building your personal brand

Josh Hallett’s a social media pioneer who currently directs new media for content creation powerhouse Voce Communications. Their clients include Sony, Playstation, Yahoo, Disney and eBay. He spoke recently as part of PRSA Tampa Bay’s 2010 Professional Development Day on what’s needed in order for a personal brand to achieve online awareness across various media. (Read our series of articles on the same topic here.)

While his work mainly centers on large multi-nationals, Hallett’s comments were directed at the growing number of professionals who need to develop a coordinated online identity that for many is currently just an ad hoc combination of social networking mixed with the occasional hosted blog and a neglected twitter account.

strategy and execution are fundamental

Hallett highlighted the need for strategic planning, social engagement, creative content and technical execution in order to fully manage online reputations. Personal anecdotes illustrated perfectly the role strategic fundamentals play in a time when identities are defined by google rankings, which may — or may not — be controlled by the individual.

As a long time fan of his insight and innovation – Hallett’s elegantly designed hyku site was an early adapter of blog structure (WordPress) deployed as a conventional web site – Tampa Bay PRSA’s latest Professional Development Day was another opportunity to learn new tricks and refine old approaches to the challenge of brand building in a digital space.

For more on what he and the other speakers had to say,  follow the twitter hashtag #prsatampabay.