use in your own branding strategy.

The interesting fact is that all of these books are not specific around personal branding but absolutely incorporate similar concepts in business as in your personal brand.  When you read a social networking or marketing book, always think of how you may incorporate it into your strategy – either for business or for your personal brand.

There are exciting things happening every day, take an active approach and try new techniques.  Absolutely nothing to fear while exploring new opportunities and creating a niche while you continue to brand yourself.

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Keith McIlvaine is a Social Media Strategist within HR and Recruiting for a Fortune 500 company.  When he is not focused on leveraging social media and networking, Keith is also a personal branding coach and social media mentor.  He is passionate about his family and is a major soccer fanatic.  Follow Keith on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.  The statements I have posted on this site are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.